Since its discovery by Captain John Smith in 1608, the Nanticoke has never been particularly hospitable to the outsider. Flowing thirty-six miles from its source above Seaford, Delaware, to the Chesapeake Bay below Salisbury on Marylands Eastern Shore, it is surrounded by mosquito-ridden and low-lying marshland. Hedeen concentrates on the natural history and ecology of the river area, but especially on those aspects that have given rise to fascinating stories and legends.