Inland Water-Ways by James Otis

# Museum Catalog Note

Inland Waterways: Or, The Cruise of the Restless by James Otis is a boys' adventure serial featuring three young yachtsmen—Phil, Harry, and Nat—who embark on a four-month voyage in a small naphtha-powered launch called the Restless from Philadelphia. Departing from Market Street Ferry despite superstitious warnings, the boys navigate the Delaware Canal with provisional supplies, fowling pieces, and ammunition. Their journey encounters immediate peril when the yacht's propeller catches a canal boat's tow line in a lock, nearly trapping them between a freight steamer and barges. Quick thinking—particularly Nat's decisive action closing the engine injector and severing the rope—averts disaster, though not before confrontation with an intoxicated boatman. The narrative emphasizes self-governance, teamwork under pressure, and the boys' proving themselves capable mariners despite their inexperience with canal navigation.