Down the River; Or, Buck Bradford and His Tyrants

The narrator, a young man named Buck Bradford, recounts his strained household life under domineering employers and the awkwardness surrounding his deformed sister, prompting him to undertake a river voyage. He and his sister build a raft and travel down the Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers toward New Orleans, encountering storms, a mail robbery, an explosion, nighttime hazards, and varied riverfront characters. Episodes explore resourcefulness, compromises with local authorities, moments of danger and compassion, and the development of friendships and rivalries. The narrative closes with the voyage's end, a return upriver, legal troubles, and reflections on honesty, self-reliance, and doing right despite hardship.