Old Times on the Upper Mississippi: The Recollections of a Steamboat Pilot from 1854 to 1863 (Borealis)

From back cover: George Merrick's initiation as a steamboat pilot in 1860 came only after he had learned steamboat life from the bottom up, as a pantry boy, apprentice engineer, second clerk, and "cub" pilot. In these lively loving, and humorous reminiscences, first published in 1909, he describes steamboat operations--from machinery and personnel to the economics of the business--with vivid examples and rich detail.