Hardship River is inspired by pieces from my hometown History and you may learn more about them if you consult what the web has to say about the Douro River, Rabelo Boats or the city of Oporto. You may imagine it within any setting, just before a time where dams and dynamite made rivers much safer. The Little Tail is a wooden cargo boat with a flat-bottom, a square sail and a long steering paddle at the stern.