[Libs-Or] Identifying Oregon Book

[Robin Beerbower]

Can someone help with a query from a Washington colleague?  Following is from his patron.  I suggested Nard Jones and will steer him to the Oregon authors site and 100 Oregon Books list, but maybe someone knows the answer.  Thanks!

"The second was about a boy who lost his family in an Indian attack in 
Oregon who then grew up on river boats (paddle wheelers/steamboats) on 
the Columbia, Umpqua, and Umatilla Rivers (at least). Not sure if it was 
fiction or non-fiction. Thanks ...
The second book I read in grade school (which is about 35-38 years ago), 
was after the Oregon Trail period - the book starts with the family 
already settled in the NW Territory and they get attacked by Indians and 
the boy runs off and survives. Then somehow he meets up with a steamboat 
captain and lives with him and travels up and down the Columbia and the 
Pacific in steamboats. Hmmm, maybe it was just a childhood dream??? :-):-)
Was more of an adult book I believe. I recall it was quite thick for my 
age - about 400 pages?
Patron:
14:24:00 2011/05/16 (GMT -0700) Here is an article that names a lot of 
the steamboats that were in the book...
http://www.nwcouncil.org/history/Steamboats.asp "





Robin Beerbower
Fiction Selector
 & Homebound Services
Salem Public Library
PO Box 14810 (97309)
585 Liberty SE (97301)
Salem, OR  
503-588-6089