Life on the Mississippi, 1868

Lithograph entitled: High water in the Mississippi, 1868. A poignant image depicting the struggle to endure seasonal flooding. Among uprooted trees and floating debris, two men using a roof as a raft pole themselves and nine others to safety, while one of their companions holds tight to the reins of a mule swimming beside the roof, and two others rescue furniture and a barrel. In the middle-ground, there is a large white-painted house with second-floor balconies front and back, and a smaller cook-house off to the right side. Two men in a row-boat approach the back of the house, and a lady stands on the balcony speaking to the men. On the roof of the house a man and a woman stand as the man waves a handkerchief to the steamboat Stonewall Jackson, which is traveling at speed. Passengers line the rails attracted by the human drama they are passing.A riverboat is a ship built boat designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. Steamboats played a major role in the 19th Century development of the Mississippi River and its tributaries by allowing the practical large-scale transport of passengers and freight both up- and down-river. Using steam power, riverboats were developed during that time which could navigate in shallow waters as well as upriver against strong currents. After the development of railroads passenger traffic gradually switched to this faster form of transportation, but steamboats continued to serve Mississippi River commerce into the early 20th Century

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African American Currier Flooding Freight Ives Large Scale Large-scale Mississippi Navigate Negro Negroes Negros Paddle Raft Riverboat Seasonal Shallow Steamboat Stern Stonewall Up-river Wheeler

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