The Mississippi River - Facts, Stories and History

The waters of the Mississippi River acted a roadway for the Native American tribes that dotted the land by its shores. With a canoe or raft, and a steering pole, people traveled all along the water way, trading, gathering supplies, or moving entire communities from one place to another. The river was full of fish and other water creatures for sustenance, and the river land was deep and rich, providing ground nutrients to agricultural crops. The Europeans arrived on the river in the early 1500s, with an exploration group led by the Spaniard Fernando De Soto. They were looking for plunder and exploitation of the tribes, but what they got was a surprise. At some point it must have seemed to them as if the very river itself was against them. The explorers disastrous first encounter with Mississippi River flooding, and were ultimately killed by its waters--as they attempted to flee in crafts defending tribes had set afire.

Eventually more European explorers and colonists began to travel the Mississippi, though, recognizing its value. The entire river was claimed by France at one point, then parts were briefly passed on to the Spanish before lower river was handed over to the Americans as part of the Louisiana Purchase. Americans pushed into the Mississippi River area in numbers, building homes, towns, cities and using the waterways as a means to connect it all. The first steamboat, the New Orleans, sailed the river in 1811, thus setting the stage for one of the most historic and romantic periods of the Mississippi River history. Though intrepid souls will still take a canoe to the smaller tributaries of the Mississippi, even today a riverboat ride is, to some, a ride through history.

One man does not make a river, but the writer Mark Twain is probably more associated with the Mississippi River, its stories, legends and history, than any other person. People, readers of Twain's books and those who simply know the stories, feel that they know the river and have a connection to it, just from his telling of tales. Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer and their adventures on and around the river have entertained many a generation. The riverboats, too, with their paddles and steam engines capture the imagination of people. The mildest-mannered people might imagine themselves as riverboat gamblers, wharf rats and others who make their living--and dying, at least in the stories--along the mighty river.

The long expanse of the river makes it similar to a city all on its own. The people on the river--the ones that live and breathe the river, know its sounds and its moods, and can tell when something is going to happen on it just by sight or smell--these speak their own language, and share a connection, even if they are far apart. Fortunes have been made on the river, through shipping and recreation, and they have been lost as quickly. Shameful incidents are sometimes buried, but more often yet another story is created around them--sometimes cautionary, sometimes just a little naughtily triumphant.

The Mississippi River may not be your first thought when you think of a place for mermaids--but that's only because you've probably not heard the stories. Like that of the Pascagoula tribe who, seeking an escape from the Europeans, saw a mermaid rise from the river, singing a beautiful song. The entire tribe followed the mermaid's song into the river, drowning--yet, it is said, they sing her praises from the bottom of the river to this day.

Ghosts, however, go with the Mississippi like ice cream and pie. They seem particularly fond of river mansions, hiding in attics, walking the halls and, of course, gracefully posing under leaf-laden trees. You can't walk far along the river without encountering a ghost--or at least their story. They usually hang about after a botched love affair, an unusual death or to revenge themselves on a hated place long after they've died. The ghosts, and stories, vary by region, culture and what messages or lessons they are needed to impart. Most tend to be Native American, European American and African American, to go along with the majority of the people of the Mississippi River region. If you're traveling the river, staying in the homes and inns of the area, and you come across doors that lock themselves, beds that scoot, and walls that knock--well, then you'll have your own Mississippi River story to tell.

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