Interview with a Long-Haul Pilot

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Author’s note:  I met Captain Lawrence while he was piloting the Mississippi Queen; for most of his career he has been a towboat pilot. He shared with me some of his thoughts about the river and those of us who use and enjoy it.  © Pat Middleton, “Discover! America’s Great River Road, Vol 2.”

“There are no two rivers that are alike. The piloting is unique to each, as is the scenery and the history. This is purely the Mississippi River. It doesn’t compare in any way to any other river.

The people living ashore are so interesting. They love their river, their boats, the fish, the recreation. They feel so much ownership of the river and its valleys. Those of us who work on the river feel this appreciation, too; a strong sense that this river belongs to all of us. We have to make room for one another and all our varied interests. It’s vital to protect this river, its wildlife.

 

I think it’s hard for people to even imagine the vast importance of the river in the lives of millions of people in this great nation, and all those foreign countries that depend on our foreign trade. Electric plants, drinking water, fuel, and grain are supplied by or moved upon this river.

 

Mark Twain would be astonished at the power, the scope of river traffic today when compared to the paddlewheelers that ran the river in his day; the sheer power of the diesel towboats, the steel hulls that have replaced the wooden hulls. The steamboat pilots really were the pioneers of river transportation as we know it today.

 

I’ve seen the Locks on the upper river put in place. I’ve seen the corn business explode because of the navigational technology that allows us to move the corn. Improvements in agriculture and shipping have developed hand-in-hand.

 

One barge with a nine-foot draft can move 1500 tons of corn. The freight pushed by a single towboat and its crew of
eleven men is worth many millions of dollars and moves as much grain as a twenty train engineers, twenty firemen and twenty brakemen, etc. If something should happen to the lock system, it would cripple the american econonmy. Trucks and trains or airplanes could not possibly make up the difference.

 

The main thing a Midwestern farmer thinks about is getting his harvest of grain to the elevator. But that’s just the beginning. There is more corn produced in the upper Midwest than anywhere else in the world. More grain is moved on the Mississippi River than on any other river system in the world. The sight of ocean-going barges from around the world picking up Midwestern grain in New Orleans is sobering. Few farmers begin to realize the number of people around the world that are fed by Midwestern corn.

 

The Indians called this the “Father of Waters” and that’s exactly what it is today. I’m a long run pilot. I just know what I see on the river. ” 


 

Map shows historic channels of the Mississippi River

    © Great River Publishing
Stoddard, WI 54658-9801
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Missouri River, Facts and Historic Maps by Lisa Middleton

TRIBUTARIES OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER
Text and Map Images courtesy of Great River Arts, Kalispell, Mountana.  All rights reserved.
Missouri River: THE MISSOURI RIVER is considered to be the longest stream of river in the US is the Missouri River which begins at Three Forks, Montana (elevation 4,032 feet) and flows 2,714 miles to near St. Louis, Missouri. Many people consider the Missouri to be the main reach of the Mississippi River!  
ThMissouri River Ribbon Mape Missouri River, flowing east and then south for thousands of miles is North America’s longest river. It is a gem of natural resources and a vital transportation pathway. Nicknamed the “Big Muddy” and “Dark River” because of its silt material, the river begins at the confluence of the Madison and Jefferson Rivers in the Rocky Mountains of western Montana. The river flows across eastern Montana, then continues through the center of the Dakotas on its southern trek, before becoming the state line between Nebraska and Iowa, then dividing Kansas from  Missouri. The Missouri travels east again across the upper part of the state that carries its name before entering the Mississippi River just north of St. Louis.The Missouri River valley was the home of several Native American tribes around 1500,  including the Mandan, Arikara, Missouria, Lakota, Hidatsa, and Otoe, among others. French explorers Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette, in 1673, were the first Europeans to see the Missouri River. However, it was the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804-1806) that produced the most promise and paved the way for the Missouri River to define the American Frontier. The discovery of a navigable Missouri River route made possible the growth of the fur trade in the  early 1800s. Fur trappers in the upper Missouri River basin bartered iron, brass, knife, blankets, cloth, metal, firearms, metal containers, and even alcohol with Indians, for beaver pelts and the hides of bison and buffalo.The function of the Missouri River has changed over time, and today, tourism and recreation are the two key features of the river. Kayaking, canoeing, bird watching, camping, fishing, and hiking are some of the activities that can be enjoyed on or along the river. The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, which crosses eleven U.S. states and retraces the course of Louis and Clark Expedition, is a feature attraction along the Missouri River. Still, the Missouri River flows through or past many National Historic Landmarks including the Big Hidatsa Village Site in North Dakota, and Montana’s Fort Benton, among others. There is plenty to explore and enjoy!

Click here to read about Lisa’s new rendition of the historic Lewis and Clark Expedition! 

Lewis and Clark Expedition Map 1804-1806

Return to Mississippi River Tributary Feature

Ohio River, Custom Ribbon Map by Lisa Middleton

THE OHIO RIVER, from the series, TRIBUTARIES OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER
c Pat Middleton, greatriver.com

Numerous overnight cruising paddleboats are once more cruising the Ohio River! Our single most popular map of the Mississippi is a Ribbon from 1887 designating all the towns along the river… and map artist, Lisa Middleton, now makes her hand-painted RIBBON MAP of the OHIO RIVER available to all!
Click map image below to visit www.greatriverarts.com>Shop>Ohio River

Ohio River Ribbon Map

Ohio River provided by www.greatriverarts.com

The Ohio River begins in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the confluence of the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River, extending roughly 900 miles downstream and ending in Cairo, Illinois. Throughout time, the Ohio River has been called many names by different civilizations. The Shawnees called it Spaylaywitheepi, the Miami tribes, the Causisseppione, the Delawares, Kitonosipi, and the French, La Belle Riviére, meaning “the beautiful river.” It was called the “River Jordan” by slaves escaping to freedom in the North using the Underground Railroad in early 1800s. The name Ohio comes from the Iroquois word, “O-Y-O,” meaning “the great river”.

As early as 700 B.C., the first humans on the river were the Adena culture, followed by the Hopewell culture around 400 B.C. The Adena culture made their mark on the land erecting unique conical burial mounds along the river’s course and its tributaries. The Hopewells had larger earthen mounds in the same area as the Adenas. Later, the Shawnees, Cherokees, Iroquois, and Miamis, used the Ohio River at different periods as a site to launch violent raids, dubbing the river the “River of Blood” by the tribes.

In the 1670s, the French established trading posts along the Ohio River tributaries, including the Beaver, Wabash, and the Scioto Rivers — but the Ohio River remained unexplored. The first European to see the Ohio River was Frenchman Rene Robert Cavelier Sieur de La Salle in 1669. By the 1880s, the Ohio River became an important commercial route, and also a transportation route for families who migrated to establish settlement in the West.

Today, the Ohio River continues to serve as a major artery for transporting coal, grain, steel, and manufactured articles. The Ohio River is still important to communities, providing drinking water and as well as boating, fishing, swimming, and other water sports.

Other available fine art Ribbon Maps include The Mississippi River and the Missouri River. Please click links to view maps and Tributary information!

We also have two FRENCH maps available with details of the OHIO RIVER. Both Maps are also Rich in Mississippi River info. (To study maps at greatriverarts.com use the Hi Rez magnifying glass that pops up when you hold your cursor over an image.)

Les Etats Unis late 16th Century

Les Etats Unis 1781

Carte de La Louisiane.  Early 16th CenturyCarte De La Louisiane, French United States c.1731

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