261 pages / 6.00 x 9.00 inches / no illustrations
Western Rivermen, the first documented sociocultural history of its subject, is a fascinating book. Michael Allen explores the rigorous lives of professional boatmen who plied non-steam vessels—flatboats, keelboats, and rafts—on the Ohio and lower Mississippi rivers from 1763-1861.
Allen first considers the mythical “half horse, half alligator” boatmen who were an integral part of the folklore of the time. Americans of the Jacksonian and pre-Civil War period perceived the rivermen as hard-drinking, straight-shooting adventurers on the frontier. Their notions were reinforced by romanticized portrayals of the boatmen in songs, paintings, newspaper humor, and literature. Allen contends that these mythical depictions of the boatmen were a reflection of the yearnings of an industrializing people for what they thought to be a simpler time.
Allen demonstrates, however, that the actual lives of the rivermen little resembled their portrayals in popular culture. Drawing on more than eighty firsthand accounts—ranging from a short letter to a four-volume memoir—he provides a rounded view of the boatmen that reveals the lonely, dangerous nature of their profession. He also discusses the social and economic aspects of their lives, such as their cargoes, the river towns they visited, and the impact on their lives of the steamboat and advancing civilization.
Allen’s comprehensive, highly informative study sheds new light on a group of men who played an important role in the development of the trans-Appalachian West and the ways in which their lives were transformed into one of the enduring themes of American folk culture.
“This wonderfully researched and delightfully written book at last provides a realistic portrait of the rivermen of early America. . . . Warned that there were no first-hand accounts from rivermen themselves, Allen visited forty libraries and archives throughout the Mississippi Valley, locating eighty previously unused diaries, memoirs, and sets of correspondence. . . . Read this book to learn about an American original, and read it for pleasure.”—American Historical Review
“An interesting and well-written book. . . . James Allen has produced a careful analysis of early flatboating and a fascinating discussion of the men who toiled on the rivers of the Far West.”—Annals of Iowa
“Michael Allen has written an intricately researched volume that examines the reality and the myth surrounding the lives of the eighteenth and nineteenth century western rivermen.”—Northern Mariner
“Allen has labored diligently to assemble information about a group of generally transient and unlettered workmen. The sources are thin for so large a group, but his judicious handling of them helps to support his findings. The Louisiana State University Press is to be commended for a fine job of bookmaking.”—Pacific Historical Review
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