What was it like to travel the Mississippi River in the late 1800s?

I am writing a fiction story for a literature assignment, and my teacher told the class that detail is the key to a good paper. So I need detail about steamship travel, but I can't find any! Any help?What was it like to travel the Mississippi River in the late 1800s?Read 'Life on the Mississippi' by Mark Twain. It's a brilliant book, and should give you lots of detail. It should be well out of copyright by now, so you ought to be able to read it on the internet.