"Distributed by the University of Nebraska Press for Caxton Press"
One hundred years before dams were built on the Columbia-Snake river system, steamboats carried cargo and people to the farthest reaches of those waterways. Where water flowed, sturdy boats and bold captains went - with no locks, dams, or artificial navigation aids. Bill Gulick, dean of Northwest history writers, tells the story of this colorful period in the region's history.