When the Roosevelts came to the last island on the Ohio River, they knew from their guide book that they had "good navigable water” from then until they merged with  “the noble stream” of the Mississippi River, where they would “find the velocity of your boat considerably increased by the additional body of water you swim in, and the prospect of the country much altered from that on the Ohio.”

Aftershocks continued every day (though milder than the first most dramatic ones of Dec. 16 and 17). 

(The New Orleans' location on this day is extrapolated based on her average speed between recorded locations.)