The biographical data for the Amelia Poe is complete. This page is interesting because it includes documented financial information. If you calculate the rates for freight and passengers, you can understand why these rivermen were willing to take such great risks. In 1866 according to the records, fifty-one (51) boats departed St Louis. Thirty-two (32) docked in Ft Benton. Although steamboats failed to reach Ft Benton for a variety of reasons, the rate of success was only 62.7%. That is little better than a flip of a coin.
In addition to the financial data, the tragic end of the Amelia Poe made a good story.