Table of Contents

Part One. The Big Event
1•The Start 3
2 • The Course 19
3 • The Early Going 35

Part Two. The Origins
4 • The Pioneers 49
5 • A Different Kind of Boat 65
6 • Captain Shreve’s Design 77
7 • The Proliferation 89

Part Three. The Circumstances
8 • The Sweet Life on the Mississippi 101
9 • The Hard-Working Life 117
10 • Owners and Officers 129
11 • The Perils 145

Part Four. The Outcome
12 • On to Cairo 167
13 • The Fog 178
14 • Celebration in St. Louis 183

Epilogue 194
Chapter Notes 199
Bibliography 203
Index 206