She bumped against big trees that stood on the edge of the stream, and swashed through bushes that stuck out too far from the banks; but she was built for bumping and scratching, and didn't mind it.

Sometimes she would turn around a corner and make a short cut through a whole plantation of lily-pads and spatterdocks,--or things like them,--and she would scrape over a sunken log as easily as a wagon-wheel rolls over a stone.

She drew only two feet of water, and was flat-bottomed.

When she made a very short turn, the men had to push her stern around with poles.

Indeed, there was a man with a pole at the bow a good deal of the time, and sometimes he had more pushing off to do than he could manage by himself.
When Mr.Chipperton saw what tight places we had to squeeze through, he admitted that it was quite proper not to try to bring the big steam-boats up here.
But the boat didn't stop.