Download Characters on the River

READING FOR INFORMATION – A CAPT PRACTICE
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Early Exploration and Development
"Let the land rejoice, for you have
bought Louisiana for a Song."
- General Horatio Gates to
President Thomas Jefferson, July 18, 1803
As glaciers receded toward Canada around 6000 B.C., moundbuilding
cultures moved into the Mississippi River basin. By the 1500s, the
region's estimated population totaled 1.3 million residents before the
arrival of European explorers who introduced superior weaponry and
deadly diseases, severely reducing the native population.
The Spanish and French were the first Europeans to explore and lightly
colonize the river basin in the 1500s and 1600s. The British soon joined
them, and as the fur trade became highly profitable, Americans vied for
their share of the rich resources. New Orleans was the key to river
commerce, however, so whoever controlled this port city controlled the
flow of trade. After whirlwind negotiations with France to acquire the
city in 1803, the United States found itself the new owner of the entire
Mississippi River valley.
The Louisiana Purchase led to further expeditions and war in the 1800s,
changing the course of history for several nations. It cleared the way
for Americans to expand westward. It spelled the beginning of the end
of traditional life for Native Americans. It released France to
concentrate its war campaign in Europe. It sowed the seeds of another
war between Britain and the United States, and it severely cramped the
expansion of the Spanish Empire in North America.
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A Multiple-Choice Question for you:
1. The Mississippi River was important to the early explorers
because
_____ A. it was a place for European countries to battle for control of
new North American colonies.
_____ B. it introduced new raw materials that were important to
European warriors.
_____ C. it allowed Europeans to communicate effectively with each
other.
_____ D. as glaciers melted, the river allowed the explorers to move
northward.
Do you know …?
After the French and Indian War ended in 1763, victorious England
claimed all territory east of the Mississippi River. They were not
interested in the land west of the river since it was considered
uninhabitable and worthless.
Exploration in the 1500s and 1600s
Hernando De Soto and his Spanish army
embarked from Cuba in 1539 on their quest to
find "El Dorado," the legendary cities of gold.
They journeyed through several present-day
southern states before reaching the
Mississippi River in 1541. The army forged on through Arkansas and
Texas before returning to Louisiana, expending three years on the
expedition.
De Soto introduced horses and armor to North America - along with
smallpox, measles, yellow fever, and typhoid. When De Soto died of a
fever himself in 1543, the Mississippi River became his watery grave.
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In 1673, Jesuit priest Jacques Marquette and French fur trader Louis
Joliet paddled the Mississippi down to the mouth of the Arkansas
River. There they turned back, fearful of the Spanish in the region,
unaware that they were only ten days away from the Gulf of Mexico.
In 1682, Frenchman Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, set up
trading posts down the Mississippi River. Reaching the mouth of the
river, he claimed the entire river basin for King Louis XIV. Five years
later, La Salle returned to America with four ships and 300 colonists.
He missed the mouth of the Mississippi by over 400 miles and landed
near present-day Corpus Christi, Texas. Shipwrecks, smallpox and
hostile natives nearly destroyed the colony. As 36 survivors struggled
north to reach established French trading posts, La Salle was
murdered by his own men.
A Multiple-Choice Question for you:
2. This passage illustrates that the explorers’ experiences with the
Mississippi River were
_____A. exciting and profitable.
_____ B. mysterious and entertaining.
_____ C. risky and successful .
_____ D. dangerous and disappointing.
Do you know … ?
One of La Salle's ships, La Belle, had sunk during a storm in 1686. Over 300 years
later, it was miraculously found and recovered from beneath the mud of Texas'
Matagorda Bay. Much of the hull survived intact and over a million artifacts were
recovered. In 1997, Texas A&M University's Conservation Research Laboratory
began to preserve the priceless artifacts. Even the hull was carefully taken apart for
conservation and re-assembled for eventual display.
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Trade
In the early 1800s, trade with Native Americans dealt primarily with beaver pelts,
because the durable fur was so water-resistant that beaver hats had become all
the rage in Europe and America! Other animals trapped for their fur included fox,
mink, otter, muskrat, and white-tailed deer.
Most native traders had little use for money, however, and were confused by the
variety of European currencies still circulating in America. Instead, they
exchanged their pelts for rifles, kettles, glass beads, cloth, blankets, and liquor.
The fur trade along the Mississippi River flourished into the 1840s. After that time,
however, most Indian tribes had been "removed" to the West.
A Multiple-Choice Question for you:
3. This passage suggests that native traders can best be described as being
_____ A. practical.
_____ B. unfriendly.
_____ C. greedy.
_____ D. outwitted.
Do you know … ?
The monetary term "buck" derived from fur trade slang. Around 1800 the standard
price for the skin of an adult male deer was one dollar, hence "a buck" for a dollar.
And beaver fur was expensive, so hat makers experimented with cheap rabbit fur by
treating it with mercury salts. Prolonged exposure often led to mercury poisoning,
causing jerky movements and dementia … leading to the expression "mad as a
hatter."
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"The future destinies of the Republic … all eyes, all hopes are fixed on you."
- President Thomas Jefferson to James Monroe, 1803
Control of the Mississippi
After American colonists won their independence from Britain in 1781, lands east
of the Mississippi River became states or territories in the new United States of
America. However, control over Louisiana Territory west of the river seesawed
back and forth between Spain and France, and whoever controlled New Orleans
controlled commerce on the river. Periodically, this port city was closed to
American traders, and frontiersmen west of the Appalachians threatened to
secede from the United States!
A desperate President Jefferson sent James Monroe to France, secretly
authorizing $9 million for the purchase of New Orleans. (Ambassador Robert
Livingston had been given congressional approval to spend only $2 million.)
When France offered to sell the entire territory for $15 million, the Americans
swiftly agreed even though unauthorized to do so!
Congress reluctantly ratified the treaty on October 20, 1803, purchasing 828,000
square miles for roughly 4 cents an acre. America had just acquired land and
natural resources far richer than anyone's wildest dreams.
A Multiple-Choice Question for you:
4. Judging from the information offered in this passage, the Louisiana
Purchase was
_____ A. an illegal act.
_____ B. an unexpected bargain.
_____ C. a foolish bit of business.
_____ D. a foreshadowing of the Civil War.
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Do you know … ?
It was unclear whether France even owned Louisiana in 1803, because Napoleon
had failed to honor his promises to Spain according to their earlier treaty of 1800!
Expeditions and War in the Early 1800s
The Lewis and Clark Expedition:
Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were chosen by President Jefferson
to explore the Louisiana Territory and to report on land formations, plant life, and
climate. In 1804, the Corps of Discovery set up Camp River Dubois on the
Mississippi near present-day towns of Alton and Wood River, Illinois. On May 14
the men crossed the Mississippi to head west via the Missouri River.
Surviving a two-year and 8,000 mile expedition that took the Corps of Discovery
to the Pacific Ocean and back, the men returned to St. Louis on September 23,
1806. It was the beginning of exciting prospects for the new American West!
The Northern Expedition of Zebulon Pike:
In 1805, before Lewis and Clark returned to St. Louis, Lieutenant Zebulon Pike
was sent to the upper Mississippi to explore the river's headwaters. His
expedition covered 2,000 miles by boat and on foot from St. Louis up through
northern Minnesota, where he mistakenly named Leech Lake as the source of the
Mississippi River. (Not until 1832 did Henry Schoolcraft correctly identify Lake
Itasca as the river's source.)
The War of 1812
During continuing wars with France, the British imposed a blockade on U.S. trade
and kidnapped American sailors for service in the British Navy. In retaliation, the
woefully under-prepared United States declared war on England.
The British encouraged hostile bands of Sauk and Meskwaki to besiege Fort
Madison - the first US military post on the upper Mississippi River in the present
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state of Iowa. After many soldiers were killed and garrison cattle slaughtered, the
commanding officer abandoned the fort in September 1813.
On January 8, 1815, the British fleet attacked New Orleans - a city defended by
General Andrew Jackson and a ragtag assembly of Western militia, French
pirates, Choctaw Indians, and freed slaves. Outnumbered two to one, American
artillery and sharpshooters stopped the British in their tracks!
Some Multiple-Choice Questions for you:
5. The Lewis and Clark Expedition was an important event in American
history because it
_____ A. found the Corps of Discovery and brought it back to St. Louis.
_____ B. discovered the Pacific Ocean.
_____ C. provided motivation for future explorations.
_____ D. proved that President Thomas Jefferson was a brilliant leader.
6. Zebulon Pike’s Northern Expedition
_____ A. was a total mistake.
_____ B. found Minnesota at Lake Itasca.
_____ C. was led successfully by Henry Schoolcraft.
_____ D. occurred simultaneously with the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
7. According to the information in this article, the War of 1812
_____ A. was fought between the Sauk and Meskwaki tribes.
_____ B. was fought between the French and the Choctaw Indians.
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_____ C. ended in New Orleans in 1815.
_____ D. found the American armed forces to be inadequately ready for battle.
Do you know … ?
The astonishing victory at the Battle of New Orleans did not end the War of 1812 …
it was already over! The Treaty of Ghent had been signed in Belgium on December
24, 1814, but it was nearly three months later before the news reached New Orleans
from Europe.
The Indian Removals
"I loved my towns, my cornfields, and the home of my people.
I fought for it. It is now yours. Keep it as we did."
- Chief Black Hawk, 1832
In 1829, President Andrew Jackson ordered Native Americans to relocate onto
land west of the Mississippi River. The Sauk and Meskwaki (formerly known as
Sac and Fox) were split into two camps - one accommodating, one defiant. Sauk
Chief Black Hawk led nearly 1400 followers back across the Mississippi to reclaim
their homelands in southwestern Illinois in 1832.
Illinois militia plus 12,000 U.S. Army soldiers chased the rebellious Black Hawk
for four months through Illinois and Wisconsin. The war ended tragically on the
banks of the Mississippi where 300 Sauk warriors, women, and children were
massacred. Retreating into Iowa, the Sauk and Meskwaki were forced to cede
more and more of their land to the US government. By 1845, the tribes were sent
to Indian reservations in Kansas.
Elsewhere, over 52,570 Native Americans were removed from their ancestral
lands. Receiving the worst treatment were 15,000 Cherokee from southeastern
states. Equipped with few wagons, they were marched on foot to Oklahoma
reservations, suffering through starvation, exposure, and a smallpox epidemic
that took the lives of 4,000 men, women, and children. The Cherokees' journey is
known today as "The Trail of Tears."
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A Multiple-Choice Question for you:
8. According to this passage, the “Indian Removals” were
_____ A. Andrew Jackson’s greatest achievement.
_____ B. Chief Black Hawk’s noble accomplishment.
_____ C. the beginnings of the Civil War.
_____ D. part of the process to settle the Mississippi basin.
Do you know … ?
Black Hawk surrendered at Fort Crawford where the fort commander was Zachary
Taylor. Lieutenant Jefferson Davis escorted the chief to a St. Louis prison. Also
serving in the war was the young captain of a volunteer Illinois militia named
Abraham Lincoln.
And in 1856, a small group of Meskwaki purchased 80 acres of land in Tama
County, Iowa. They now own 3,000 acres and are one of the few Native American
tribes to live on or near their original homeland.
River Days
"I can picture that old time to myself now, just as it was then: the white town
drowsing in the sunshine of a summer's morning…the great Mississippi, the
majestic, the magnificent Mississippi, rolling its mile-wide tide along, shining in
the sun."
- Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi
From flatboats to keelboats to steamboats, life on the Mississippi was a world
apart from life on land. Early flatboatmen and keelboatmen led a hard life as they
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guided their cargo to New Orleans, constantly on the lookout for eddies, sunken
trees, and river pirates!
With the advent of steam, however, the public quickly demanded accommodation.
Floating palaces appeared with gambling parlors and beautifully decked saloons.
Showboats provided dockside entertainment that was enthusiastically welcomed
by people living in the river towns. Other river characters included a steady
stream of immigrants who arrived in Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois after gaining
entrance to America through the port city of New Orleans.
There can be no name more synonymous with the river than Samuel Clemens,
more familiarly known as Mark Twain. In books such as Life on the Mississippi,
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain
captured the meaning of 19th century river days.
Today, 175 million tons of freight moves on the Mississippi each year. Grains are
carried south along with coal from Illinois and western Kentucky. North from the
Texas oil fields and Louisiana come gasoline and fuel oil. But rafts, pleasure
boats and steamboat casinos still create their own "river days" up and down the
river!
A Multiple-Choice Question for you:
9. This passage indicate that the Mississippi River in 2009 resembles Mark
Twain’s river because
_____ A. both time periods blend business and pleasure as important river
activities.
_____ B. the river presents dangerous navigation problems.
_____ C. the river is a major entry for immigrants into the United States.
_____ D. people love the sounds and sights of steam engines.
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Do you know … ?
High bulk materials such as timber are actually cheaper to move by river barge
than by train. And barges are measured by acreage … not feet!
From Early Travel to Steamboatin'!
"A steamboat was as beautiful as a wedding cake
without the complications!"
- Mark Twain
Rafts and canoes used by Native Americans and early French explorers were
greatly improved throughout the 1700s. Flatboats moved grains, livestock, and
lumber to New Orleans' markets. But there the boats were sold for firewood,
leaving the men to walk or ride home by land!
The next step in river transportation was the keelboat that floated south but could
also return north because of its V-shaped hull slicing through the water's current.
Gangs of keelboatmen planted long poles in the river bottom and walked along
the cleated deck. Reaching the stern, they would pull up the poles, return to the
bow, and start over again. These labor-intensive return trips, however, often took
three months or more.
Four years after the invention of the steamboat by Robert Fulton, the sidewheeler
New Orleans steamed down the Ohio River to the Mississippi … arriving at the
exact moment of the New Madrid Earthquake of 1811! For days, the boat was
tossed in a maelstrom of falling trees, geysers and rushing channels. Finally at
Natchez, Mississippi, the river calmed and the New Orleans survived its maiden
voyage.
The speed of steam travel soon appealed to travelers. In 1817, it took 25 days to
go upriver by steamboat, but by 1827, only ten days! Later riverboats and
showboats became richly decorated floating places designed for the comfort of
up to 1,600 passengers. With their roaring engines, belching smokestacks,
splashing paddlewheels, and distinctive whistles, the boats were an awesome
power on the river. Dangers awaited, however, from cargo fires and boiler
explosions to hitting underwater snags or shallow sandbars, and the constantly
changing Mississippi kept steamboat pilots on their toes.
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A Multiple-Choice Question for you:
10. With the introduction of the steam engine, travel on the Mississippi
became
_____ A. faster.
_____ B. more comfortable.
_____ C. more versatile.
_____ D. all of the above.
Do you know … ?
A 19-year-old Abraham Lincoln embarked in 1828 on a flatboat trip to New
Orleans' markets. Three years later he again traveled to and from New Orleans
before settling in New Salem, Illinois.
And steamboats often had 3 or more whistles, each with distinct sounds and
patterns that announced to river towns which specific boat was coming 'round the
bend.
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Samuel Clemens / Mark Twain
“… the river told its mind to me without reserve, delivering its most cherished
secrets as clearly as if it uttered them with a voice.”
- Mark Twain
No other literary figure – nor artist, musician, or legendary character – has been
as closely tied to the Mississippi than Mark Twain. After the Civil War halted his
career as a steamboat pilot, Samuel Clemens turned to journalism and literature.
He chose the pen name “mark twain,” a river measurement that signified two
fathoms (12 feet), a safe depth for steamboats.
Clemens’ most autobiographical account of the inhabitants and scenes of
Hannibal, Missouri, was Life on the Mississippi, written in 1883. Yet his childhood
adventures had been most popularly recreated earlier in 1876 for The Adventures
of Tom Sawyer. Using regional dialects and deadpan humor, Mark Twain broke all
the traditional European rules of writing to create a uniquely American novel.
Later in 1884 in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain satirized the dark side
of human nature – greed, corruption, alcoholism, and especially racism – by
using a 14-year-old boy as narrator. ‘Huck Finn’ is a raw yet sweet story of Huck’s
education in life taught by Jim, a runaway slave. Filled with racist attitudes, ‘Huck
Finn’ remains one of the most antiracist novels ever written.
A Multiple-Choice Question for you:
11. Mark Twain was a trail blazer in the development of American literature
because he
_____ A. created a new language with which to tell his stories.
_____ B. used the Mississippi River as the setting for all of his writing.
_____ C. ignored the traditional models of European literature to write about
his childhood adventures.
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_____ D. reflected the negative qualities of American culture in his writing.
Do you know … ?
Mark Twain is nearly as famous for his quotable observations on life as he is for
his novels. A few of his notable lines include:
“When I was a boy of 14 my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the
old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old
man had learnt in seven years.”
“Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I
repeat myself.”
“Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing.
It was here first.”
Characters on the River:
Roustabouts, Minstrels and Showboaters,
Gamblers and Immigrants
Roustabouts
River boatmen were “rude, uneducated…heavy drinkers, coarse frolickers…
bankrupt at the end of the trip…prodigious braggarts…strong, comical,
brave…”
- Mark Twain
Flatboating and keelboating were adventures filled with peril and required
boatmen who were rough and ready, on the lookout for eddies, sandbars and
submerged trees that could rip the hull. Rugged and boisterous, the King of the
Keelboatmen was big Mike Fink. Famous for his brawls, boasts, “cher amis”
romances, and deadly marksmanship, he was a crack shot who liked to shoot
cups of whiskey off the top of another’s head.
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Even though uneducated laborers, boatmen needed to be wily and keep their wits
about them because on the road home – especially on foot – thieves lurked
behind every bend. The world of the boatmen was ultimately brutal; their lives
were hard, their futures limited.
A Multiple-Choice Question for you:
12. A roustabout is a person who
_____ A. tells everyone “about” his adventures.
_____ B. is ready for anything that crosses his path and his job and his life.
_____ C. moves “about” from person to person, looking for a friend.
_____ D. is a skilled worker, respected by friend and foe alike.
Minstrels and Showboaters
“Ah gits weary, an’ sick of tryin’,
Ah’m tired of livin’ and skeered of dyin’
But Ol’ Man River, he jes’ keeps rollin’ along.”
- “Ol’ Man River” from “Showboat” 1927
Showboats with elaborate Victorian gingerbread railings traveled the river from
the mid-1800s into the early 1900s. These floating palaces brought magic,
comedy, song and dance, even political speeches to residents along the banks of
the Mississippi.
The most popular form of entertainment was the minstrel show using “blackface”
that played to the worst racial stereotypes. White entertainers slathered on black,
burnt-cork makeup to perform bawdy sketches and sing in exaggerated black
dialect. Eventually, however, authentic African American musicians such as Scott
Joplin and Louis Armstrong brought ragtime and early jazz upriver.
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One of the first theatrical productions to directly target societal problems was set
on the Mississippi River. Opening on Broadway in 1927, “Showboat” chronicled
life aboard The Cotton Blossom, and dealt squarely with racism, miscegenation,
failed marriage, alcoholism, and gambling.
A Multiple-Choice Question for you:
13. The Mississippi River and the riverboats were popular venues for
_____ A. musical comedy and variety shows.
_____ B. Broadway and off-Broadway shows.
_____ C. racist and gender diatribes.
_____ D. palaces and elaborate architecture.
Do you know … ?
One of the most beautiful songs ever produced for stage or screen was “Ol’ Man
River,” a heart-rending commentary on racism. However, the song was added to
“Showboat” primarily to cover a noisy scene change at the end of Act 1, Scene 1!
Elegant Gamblers and Poor Immigrants
“You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em, Know when to fold ‘em
Know when to walk away, Know when to run…”
- Kenny Rogers, “The Gambler”
Once riverboats were designed for passengers, the lavish gambling parlor was an
important feature of travel. Elegant passengers played games of chance against
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other travelers, as well as the professional gambler. Not surprisingly, these
charming poker faces could humor the other players at the table while often
cheating them out of their savings.
Another set of passengers were in even greater peril if they were allowed to
hobnob with the pleasure-seekers. Poor immigrants from Europe seeking a new
life in America would regularly head north from New Orleans on the steamboat
lines. Germans and Irish, in particular, flocked to “N’Awlins” because it was the
fastest, cheapest way to get to St. Louis and the American West. If the immigrants
were skilled tradesmen, their passage was often paid by northern businessmen
seeking such coopers or blacksmiths for their communities on the upper stretch
of the river.
A Multiple-Choice Question for you:
14. After reading this selection, the alert reading would conclude that
riverboats are symbols of
_____ A. the nation’s diversity.
_____ B. the wastefulness of the upper classes.
_____ C. the hopelessness of the lower classes.
_____ D. the nation’s expansion.
Do you know … ?
Returning in the 1990s as state-regulated gaming, riverboat gambling is now a
revenue stream in five states along the Mississippi River: Iowa, Illinois, Missouri,
Mississippi, and Louisiana.
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NAME:
http://hoover.archives.gov/exhibits/Mississippi/2expeditions.html
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Open-Ended Response
On
Other Next Page
By citing specific details from your reading, speculate about how Mark Twain might use the
Mississippi River as an important setting for his book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
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