Length15h 28m
About this audiobook
This memoir captures the romance and rigor of the author's youth as a "cub" pilot learning the intricate, shifting currents of the Mississippi River. He describes the river not just as a body of water, but as a living, formidable character that demands respect and mastery. The latter part of the book recounts a return trip, lamenting the loss of the steamboat era to the railroads. It is a nostalgic and vivid history of a vanished American way of life.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 4.0 (73.2K)
Includes Goodreads, LibraryThing, Amazon, StoryGraph
GenreBiography and Memoir, Travel, Psychology
Length15 hrs 28 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateJan 24, 2026
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1The ‘Body Of The Nation’
2Chapter 1. The River And Its History
3Chapter 2. The River And Its Explorers
4Chapter 3. Frescoes From The Past
5Chapter 4. The Boys’ Ambition
Show all chaptersShow less
6Chapter 5. I Want To Be A Cub-Pilot
7Chapter 6. A Cub-Pilot’s Experience
8Chapter 7. A Daring Deed
9Chapter 8. Perplexing Lessons
10Chapter 9. Continued Perplexities
11Chapter 10. Completing My Education
12Chapter 11. The River Rises
13Chapter 12. Sounding
14Chapter 13. A Pilot’s Needs
15Chapter 14. Rank And Dignity Of Piloting
16Chapter 15. The Pilots’ Monopoly
17Chapter 16. Racing Days
18Chapter 17. Cut-Offs And Stephen
19Chapter 18. I Take A Few Extra Lessons
20Chapter 19. Brown And I Exchange Compliments
21Chapter 20. A Catastrophe
22Chapter 21. A Section In My Biography
23Chapter 22. I Return To My Muttons
24Chapter 23. Traveling Incognito
25Chapter 24. My Incognito Is Exploded
26Chapter 25. From Cairo To Hickman
27Chapter 26. Under Fire
28Chapter 27. Some Imported Articles
29Chapter 28. Uncle Mumford Unloads
30Chapter 29. A Few Specimen Bricks
31Chapter 30. Sketches By The Way
32Chapter 31. A Thumb-Print And What Came Of It
33Chapter 32. The Disposal Of A Bonanza
34Chapter 33. Refreshments And Ethics
35Chapter 34. Tough Yarns
36Chapter 35. Vicksburg During The Trouble
37Chapter 36. The Professor’s Yarn
38Chapter 37. The End Of The ‘Gold Dust’
39Chapter 38. The House Beautiful
40Chapter 39. Manufactures And Miscreants
41Chapter 40. Castles And Culture
42Chapter 41. The Metropolis Of The South
43Chapter 42. Hygiene And Sentiment
44Chapter 43. The Art Of Inhumation
45Chapter 44. City Sights
46Chapter 45. Southern Sports
47Chapter 46. Enchantments And Enchanters
48Chapter 47. Uncle Remus And Mr. Cable
49Chapter 48. Sugar And Postage
50Chapter 49. Episodes In Pilot Life
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