The Last of the Flatboats / A Story of the Mississippi and Its Interesting Family of Rivers

The narrative follows a group of boys who build and pilot a flatboat from an Ohio River town down the Mississippi and its connected waterways, living aboard through long voyages. Their journey mixes daily routines and shipboard camaraderie with recurring dangers of the rivers—chutes, fog, crevasses, and violent currents—prompting rescues, hard physical struggles, and an occasional makeshift surgery. Episodes visit river towns, encounters with pilots and captains, and scenes of publicity and settlement in New Orleans, while themes of resourcefulness, teamwork, and coming-of-age emerge as the boys learn navigation, seamanship, and the practical rigors of life on America’s rivers.