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THE RESCUE OF THE CASTAWAYS.
"The rescue occupied considerable time and work." (See page 283.)]
The Last of the Flatboats
_A Story of the Mississippi and its interesting family of rivers_
By
GEORGE CARY EGGLESTON
Author of "The Big Brother," "Captain Sam," "The Signal Boys," "The Wreck of the Red Bird," etc., etc.
BOSTON LOTHROP PUBLISHING COMPANY
COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY LOTHROP PUBLISHING COMPANY.
Norwood Press J. S. Cushing & Co.--Berwick & Smith Norwood Mass. U.S.A.
_TO MY LAST-BORN BOY_
CARY EGGLESTON
_A brave, manly fellow Who knows how to swim How to catch fish How to handle his boat How to shoot straight with a rifle And how to tell the truth every time_
I Dedicate
_This Story about some other Boys of his kind_
_Culross-on-Lake-George_
Preface
Vevay, from which "The Last of the Flatboats" starts on its voyage downthe Mississippi, is a beautiful little Indiana town on the Ohio River,about midway between Cincinnati and Louisville. The town and SwitzerlandCounty, of which it is the capital, were settled by a company ofenergetic and thrifty Swiss immigrants, about the year 1805. Theirfamily names are still dominant in the town. I recall the following asfamiliar to me there in my boyhood: Grisard, Thiebaud, Le Clerc,Moreraud, Detraz, Tardy, Malin, Golay, Courvoisseur, Danglade, Bettens,Minnit, Violet, Dufour, Dumont, Duprez, Medary, Schenck, and others ofSwiss origin.
The name Thiebaud, used in this story, was always pronounced "Kaybo" inVevay. The name Moreraud was called "Murrow."
The map which accompanies this volume was specially prepared for it byLieut.-Col. Alexander McKenzie of the Corps of Engineers of the UnitedStates Army. To his skill, learning, and courtesy I and my readers areindebted for the careful marking of the practically navigable parts ofthe great river system, and for the calculation of mileage in everycase.
G. C. E.
Contents
Chapter Page
I. The Rescue of the Pigs 9
II. How it All Began 17
III. Captain Phil 27
IV. A Hurry Call 33
V. On the Banks of the Wonderful River 40
VI. The Pilot 47
VII. Talking 56
VIII. The Right to the River 62
IX. What happened at Louisville 71
X. Jim 77
XI. The Wonderful River 86
XII. The Wonderful River's Work 95
XIII. The Terror of the River 105
XIV. In the Home of the Earthquakes 118
XV. In the Chute 131
XVI. "Talking Business" 147
XVII. At Anchor 161
XVIII. At Breakfast 170
XIX. Scuttle Chatter 179
XX. At Memphis 190
XXI. A Wrestle with the River 198
XXII. In the Fog 209
XXIII. Through the Crevasse 219
XXIV. A Little Amateur Surgery 228
XXVI. The Crew and their Captain 245
XXVII. A Struggle in the Dark 251
XXVIII. A Hard-won Victory 261
XXIX. Rescue 278
XXX. A Yazoo Afternoon 291
XXXI. An Offer of Help 304
XXXII. Publicity 312
XXXIII. Down "The Coast" 324
XXXIV. A Talk on Deck 336
XXXV. Looking Forward 348
XXXVI. The Last Landing 361
XXXVII. Red-Letter Days in New Orleans 370
XXXVIII. "It" 379
The Last of the Flatboats