![]() They become more extreme the farther south one travels where Wine Lake and Beer River lead to Pleasure Bend, a turning point in the path of alcoholism. At first, they appear reasonably benign: Appetite, Treat Creak, Cider Run. The allegorical Mississippi begins in the north, where various tributary rivers join the main river. Tracy's AllegoryGiven that most of Tracy's temperance work focused in the northern Midwest (Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, etc), the use of the Mississippi River allegory would have been both apt and relatable. From here, the progression is taken up at top left, where our drunkard hero gets involved in bar fights, experiences delirium tremens, commits murder in a pool hall, lands himself in prison, and ultimately meets his fate at the gallows. To our eye, the right side looks fun, but bottom center illustrates the turning point - an illustration that could have been taken from Tracy's own abusive life - where a drunken husband is beating his wife and children. Moving clockwise from this image, further illustrations depict happy toasting with a young lady, enjoying wine with a friend, playing pool at a saloon, enjoying a 'Tom and Jerry' (an early cocktail) at a bar, and a poker game. At top center, a large image reveals a happy sober man at home with his family - the Temperance ideal. ![]() Surrounding the main map are 12 framed vignette images detailing the decline of the drunkard. ![]() ![]() A Drunk's ProgressCenter to the image is a combination view and map representing the 'Mississippi of Intemperance' illustrated with a vignette of the dreaded Delirium Tremens Falls. Tracy, this allegorical broadside employs the metaphor of the Mississippi River to describe the progression and dangers of alcoholism. This is perhaps the most extraordinary and certainly one of the rarest temperance broadsides to emerge out of the 19th century.
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