Lyrics already here: BANKS OF THE PLEASANT OHIO

Added verses as work song:
“OHIO
In 1804, a company was formed at Granville, Mass., with the intention of making a settlement in Ohio. This, called “the Scioto Company,” was the third of that name which effected settlements in this state. The project met with great favor, and much enthusiasm was elicited; in illustration of which, a song was composed and sung to the tune of “Pleasant Ohio,” by the young people in the house and at labor in the field. We annex two stanzas, which are more curious than poetical:
When rambling o'er these mountains
        And rocks, where ivies grow
Thick as the hairs upon your head,
        'Mongst which you can not go;

Great storms of snow, cold winds that blow,
        We scarce can undergo;
Says I, my boys, we'll leave this place
        For the pleasant Ohio.

Our precious friends that stay behind,
        We're sorry now to leave;
But if they'll stay and break their shins,
        For them we'll never grieve;
Adieu, my friends! come on my dears,
        This journey we'll forego,
And settle Licking creek,
        In yonder Ohio.” [p.976]

“ILLINOIS
With all the vivacity of the French character, they (voyageurs) have little of the intemperance and brutal coarseness usually found among the boatmen and mariners. They are patient under fatigue, and endure an astonishing degree of toil and exposure to the weather. Accustomed to live in the open air, they pass through every extreme, and all the sudden vicissitudes of climate, with little apparent inconvenience. Their boats are managed with expertness, and even grace, and their toil enlivened by the song.” [p.1074]
[Our Whole Country, Or, The Past and Present of the United States, Barber, Howe, 1861]