The Mississippi River

The Indians called it the Father of the Waters. Indeed, its name comes from the Algonkian Indian words for "big" (michi) "water" (sipi). Sometimes it's affectionately called the Big Ditch.

The Mississippi is without doubt the most important geographic feature in the eastern United States. It runs 2,300 miles, from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico. At one end, bears prowl through snow; at the other, alligators lie in the sun. With its tributaries, the Mississippi drains all or part of 31 states.

Early History

Early explorers of the Mississippi mainly found disappointment. The Spaniard De Soto searched futilely for gold. The French explorers Marquette and Joliet hoped the Mississippi would be a passage to the Orient. The Frenchman La Salle, the first to travel its length, was killed by his own men.

In 1803, the United States wanted to buy New Orleans, at the mouth of the Mississippi, from the French. To everyone's surprise, Napoleon, in need of money, offered to sell all the land between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains. The Louisiana Purchase, as it was called, gave the United States control of the Mississippi and the ability to expand west.

Many boats soon traveled down the Mississippi, bringing cotton and other goods to New Orleans. But currents made the return trip difficult or impossible. The boats had to be pulled back by ropes tied to trees. Often their owners just destroyed them.

Steamboats

In 1811, the steamboat was introduced to the Mississippi. Skeptics said that such a large boat could never survive the Mississippi's currents, bends, sandbars, and floods. The steamboat New Orleans proved them all wrong, by traveling from Pittsburgh to New Orleans and back. This first trip was quite a test: On the return there was an earthquake!

Steamboats were a great success. The value of goods carried on the Mississippi increased astronomically. The steamboats became large and luxurious. They had ballrooms, pianos in ladies' cabins, velvet chairs, and marble tables.

Commerce and Memories

For a while, at the end of the 19th century, the Mississippi lost out to railroads. But today the river is more important than ever for commerce. Boats - now diesel-powered - carry bulk cargo, like oil, steel, and coal, that trains can't transport. The Mississippi is also a river of history and memories. And you can still take a steamboat from Pittsburgh to New Orleans.

Randee Falk: Spotlight on the USA; Oxford University Press, 1993, page 71

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