Life on the Mississippi

The narrative begins by detailing different aspects of the Mississippi River. Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) as narrator compares the Mississippi to other large bodies of water around the world, including the Amazon basin, the Nile, and the Seine, highlighting how the Mississippi is far larger and grander than bodies of water that are arguably more famous. Twain mentions that the Mississippi is larger in part because it is the crookedest river, with many tributaries snaking away from it at different points and in different states. He describes the Mississippi as encompassing 1,300 miles in its entirety, which would only be about 675 miles if the river ran in a straight line.

From comparing the river to other bodies of water, Twain moves to its history, beginning with DeSoto, who was the first settler to see the river. Twain mentions that it is important to know the history of the Mississippi to understand just how grand and impressive it truly is. Tracing the river’s history, Twain notes that DeSoto first saw it in 1542. From this point, Twain traces the historic and artistic highlights that took place around the world at the same time as DeSoto’s discovery in 1542 onward. Twain also informs the reader that 130 years would pass before another white man looked upon the Mississippi again.

The narrative shifts to a discussion of various explorers who encountered the Mississippi River, ranging from Marquette to La Salle to the previously mentioned DeSoto. Twain provides details regarding their interaction with the Mississippi while exploring it. Joliet and Marquette arrived to the Mississippi junction by way of Wisconsin. Upon arrival, the two explorers were told by the local Indians that the river was dangerous. The two proceeded anyway, and after traveling down the Arkansas portion of the river, deduced that it emptied into the Gulf of Mexico. The two then turned back, however. It was La Salle who later substantiated the theory that the Mississippi flowed into the Gulf of Mexico. 

In this chapter, Twain uses his novel Huckleberry Finn to explain various aspects of life on the Mississippi. He uses the section in which Huck attempts to gather information from a group of men in order to set Jim free in the town of Cairo. While eavesdropping, Huck hears various ghost stories and songs related to river life. Huck is eventually caught by the men, but comes to no harm.

The narrative focuses on the importance of steamboats for Twain while growing up. Twain recalls his childhood home and early life in Hannibal. He remembers a boy he once knew who worked on a steamboat. As a child, Twain was jealous of this boy until, one day, he himself ran away to fulfill his dream of working as a steamboat pilot.

When Twain leaves home to work on a steamboat, he initially wants to explore the Amazon which he has read so much about. To this end, he attempts to travel from Cincinnati to New Orleans. Aboard ship, Twain tries to help the ship’s mate by showing off, only to make a fool of himself in the process. He also becomes friends with the night watchman and listens to his stories, and though the stories are later revealed to be mostly fabricated, they do help inspire Twain’s zest for river life.

This chapter recounts Twain’s training on the Paul Jones with an experienced pilot by the name of Mr. Bixby. Twain promises to pay Bixby $500 in exchange for training. The training will include lessons on how to approach half of the river, from St. Louis to New Orleans. Though the deal is struck, Twain neglects to write anything down, thus forgetting what he has been taught and finding himself confused at night when attempting to navigate the river. Twain comes to realize just how daunting the task of piloting is as pilots have to learn the intricacies of piloting both upriver and downriver. 

Twain relates a great accomplishment by Bixby while on their journey. Bixby is tasked with steering their boat through a rough pass, and must do this before dark. Though no one thinks he can accomplish the task, especially as he must practically maneuver the boat over part of an island, Bixby succeeds. 

The narrative picks up on the topic of how difficult the Mississippi is to navigate at night given its nature as a moving entity. Twain introduces Mr. W, who relieves Bixby of piloting. Twain thinks to describe the route to Mr. W, but does not because he is nervous. When he later tells Bixby about this, Bixby informs Twain that it was a good idea for him to have not described the route to Mr. W, for Mr. W would have killed Twain had he tried.

Twain explains the fear and difficulties of piloting the steamboat on his own. He recounts how pilots had to “read” the water to know what was in the water and how deep it was. While piloting, Twain is fooled once by thinking there is a “bluff reef,” a reed hidden under the water, only to find that it is the wind moving the water. In an introspective aside, Twain comments on how sad it is that pilots—men who at one point loved the Mississippi—sometimes lose their love for it. He likens this to doctors who love human anatomy, only to lose their love for the human body once they become efficient doctors.

Twain comments again on how intensive his education/training on the Mississippi is. In addition to all the other facts he must know, including the physical markers of the river, he also must know how high the river is at any given point. He again recalls how difficult piloting at night is, especially when there are boats with no lanterns in the water. Though lanterns are required by law, the boats that did not have any would often run into the larger steamboats and then sue the steamboats for damages. 

The narrative in this chapter is both serious and comical. Twain begins by explaining steamboat navigating through rough patches of the Mississippi. Along the way, he describes the land and life, including farmers and other people they see along the river. Twain then moves to a comical story. In the recollection, he explains how a pilot pulled off a difficult maneuver no one thought he could do. As it turned out, the pilot accomplished the maneuver because he had fallen asleep during the entire ordeal.  

Twain describes the process of “sounding,” another difficult task that pilots must learn to do. The process of sounding involves determining how shallow the river is at a given point. Men must go out to a buoy in the water and mark how shallow the water is. Twain provides an example of this by way of Tom, a rival of his for a girl. Tom goes out one day and almost drowns when it is revealed that there is no buoy where he thought it was. Though Tom almost dies, he becomes a hero to the girl for his bravery, to Twain’s annoyance.

In this chapter, Twain highlights the qualities necessary to make a good steamboat pilot. The most important, says Twain, is a good memory. He uses Bixby as an example, stating Bixby can remember anything. Other qualities listed by Twain include judgement and courage. He highlights these qualities by giving an example of his latter days of training, when he had become full of himself and confident in his judgement and abilities as a pilot. It took other pilots asking him about the depth of the river at a certain point, making him question his own judgement, to force him to rethink his confidence and realize that he was not as perfect as he once thought.

Twain shares his belief that boat pilots are the freest men in America. He sets about comparing piloting to other professions, ending with the conviction that piloting is indeed the best profession. He uses another story to highlight this. The story involves a pilot named Stephen who is only offered $125 for a piloting job that usually pays $250. Stephen accepts the job anyway, and in doing so, is eventually able to begin making the $250 wage through his patience and hard work.

The chapter describes the rise of the pilot’s association. The association was mostly ignored at first by the community of steamboat pilots. In time, however, the association grew and began refusing to work with those not a part of their community. In doing so, their control of the pilots grew stronger. Each member was given a key to represent his membership in the community. Members would only give information to others who wore a key. The association eventually raised the membership dues to a high level, Twain notes: fifty dollars, as well as ten percent of earnings dating back to the founding of the association. Captains and boat owners eventually furthered the association’s control by forming their own associations, thus creating a monopoly.