268 SPORT IN NOKTH AMERICA. 



of the globe. So varied are its marvels that it is 

 difficult to decide which is most worthy of admira- 

 tion. For my part, I know nothing to compare 

 with the Mississippi * river, and I think my readers 

 will agree with me when they come to understand 

 the prodigious fecundity which it spreads over the 

 valley which it waters, and the immensity of the 

 space which it covers. 



Almost every country which is traversed by the 

 Mississippi is an alluvium, consisting of black virgin 

 soil which seems only to await the hand of the culti- 

 vator. Not a stone can be found anywhere. This 

 character of the soil renders the river extremely 

 sinuous, and frequently it will burst all bounds, and 

 find a shorter way for itself across some bend which 

 it has previously hollowed out. Thus it happens 

 that the course of the river changes frequently, that 

 considerable tracts of land are submerged and de- 

 stroyed, and that villages which were once upon the 

 right bank of the river are now upon the left. 



The mighty current of the river, as it sweeps over 

 those submerged lands, bears upon its surface the 

 trunks of enormous trees, the relics of some ancient 



* The name Mississippi is a corruption of that which the Indians 

 gave to this river, and which has been poetically translated "the 

 Father of Elvers." I think, however, that the literal translation is 

 more expressive. The word is derived from two Chocktaw words, 

 Missah and SippaJi, signifying old, large, and strong. The Chock- 

 taws once occupied nearly the whole extent of the banks, and tribes of 

 them are still scattered about Ohio and the Floridas. 



