6 (D-56) The Mississippi

DAY 6 (D-56)  56 days before we leave.

Louisiana: The Child of the Mississippi.  

The Mississippi River has its source up north in the state of Minnesota, at Lake Itasca.  Minnesota is the "State of 10,000 Lakes".   Lake Itasca...what's the origin of the name?  An Indian name perhaps?  No.

Henry Schoolcraft, an American geographer, during an 1832 expedition to the source of the Mississippi, created the name from two Latin words Veritas Caput -- Ver-- ITAS-CA -- put!  (true head)

From Lake Itasca, the Mississippi River flows 2,340 miles  (3,770 km) to the Gulf of Mexico.     

Mississippi comes from the Native Americans, meaning "Father of Waters" or "Great River."  

Do you know "Ol' Man River"?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh9WayN7R-s  Paul Robeson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuKEhE5R-qM  John William

Jane 

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And for history buffs (= history lovers),  I give you this information from The Oklahoma Historical Society:

In the earliest French records, the name was written “Malabouchi,”’ as given by the Gulf Coast Indians.

By the early French, it was given the name of “La Palisade,” on account of the large cottonwood trees that grew in abundance on the lower passes of the river.

The name would be more accurately spelled “Missisippi” in French, or “Misisipi” in Spanish, both being pronounced Meeseeseepee which is near the sound of the Indian words.

After the exploring expedition of René Robert Cavelier de La Salle down the Mississippi (1682), the French sometimes called the river, “the Colbert,” in honor of the minister and the favorite of Louis XIV.

After 1699, when D’Iberville was locating the first French colonies in the Lower Mississippi region, the river was called “Saint Louis,” in honor of the French King.

Nevertheless, all its European names were forgotten at last, and the Indian name, “Mississippi" is the name we all know.