The Mississippi River is one of the world's great rivers. It is the
             longest river in the United States, more than twenty-three hundred miles in
             length, as it forms the borders of ten states, almost bisecting the
             continent (Currie,2003, 8). The river has a long history as well, and it
             has touched the lives of many people. The Mississippi is said to begin at
             Lake Itasca in Minnesota. In 1832, explorer Henry Schoolcraft named this
             lake, not after any local Indian name, but from the Latin words for "true
             head" which are veritas caput shortened to "Itasca" (Currie, 2003, 4).
             However, long before its source was named it was a navigational river.
             The Indians who first lived on the banks of the river were known as
             the Mississippians. From 800 to 1500, these peoples used the river for
             trade. They hollowed out logs to make canoes. Their society thrived
             between 100 and 1300, and then for reasons unknown went into decline. The
             Chickasaw and Yaddo peoples came next. They lived around the Lower
             Mississippi and also used dugout canoes to navigate the swampy terrain.
             T(ey were tightly connected to the river, since it was the very best way to
             travel. Northern tribes were slightly less bound to the river since they
             lived in an area of more solid ground. They were more likely to make light
             birch bark covered canoes for use of the river (Currie, 2003, 30-33).
             In 1519, Alonso Alvarez de Pineda, a Spanish navigator, became the
             first European to sail on the Mississippi River. He sailed his three ships
             about twenty miles up the mouth of the Mississippi from the Gulf of Mexico
             and then turned around and went back on his way to Mexico. The next
             recorded European encounter with the river was on May 21, 1541 when
             Hernando de Soto, another Spaniard, came across the river around the area
             of Memphis, Tennessee with his army during their explorations for gold.
             They were tired and saw ...