keelboatmen
Flatboat crew members
Keelboatmen were the crews who operated keelboats—long, narrow vessels used to transport cargo on American rivers in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, before steamboats took over.
They poled, rowed, and sometimes towed their boats upstream, work that earned them a reputation for toughness and rowdy behavior.
Mike Fink remains the most famous keelboatman in American folklore.
First to explore territory
- rivermenThose working waterways
- frontiersmenSettlers of unsettled land
- trappersThose who snare wildlife
- settlersThose who establish homes
westward · exploration · wilderness · territory · expansion · voyageurs · scouts · outposts
Propelling craft by push-stick
- rowingPulling oars to move
- toilStrenuous, prolonged effort
- exertionVigorous physical effort
- backbreakingExtremely physically demanding
muscle · strain · endurance · hardship · sweeps · oars · upstream · hauling
Level-bottomed river craft
- bargeFlat freight vessel
- pirogueHollowed-log watercraft
- hullOuter covering or frame
- rudderPivoting stern blade
cargo hold · deck · gunwales · towline · poles · rigging · draft · downstream
pioneers
First to explore territory
- rivermenThose working waterways
- frontiersmenSettlers of unsettled land
- trappersThose who snare wildlife
settlers · westward · exploration · wilderness · territory · expansion · voyageurs · scouts · outposts · trading posts
poling
Propelling craft by push-stick
backbreaking · muscle · strain · endurance · hardship · sweeps · oars · upstream · hauling · towing
flatboat
Level-bottomed river craft
rudder · cargo hold · deck · gunwales · towline · poles · rigging · draft · downstream · upstream
merchandise
Commercial products offered
transport · merchants · trading posts · supplies · provisions · tobacco · whiskey · lead · salt · commodities