Come aboard the steamboat New Orleans, and experience the real-life adventure of the first steamboat trip down the mighty Mississippi through the eyes of a young crew member. Tim Collins is a fourteen-year-old orphan trying to get from Pittsburgh to Natchez in the year 1811. He signs on as a deckhand aboard the New Orleans, and meets Nicholas Roo-sevelt, the dynamic builder and owner of the vessel, and his wife Lydia, who braves the untamed river while pregnant.
Defying the ridicule of critics who claim that no vessel can defy the current of the mighty Mississippi, the voyagers set off on their epic journey. They face crafty river pirates, hostile Indians, and wild animals. And can even a steamboat survive the awesome power of the New Madrid earth-quake, the strongest quake in American history?
About the Author
Author George Fichter is a former editor of the Golden Guides series and the Golden Encyclopedia of Natural History. For several years he was editor in chief of Fisherman Press. He has written more than fifty books about wildlife and the outdoors, as well as three books on American history. Since 1983 he has been the writer-in-residence at Stetson University.
About the Illustrator
Illustrator Joe Boddy is a well-known artist and illustrator of children’s books, and currently resides in Montana.
FIRST STEAMBOAT DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI
George S. Fichter
Illustrated by Joe Boddy
JUVENILE FICTION / Historical / United States / 19th Century
112 pp. 5 1/2 x 8 1/2
Illustration
ISBN: 9780882897158