USA > Louisiana > Louisiana; comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions, and persons, Volume II > Part 19
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to be given on the public squares on evenings while church was in session ; negroes were prohibited from holding meetings of any ยท kind after nightfall ; no large assemblage of the people was to take place without knowledge of the government; no citizen was to leave the city without a passport ; gambling, dueling and the carry- ing of weapons were placed under ban; the inhabitants were not to purchase anything from soldiers, Indians, convicts or slaves; no liquor was to be sold to soldiers, Indians nor slaves; verbal sales and transfers of slaves was forbidden; better fire protection and drainage were recommended; no hogs were to be allowed to rnn at large, and the number of dogs kept by any one family was regulated. It was during his administration that negotiations were commenced for the separation of the western country from the United States. In 1791 he issued a proclamation that no clocks, boxes, coins, or other articles bearing the figure of the goddess of liberty should be brought into Louisiana. Gov. Miro was popular outside of his own domain, as was evidenced by the naming of the Cumberland river region "Miro district," in his honor. In Oct., 1790, he wrote to the Spanish government, asking for a place in the department of the Indies. In his letter he said: "I have now had the honor of serving the king, always with distinguished zeal, for thirty years and three months, of which twenty-one years and eight months in America." His request was granted the fol- lowing year, and late in 1791 he sailed with his wife, formerly a Miss Macarty of New Orleans, for Spain, where he rose to the rank of mariscal de campo, or lieutenant-general. While governor he was called upon to act as a judge of residence in the investiga- tion of the official acts of Gov. Galvez. When it is considered that he was a warm friend of Galvez, under whom he had served. the results of the investigation can be easily imagined. He left the people of Louisiana thoroughly reconciled to the Spanish domina- tion. Gayarre says: "He had a sound judgment, a high sense of honor, and an excellent heart ; he had received a fair college educa- tion, knew several languages, and was remarkable for his strict morality and his indefatigable industry."
Missionary, a little village in the northeast corner of Caddo parish, is located on the Red river a short distance south of the state line and about 5 miles cast of Ida, which is the nearest rail- road station. It has a money order postoffice, is a landing for the Red river steamers, does some shipping by water, and is a trading point for the neighborhood.
. Missions, Early Catholic .- (See Catholic Church.)
Missions, Protestant .- (See Protestant Churches.)
Mississippi Bubble .- (See Western Company.)
Mississippi River .- No single physical feature of the state of Louisiana has so vital and important a connection with the history and development of the region as the Mississippi river. It consti- tutes the great liquid highway of the state for a distance of nearly 600 miles, following the sinuosities of the stream, the upper half forming the boundary line between Louisiana and Mississippi, and
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the lower half traversing the fertile and populous southeastern section of the state. On its broad bosom, ascending and descend- ing, floated the first explorers and settlers, who made possible the beginnings of the commonwealth. Along its banks and tributary streams the first permanent white settlements were made. Down to the era of railroads and rapid overland travel, the river carried the chief commerce of the province and state as well as the princi- pal tide of immigration. A large proportion of the rich alluvial soil of the state was once held in suspension within its turbid flood, whence it was gradually deposited through geologic ages in the form of silt. The Mississippi river constitutes the great boundary line between the eastern and western states, and its waters give commercial entrance to the very heart of the United States. The famed Crescent City, metropolis of the South, and the second port in the country, is located upon it only a few score miles from the gulf, at a point where the giant stream in its incessant work of building and destroying has shaped its banks into the concave and convex edges of the moon in its first quarter.
Nomenclature : The river has been known historically by many names, and its final name of "Mississippi" is of Indian derivation. It would appear that the Southern Indians and those along the gulf coast knew it by the name of Malabouchia, as written by the first French explorers. Some have attempted to trace the derivation of Mississippi to the Choctaw "mish-sha-sippukni," trans- lated "beyond age." Le Page du Pratz tried to explain the Indian name Mechasepi as a contraction of "meact-chassipi," meaning the "ancient father of waters." In the time of La Salle and Marquette the Indians of the Northwest called the stream Mechee Seepee, or something sounding like that. "Meeche" or "missi" has the same meaning as the "Micco" of the Creeks and other Muscogees, mean- ing great as an adjective, and chief as a noun. The Michi of Michi- gan is the same word, as is possibly the Massa of Massachusetts. Mississippi means great water, or great river. A more accurate spelling would be Missisipi, the French orthography, or Misisipi, the Spanish form, both pronounced Meeseeseepee, which is prob- ably close in sound to the Indian spoken words.
In the 16th and 17th centuries the river was known to the Span- iards chiefly under the name of the Rio del Espiritu Santo, or the River of the Holy Ghost. It was also variously called by them the Rio Grande del Florida, the Rio Grande del Espiritu Santo, or simply the Rio Grande. By the French it was given the name of La Palisade (Spanish Los Palissados), on account of the numerous upright snags and young cottonwood trees found on the bars and passes at the mouth. After its exploration by Marquette and La Salle, it is called the Colbert in honor of the great minister of Louis XIV. Subsequent to the founding of the French colony by Iberville in 1699, it was named the St. Louis, in honor of the King of that name. Eventually all these later names yielded to the ancient Indian name. Father Marquette was the first to introduce the name into geography (1672), and spelled it Miteliisipi. Charle-
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voix, in his Historical Journal of 1744, gave the name as Misisipi or Micissippi: Hennepin (1698) spelled it Mechasipi or Mechacebe ; Daniel Coxe, Merchacebe. The present spelling is adapted from the French and Spanish spelling, the consonants being doubled to indicate the short sound of i.
Historical : During the two centuries of exploration which fol- lowed the voyages of Columbus practically nothing was learned of the great river of the west. True, De Soto seems to have known of the river under the caption of "Rio del Espiritu Santo," and actually stumbled upon it in 1841 during his aimless rambles through what is now the Southern states. He formally named it in the presence of his army, "El Rio Grande de la Florida," and after his death and secret burial in the river, his successor in com- mand, Luis de Moscoso, descended the Mississippi to the Gulf, accompanied by the miserable remnant of De Soto's expedition.
So little was known of the river by the 17th century colonists of Canada, that when they were told by the Indians of a great river flowing through the continent, cutting it in two, they inferred that it flowed from cast to west, and would thus furnish them with a western passage to China. The belief that the South sea could be thus reached was the inspiration of the voyage of Marquette and Joliet (q. v.) in 1672. It was learned by them that the Mississippi emptied into the Gulf of Mexico, instead of the California sea, and it was left to the indomitable La Salle to complete the voyage to the mouth in 1682. Here, on April 9, 1682, with all possible cere- mony he took possession in the name of his king of the Mississippi river, of all rivers that enter into it and of all the country watered by them, and called the country Louisiana. Thus was established the French claim to all that vast region of the Mississippi valley. In the interval between this voyage of La Salle's and the establish- ment of the first French colony in Louisiana by Iberville in 1699, it is probable that more than one zealous missionary and venture- some trader dared the perils of the long voyage down the river. During the period of French domination of the river, extending from 1699 to 1763, their outposts were to be found at frequent in- tervals up and down the length of the stream, then wholly within the French province of Louisiana.
Navigation and Trade: By the terms of the treaty of Paris in Feb., 1763, it was "agreed that for the future, the limits between the possessions of His Most Christian Majesty and those of his Britannic Majesty in that part of the world shall be irrevocably fixed by a line drawn along the middle of the River Mississippi, from its source to the River iberville, and from thence by a line in the middle of that stream and of the Lakes Maurepas and Pont- chartrain to the sea. .. with the understanding that the navi- gation of the Mississippi shall be free and open to the subjects of his Britannic Majesty as well as those of his most Christian Majesty, in all its length from its source to the sea, and particu- larly that part of it which is between said Island (of New Orleans, retained by France) and New Orleans and the right .bank of the
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river, including egress and ingress at its mouth. * It is further stipulated that the ships of both nations shall not be stopped on the river, visited, or subjected to any duty." France had already, by the secret treaty of Nov. 3. 1762, given all of the province of Louisiana west of the Mississippi and the city and island of New Orleans to Spain, which latter country took posses- sion a few years later. Spain, however, did not interfere with the English rights of navigation, except as smuggling was prohibited, until, as an ally of France, she declared war on England during the American revolution. When peace was concluded in 1782, England agreed to a declaration of American bounds on the Mississippi iden- tical to those made by the treaty of 1763. as far south as the original line of British West Florida. It was also provided that "the navi- gation of the river Mississippi from its source to the, ocean, shall forever remain free and open to the subjects of Great Britain and the citizens of the United States." (See Early River Commerce.)
After the independence of the American colonies was established, the United States claimed the equal right of navigation on the Mississippi river as the successor of Great Britain, as a natural right. The period from 1783 to 1795 was filled with fruitless negotiations between the United States and Spain respecting the navigation and control of the Mississippi, complicated by Spanish opposition to the 31st parallel as the southern boundary of the United States on the Mississippi ; and further complicated by Indian questions, negotia- tions with England and France, and by the commercial antagonism between the Atlantic states of the Northeast and the western terri- tories bordering on the Mississippi. In the early negotiations between the Spanish minister at Philadelphia, Don Diego de Gar- doqui, and John Jay, secretary of foreign affairs, during 1785-6, Gardoqui frankly stated that the Spanish made a conquest of the country east of the Mississippi river and proposed to hold it as well as the exclusive control of the river. Jay's plan for a commercial treaty with Spain was submitted to Congress in 1786 and secretly debated. It provided that during the life of the treaty the United States, without relinquishing any right, would forbear to navigate the Mississippi river below their territories to the gulf. The de- bates in Congress leaked out, and though the proposed treaty re- ceived the support of seven northeastern states, chiefly interested in the Atlantic trade, it was defeated by the opposition of the. southern delegates in Congress, who were closer to the western. pioneer and better understood his needs and sentiments.
The settlement of Kentucky had vastly increased in 1784-6, and the shipment of flour, whisky and other products by flatboats and barges, to New Orleans from as far up as Pittsburg, was the com- mercial outlet that promised profitable returns to the producer,. transportation by wagons over the mountains being too expensive. The settlers on the upper Tennessee and Cumberland rivers also depended altogether on river communication. Hence Congress and the eastern people began to hear in 1787 that the inhabitants of the west were highly irritated about the "Jay treaty," that Kentucky
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proposed to secede from Virginia, that the Cumberland people were talking of an expedition to take possession of Natchez and New Orleans, and that John Sullivan was organizing a similar movement in Kentucky. Finally, in September, 1788, Congress absolved the members from secrecy on the subject, and resolved that "the free navigation of the river Mississippi is a clear and essential right of the United States, and that the same ought to be considered and supported as such."
It is not strange that the young republic of the West, torn by internal dissensions and jealousies, and only loosely knit together under the Articles of Confederation, failed to impose. her will on proud old Spain. With the adoption of the present Federal consti- tution bringing the states into closer union and yielding vastly greater powers to the general government, some hope of success- ful negotiation was permitted, and the Washington administration vigorously undertook the task. President Washington himself never wavered in his determination to assert American rights on the Mississippi and to hold the West to its allegiance. but again all negotiations with Spain were fruitless for several years. Spain even fortified the Walnut hills and showed no signs of yielding her control of the river. She even intrigued in every possible way to promote the secession of the west at this time. Her answer to the American demand for free navigation of the Mississippi was a proposal that American vessels unload their cargoes on American soil (at Cairo or some other convenient point) to be reshipped to New Orleans in Spanish bottoms. She would not dare permit American vessels to enter the mouth of the river free, for fear England would claim the same privilege. She further hinted at smuggling and attempts by Americans to incite the French popu- lation to independence, etc. In 1794 Col. Humphreys was sent to Madrid, charged among other things, to insist upon immediate and full enjoyment of the river navigation, with a free port at New Orleans or near there: the relinquishment of all pretensions to territory above the 31st parallel; to suggest to Spain that the Western people were impatient, and that whatever they might do the United States would never abandon them. Finally, Spain agreed in Dec .. 1794, to proceed with a treaty "with the utmost dispatch." This did not prevent further pretexts for delay on the part of Spain, and it was not until Oct. 27, 1795. that Thomas Pinckney, who had been sent to Madrid to take up the negotiations as envoy extraordinary, was able to conclude the treaty of San Lorenzo with Manuel de Godoy, Spanish secretary of state. This treaty was ratified on March 3, 1796, and among other things it stated: "It is agreed that the western boundary of the United States, which separates them from the Spanish colony of Lou- isiana, is in the middle of the channel or bed of the Mississippi river, from the northern boundary of the said states to the comple- tion of the 31st degree of latitude north of the equator. And his Catholic Majesty has likewise agreed that the navigation of said river, in its whole breadth, from its source to the ocean, shall be
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free only to his subjects and the citizens of the United States, unless he should extend this privilege to the subjects of other powers by special convention." In consequence of this stipulation "His Cath- olic Majesty will permit the citizens of the United States, for the space of three years from this time, to deposit their merchandise and effects in the port of New Orleans, and to export them from thence without paying any other duty than a fair price for the hire of the stores, and his Majesty promises either to continue this per- mission, if he finds during this time, that it is not prejudicial to the interests of Spain, or, if he should not agree to continue it there, he will assign to them on another part of the Mississippi, an equivalent establishment." In 1799, Juan Morales, intendant of Louisiana, held that the 3 years had expired and issued an order prohibiting the use of a depot at New Orleans, but named no other place of deposit on the river. This aroused great indignation throughout the West and the general government prepared to re- dress the wrongs upon its rights and commerce upon the Missis- sippi. The strain was somewhat relieved in 1800 when Spain made certain concessions at New Orleans, resulting in the revival of com- merce. Peaceful relations were once more disturbed when on Oct. 16, 1802, Morales again suspended the right of deposit, though he claimed to act on his own responsibility alone. The suspension worked disaster to New Orleans, almost producing a famine by stopping the shipment of flour and other western produce, and aroused another storm of protest in the West, coupled with threats of secession from the Union by the more restless spirits. While the port of New Orleans was thus closed to foreign commerce and American deposits, the proclamation of Morales stopped short of absolute prohibition of trade. Americans were allowed to land their produce on payment of a duty of 6 per cent. if the goods were for the Louisiana market, and even to export them in Spanish bottoms on payment of an additional duty. When in 1803 Napo- leon gave up his dream of an American empire and ceded Lou- isiana to the United States, the question of navigation and trade on the Mississippi was finally settled for all time.
Physical features: The great length of the Mississippi river, taken in connection with the number and character of its tribu- taries, the total area drained. the immense system of internal navi- gation afforded, and the population contiguous to its banks, renders it one of the most striking topographical features of the earth. Together with its subordinate basins the Mississippi valley com- prises an area of 2,455.000 square miles, extending through 30 de- grees of longitude and 23 degrees of latitude. (The Mississippi River, J. W. Foster ).
The combined lengths in miles of the different grand tributaries as given by the eminent authority Jenkins are as follows: Lower Mississippi and Missouri, 4,194; Lower and Upper Mississippi, 2,615; Gulf of Mexico to source of Ohio, 2.373; Gulf of Mexico to source of Arkansas. 2.209; Gulf of Mexico to source of Red, 1,520.
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Humphreys and Abbot have thus described the character of the Lower Mississippi: "At the mouth of the Missouri, the Missis- sippi first assumes its characteristic appearance of a turbid and boiling torrent, immense in volume and force. From that point, its waters pursue their devious way for more than 1,300 miles, de- stroying banks and islands at one locality, reconstructing them at another, absorbing tributary after tributary, without visible in- crease in size-until, at length, it is in turn absorbed in the great . volume of the gulf."
In former years, before the levee system had reached its present degree of perfection, the river in times of flood often reached a width of 30 miles or more, and as the waters gradually sought their way to the gulf, and the river resumed its normal channel, the rich sedimentary deposits left behind on the bottoms by the river, created those rich alluvial basins for which Louisiana is famous. (See Levees.)
A feature of the river often remarked upon is, that its width is not increased by the absorption of any tributary, however large; thus, at Rock Island, nearly 1,800 miles from its mouth, it is 5,000 feet wide, while at New Orleans, and where it enters the gulf, swollen by the volumes of the Missouri, Ohio, Arkansas, Yazoo and Red rivers, it is dwarfed to 2.470 feet. (Humphreys and Ab- bot). Jenkins gives the following dimensions for the river at different points: Its breadth from Cairo to Helena, Ark., is over a mile, or from 5,282 feet to 5,875 feet. From Helena. Ark., to the mouth of the Red river, it is less than a mile wide, or from 4,030 feet to 4,750 feet in width. From Red river to Baton Rouge it is 3,260 feet in width, and from Baton Rouge to the head of the passes, it is a little less than half a mile wide, or from 2,605 feet to 2,628 feet, thus gradually decreasing in width as it flows to the sea.
While the width of the river decreases as we descend the stream, the converse is true in relation to its depth, which decreases as we ascend the stream. The greatest depth is about 117 feet between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, and about 114 feet between Red river and Baton Rouge : between Red river and Natchez 101 feet; between Natchez and Vicksburg 92 feet; between Vicksburg and Helena 84 feet ; between Helena and Memphis 72 feet, and between Memphis and Cairo 72 feet.
Computations show that while there is considerable variation in the breadth and depth of the river, that is, it decreases in width and increases in depth as it flows to the sea, the cross section varies but slightly, the average cross section from Cairo to New Orleans being a little over 200,000 square feet.
The fall of the Lower Mississippi is about .32 of a foot per mile. From the gulf to Red river, a distance of 311 miles, the elevation of the low water surface above sea level is only 3 feet; from Red river to Lake Providence, distance 211 miles, the rise is 66.8 feet, and from Lake Providence to Memphis, distance 312 miles, the rise is 111.9 feet.
The course of the river is in a series of curves, from 10 to 12
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miles in diameter, sweeping around with great uniformity, until it returns to a point very near the one from which it was deflected. The current continually encroaches on the alluvial banks, until finally, during high flood, a erevasse occurs, when nearly the whole volume of water rushes through the newly formed channel. known as a "cut-off." The result of this action is scen in numerous cres- cent-shaped or "ox-bow" lakes which owe their origin to this cause. Sandbars accumulate at the mouth of the ancient channels, on which rushes first take root, and subsequently cottonwood, thus forming lakes, isolated from the river except in time of flood. This universal tendency of all swift rivers to assume the "ser- pentine" or "S" shape has been everywhere noted, and is well illustrated in the lower reaches of the Mississippi from Cairo to New Orleans. It is nowhere rock-bound in its lower course, and the soft, sandy banks yield readily to the erosive power of the swift current. The main channel. and hence the fastest current, shows the well known displacement toward the outward bank of the curve, its closeness to the bank depending upon the strength of the curvature of the particular turn. In other words, the stronger the curve, the greater the displacement of the swift current, the more sluggish the water along the inner bank, and the greater the amount of deposit. the final result being a cut-off, when the river cuts through the neck of a lobe or spur in its search for a shorter path. The erosion of one bank is always accompanied by filling along the other, so that the width of the river remains fairly constant. This constant erosion of the banks, when unprotected by revetments, have brought about marked changes in the course of the great river, many of these changes taking place within the memory of those still living. A striking example is to be seen at Raleigh landing, about 15 miles above Vicksburg, Miss., which in 12 years was forced back over a mile. The same sort of process is going on at St. Joseph, La .. Fort Adams and Grand Gulf, Miss., and at numerous other points on the river. An excellent example of a large cut-off meander is at Davis's cut off, Palmyra lake, just south of Vicksburg. Says Bulletin 36 (p. 598) of the American Geographical Society: "It has been reported recently that the down valley migration of the curve above Sargent's point, below Vicksburg, has allowed the river to cut through the neck and return to its former course, long known as Lake Palmyra. By this change several cotton plantations were practically ruined, Davis' island was restored to the Mississippi mainland, and further growth of the meander below Davis's cut-off was probably stopped."
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