THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 539 



rate very little known wilds, in the heart of the South 

 American continent. 



Turning now to North America the Mississippi (lit- 

 erally in the original Indian language of the country 

 " The Father of Waters ") may justly be considered to 

 constitute " a mighty source of wealth and strength to 

 the United States." * According to The Scientific 

 American, the Mississippi has no less than 



"600 affluents, and a drainage area of 1,257,545 square 

 miles. The traveller can sail from Pittsburg (on the Ohio) 

 4,300 miles, to Fort Benton, Montana, (on the Missouri), and 

 from Minneapolis 2,200, to Port Eads on the Gulf of Mexico. 

 Should he extend his voyage to the head of navigation upon 

 its 45 navigable tributaries, his journey would extend 16,000 

 miles, through 23 States and Territories of the (United States) 

 Union." f 



This however does not include a vast extent of 

 canoe and boat navigation, upon the head waters of 

 these rivers and other smaller streams, which are com- 

 puted by the Encyclopedia Britannica to jointly amount 

 to a mileage of no less than 35,000 miles. There 

 has been an unfortunate error made by the early geo- 

 graphers of America, as we conceive, in mistaking 

 the course of the present Mississippi beyond its con- 

 fluence with the Missouri, as that of the main river. We 

 humbly venture to think that the real " Father of 

 Waters " is the Mississippi-Missouri, which gives a 

 clear navigable channel from the Gulf of Mexico of 

 about 1226 miles to the mouth of the Missouri, and 



* The Influence of Sea Power on History, by Capt. A. T. Mahan, 

 U.S.N., 1890, p. 36. 



j Scientific American of August 5, 1893. 



Encycl. Brit., gth Edition, Vol. i., p. 675 (Art. "America"). 



