Contains a lavish portrait of the mighty Ohio, "mountain-born and valley-fed," as it plows its way from its origins in Pittsburgh, PA, through the heart of bucolic middle America, to its final emptying into the Mississippi River at Cairo, IL. The author gives an enterprising description of the grand scenery one might encounter on a voyage down the Ohio, while still maintaining a candid assessment of the geography and history of the Ohio, its tributaries, and environs. Historical recountings begin with the discovery of the river in 1643 by La Salle. Tidbits include such things as a typical bill of fare and cabin construction techniques. The section entitled "Early Settlements" is most useful in terms of tracing family lines and ancestors; it includes abstracts of the memoirs and diaries of both settlers and soldiers, which give brilliant insight to life in pioneer Ohio.