Transcriber's note: Italic text has been marked with _underscores_. Please see the end of this book for further notes. Old Times on the Upper Mississippi [Illustration: MOUTH OF THE WISCONSIN RIVER. The ancient highway between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi. This scene gives some idea of the multitude of islands which diversify both the Wisconsin and the Mississippi Rivers.] Old Times on the Upper Mississippi The Recollections of a Steamboat Pilot from 1854 to 1863 By George Byron Merrick [Illustration] Cleveland, Ohio The Arthur H. Clark Company 1909 Copyright 1908 George Byron Merrick All rights reserved Dedicated to the Memory of My Chiefs William H. Hamilton, Engineer, Charles G. Hargus, Clerk, Thomas Burns, Pilot, masters in their several professions. From each of them I learned something that has made life better worth living, the sum of which makes possible these reminiscences of a "cub" pilot. Contents Prelude 13 Chapter I EARLY IMPRESSIONS 15 Chapter II INDIANS, DUGOUTS, AND WOLVES 20 Chapter III ON THE LEVEE AT PRESCOTT 29 Chapter IV IN THE ENGINE-ROOM 38 Chapter V THE ENGINEER 46 Chapter VI THE "MUD" CLERK--COMPARATIVE HONORS 52 Chapter VII WOODING UP 59 Chapter VIII THE MATE 64 Chapter IX THE "OLD MAN" 71 Chapter X THE PILOTS AND THEIR WORK 78 Chapter XI KNOWING THE RIVER 92 Chapter XII THE ART OF STEERING 100 Chapter XIII AN INITIATION 106 Chapter XIV EARLY PILOTS 111 Chapter XV INCIDENTS OF RIVER LIFE 117 Chapter XVI MISSISSIPPI MENUS 126 Chapter XVII BARS AND BARKEEPERS 132 Chapter XVIII GAMBLERS AND GAMBLING 138 Chapter XIX STEAMBOAT RACING 143 Chapter XX MUSIC AND ART 152 Chapter XXI STEAMBOAT BONANZAS 161 Chapter XXII WILD-CAT MONEY AND TOWN-SITES 174