Mark Twain’s childhood dream was to become a Mississippi riverboat pilot. But in the process of mastering the river, he found it losing its grace, beauty and poetry. This irony is revealed as clearly as the unexpected turns of the river and the recession of a past era in this reading from Twain’s LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI. EJ.
Selections from “Cub” Wants To Be a Pilot • A “Cub” Pilot’s experience; or Learning the River • The Continued Perplexities of “Cub” Piloting