The Legacy of a Steamboat Cabin Boy

By James Magner and James A Magner MD

Follow the adventures of a likeable, smart, 17-year-old, steamboat cabin boy, Niall MacCarthy, in this historical mystery/romance inspired by actual events. He is put ashore in 1880, in the river town of Cairo, IL after his first cigar makes him so sick that he can't do his work that day. He witnesses a murder and learns the approximate whereabouts of a sunken strongbox, but he will need to invent a method to find and recover it from the murky depths. While dodging harm from town roughnecks, Niall provides critical assistance to the thirteen-year-old daughter of John D. Rockefeller after she falls from her horse in town. He meets a pretty farm girl, Sarah Baily, who steals his heart. Though she has limited schooling, Sarah is highly intelligent and reveals her amazing mathematical prowess to Niall by her daily work on the farm. The visit of former President Ulysses S. Grant creates opportunities and challenges. Humor abounds as Niall's creativity is tested in the pursuit of the strongbox and his new love, though a violent criminal threatens disaster. The story incorporates historically accurate details about Cairo, President Grant's visit, John D. Rockefeller, his daughter Bessie, as well as actual wealthy citizens of Cairo in the 1880s, such as members of the Halliday and Galigher families.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B08Q6VGMW4
• ISBN13: 9798578652363
• Release Date: December 2020
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 122 Pages
• Weight: 0.42 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"