O’Hanlon’s “Irish Emigrants’ Guide to the United States,” published in 1851, would indicate that all traveling in that day was not as comfortable as might be inferred from the preceding. With regard to steamboats it says: These have been termed “flying palaces,” and many of them are fitted up in style of great magnificence. But the comfort of traveling by them is confined to cabin passengers, state rooms, accommodating two persons each, in separate berths, are appropriated for retirement by day and for rest at night; ladies and gentlemen have separate cabins, but dine at the same table, which is set out in the “social hall,” and stocked with a variety of luxuries.... The deck passengers are immediately under the cabin, and in the hinder part of the boat. A few berths are fitted up for their reception without bedding. Provisions must be provided at their own expense, and also a mode of preparing them. Sometimes numbers are huddled together on board without having room to move, or stretch themselves out for rest; the inconvenience of this mode of traveling can hardly be appreciated without being experienced. It is also stated that steamboat traveling was dangerous because of the explosions. It is true there were a number of boiler explosions. Mark Twain mentions one of the very worst,[75] the explosion of the _Pennsylvania_. He also discusses the subject of racing, which after the Government rules regarding steam pressure went into effect, he claims not to have been dangerous. One of the later races, that between the _Robert E. Lee_ and the _Natchez_ in 1870 was an event of national interest. The time of the _Robert E. Lee_ from New Orleans to St. Louis was 3 days 18 hours and 14 minutes from dock to dock. Mark Twain claims the fastest long-distance running was made by the _Eclipse_ in 1855 when she made the trip from New Orleans to Cairo at an average speed “a shade under fourteen and three-eighths miles per hour.” An idea of the rates charged for passenger fare and for freight traffic on steam-boats may be obtained from the following. In 1816 from New York to Albany the fare was $7, about 4 cents per mile. For way stations between about 5 cents per mile, but no charge less than $1.[76] STEAMBOAT FARES