114-463: Jean Nicolet (Nicollet), Sieur de Belleborne (1598 – 29 October 1642) was a French coureur des bois noted for exploring Lake Michigan , Mackinac Island , Green Bay , and being the first European to set foot in what is now the U.S. state of Wisconsin . Nicolet (Nicollet) was born in Cherbourg , France, in the late 1590s, the son of Thomas Nicollet, who was "messenger ordinary of
228-546: A coureur des bois and in 1653 married his second wife, Margueritte. Her brother, Pierre-Esprit Radisson , also became a notable figure in the fur trade and is often mentioned in the same breath as des Groseilliers. Radisson and des Grosseilliers would also travel and trade together, as they did throughout the 1660s and 1670s. Together, they explored west into previously unknown territories in search of trade. Having incurred legal problems in New France because of their trade,
342-632: A friendly settlement located along the important Ottawa River fur trade route. Upon his return to Quebec in 1620, he was assigned to live among the Odawa and Algonquin people in the Lake Nipissing region. During his nine-year stay, he ran a store and traded with the native peoples in the area. He had a relationship with a Nipissing woman, and they had a daughter, whom he named Euphrosine-Madeleine Nicolet. When Nicolet returned to Quebec, he brought his daughter Euphrosine with him to educate her among
456-505: A good reputation for himself, Nicolet was sent on an expedition to Green Bay to settle a peace agreement with the natives of that area. Médard Chouart des Groseilliers (1618–1696) was a French explorer and fur trader in Canada . In the early 1640s, des Groseilliers relocated to Quebec , and began to work around Huronia with the Jesuit missions in that area. There he learned the skills of
570-515: A group of Algonquians, designated as the "Nation of the Isle", to learn native languages and later serve as an interpreter. The natives quickly adopted Nicolet as one of their own, even allowing him to attend councils and negotiate treaties. In 1620, Nicolet was sent to make contact with the Nipissing , a group of natives who played an important role in the growing fur trade. After having established
684-542: A large mound of sand spanning the width of the river 55 feet below the surface, allowing fresh water and large cargo ships to pass over. Fresh river water flowing from the Mississippi into the Gulf of Mexico does not mix into the salt water immediately. The images from NASA 's MODIS show a large plume of fresh water, which appears as a dark ribbon against the lighter-blue surrounding waters. These images demonstrate that
798-734: A length of 3,710 miles (5,971 km), making it the fourth longest river in the world after the Nile , Amazon , and Yangtze . When measured by the largest stream source (by water volume), the Ohio River , by extension the Allegheny River , would be the source, and the Mississippi would begin in Pennsylvania . At its source at Lake Itasca , the Mississippi River is about 3 feet (0.91 m) deep. The average depth of
912-478: A natural process known as avulsion or delta switching, the lower Mississippi River has shifted its final course to the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico every thousand years or so. This occurs because the deposits of silt and sediment begin to clog its channel, raising the river's level and causing it to eventually find a steeper, more direct route to the Gulf of Mexico. The abandoned distributaries diminish in volume and form what are known as bayous . This process has, over
1026-437: A result of warfare . The remaining marriages between Algonquins tended to be polygamous , with one husband marrying two or more women. Sexual relationships with coureurs des bois therefore offered native women an alternative to polygamy in a society with few available men. To French military commanders, who were often also directly involved in the fur trade, such marriages were beneficial in that they improved relations between
1140-411: A system of licenses for fur traders, known as congés . Initially, this system granted 25 annual licenses to merchants traveling inland. The recipients of these licenses came to be known as "voyageurs" (travelers), who canoed and portaged fur trade goods in the employ of a licensed fur trader or fur trading company. The congé system, therefore, created the voyageur, the legal and respectable counterpart to
1254-682: Is 1,151,000 sq mi (2,980,000 km ), of which only about one percent is in Canada. The Mississippi ranks as the world's tenth-largest river by discharge flow, and the largest in North America. Native Americans have lived along the Mississippi River and its tributaries for thousands of years. Many were hunter-gatherers , but some, such as the Mound Builders , formed prolific agricultural and urban civilizations, and some practiced aquaculture . The arrival of Europeans in
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#17327757086481368-861: Is 208,200 cu ft/s (5,900 m /s). Thus, by volume, the main branch of the Mississippi River system at Cairo can be considered to be the Ohio River (and the Allegheny River further upstream), rather than the Middle Mississippi. In addition to the Ohio River , the major tributaries of the Lower Mississippi River are the White River , flowing in at the White River National Wildlife Refuge in east-central Arkansas;
1482-575: Is a meandering river in a broad, flat area, only rarely flowing alongside a bluff (as at Vicksburg, Mississippi ). The Mississippi River is known as the Middle Mississippi from the Upper Mississippi River's confluence with the Missouri River at St. Louis, Missouri , for 190 miles (310 km) to its confluence with the Ohio River at Cairo, Illinois . The Middle Mississippi is relatively free-flowing. From St. Louis to
1596-498: Is called the Lower Mississippi River from its confluence with the Ohio River to its mouth at the Gulf of Mexico, a distance of about 1,000 miles (1,600 km). At the confluence of the Ohio and the Middle Mississippi, the long-term mean discharge of the Ohio at Cairo, Illinois is 281,500 cubic feet per second (7,970 cubic meters per second), while the long-term mean discharge of the Mississippi at Thebes, Illinois (just upriver from Cairo)
1710-912: Is controlled and managed as a series of pools created by 26 locks and dams. The Upper Mississippi River is joined by the Minnesota River at Fort Snelling in the Twin Cities ; the St. Croix River near Prescott, Wisconsin ; the Cannon River near Red Wing, Minnesota ; the Zumbro River at Wabasha, Minnesota ; the Black , La Crosse , and Root rivers in La Crosse, Wisconsin ; the Wisconsin River at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin ;
1824-585: Is crucially intertwined with that of his brother-in-law, Médard des Groseilliers . Radisson came to New France in 1651, settling in Trois-Rivières. That same year, he was captured by the Mohawks while duck hunting. Although two of his companions were killed during this exchange, the natives spared Radisson's life and adopted him. Through this adoption, Radisson learned native languages that would later serve him well as an interpreter. He worked throughout
1938-520: Is largely a multi-thread stream with many bars and islands. From its confluence with the St. Croix River downstream to Dubuque, Iowa , the river is entrenched, with high bedrock bluffs lying on either side. The height of these bluffs decreases to the south of Dubuque, though they are still significant through Savanna, Illinois . This topography contrasts strongly with the Lower Mississippi, which
2052-557: Is the first European known to have visited the area where the city of Duluth, Minnesota is now located and the headwaters of the Mississippi River near Grand Rapids. In 1678 Du Lhut set out to make peace negotiations with the Sioux, Chippewas, and other tribes near Lake Superior. His negotiations were successful and were sealed by multiple intertribal marriages. Du Lhut's freedom as a courerur des bois allowed him to explore unseen lands. Du Lhut sought permission to continue exploring however he
2166-539: Is the only true waterfall on the entire Mississippi River. The water elevation continues to drop steeply as it passes through the gorge carved by the waterfall. After the completion of the St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam in 1963, the river's head of navigation moved upstream, to the Coon Rapids Dam . However, the Locks were closed in 2015 to control the spread of invasive Asian carp , making Minneapolis once again
2280-618: The American Civil War , the Mississippi's capture by Union forces marked a turning point towards victory , due to the river's strategic importance to the Confederate war effort. Because of the substantial growth of cities and the larger ships and barges that replaced steamboats, the first decades of the 20th century saw the construction of massive engineering works such as levees , locks and dams , often built in combination. A major focus of this work has been to prevent
2394-880: The Arkansas River , joining the Mississippi at Arkansas Post ; the Big Black River in Mississippi; and the Yazoo River , meeting the Mississippi at Vicksburg, Mississippi . Deliberate water diversion at the Old River Control Structure in Louisiana allows the Atchafalaya River in Louisiana to be a major distributary of the Mississippi River, with 30% of the combined flow of the Mississippi and Red Rivers flowing to
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#17327757086482508-750: The Compagnie des Marchands. In 1618, Nicolet immigrated to Quebec as a clerk to train as an interpreter for the Compagnie des Marchands , a trading monopoly owned by members of the French aristocracy. As an employee, Jean Nicolet was a faithful supporter of the Ancien Régime . To learn the language of the First Nations, Nicolet was sent to live with the Algonquins on Allumette Island,
2622-604: The Fox River , portaged to the Wisconsin , and travelled down it until it began to widen. So sure, was he that he was near the ocean, that he stopped and went back to Quebec to report his discovery of a passage to the "South Sea," unaware that he had just missed finding the upper Mississippi River . In the last couple decades , some have questioned the traditional account of Nicolet's arrival in Green Bay, saying that Nicolet
2736-640: The Gulf of Mexico , part of the Atlantic Ocean. The total catchment of the Mississippi River covers nearly 40% of the landmass of the continental United States. The highest point within the watershed is also the highest point of the Rocky Mountains , Mount Elbert at 14,440 feet (4,400 m). In the United States, the Mississippi River drains the majority of the area between the crest of
2850-569: The Iroquois people . On October 29th, 1642, Jean Nicolet drowned after his boat capsized just off of Quebec City in Saint Lawrence River . He was either 43 or 44 years old. His body was never found. Jacques Gagnon, Jean Nicollet, Interprète et commis de traite, Montréal, Les Éditions Histoire Québec, 2022, 149 p. Coureur des bois A coureur des bois ( French: [kuʁœʁ de bwɑ] ; lit. ' "runner of
2964-603: The Minnesota River , James River , and Milk River valleys. When the ice sheet completely retreated, many of these "temporary" rivers found paths to Hudson Bay or the Arctic Ocean, leaving the Mississippi Basin with many features "over-sized" for the existing rivers to have carved in the same time period. Ice sheets during the Illinoian Stage , about 300,000 to 132,000 years before present, blocked
3078-566: The Ohio and Missouri , formed pathways for the western expansion of the United States. The river also became the subject of American literature , particularly in the writings of Mark Twain . Formed from thick layers of the river's silt deposits, the Mississippi embayment is one of the most fertile regions of the United States; steamboats were widely used in the 19th and early 20th centuries to ship agricultural and industrial goods. During
3192-1320: The Rock River at the Quad Cities ; the Iowa River near Wapello, Iowa ; the Skunk River south of Burlington, Iowa ; and the Des Moines River at Keokuk, Iowa . Other major tributaries of the Upper Mississippi include the Crow River in Minnesota, the Chippewa River in Wisconsin, the Maquoketa River and the Wapsipinicon River in Iowa, and the Illinois River in Illinois. The Upper Mississippi
3306-816: The Rocky Mountains and the crest of the Appalachian Mountains , except for various regions drained to Hudson Bay by the Red River of the North ; to the Atlantic Ocean by the Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence River ; and to the Gulf of Mexico by the Rio Grande , the Alabama and Tombigbee rivers, the Chattahoochee and Appalachicola rivers, and various smaller coastal waterways along
3420-446: The coureurs des bois sometimes paddling twelve hours a day. Packing a canoe for such a trip was often arduous, as more than thirty articles were considered essential for a coureur des bois's survival and business. He could trade for food, hunt, and fish—but trade goods such as "broadcloth, linen and wool blankets, ammunition, metal goods (knives, hatchets, kettles), firearms, liquor, gunpowder and sometimes even finished clothing, took up
3534-429: The headwaters region and serve multiple purposes, including power generation and recreation. The remaining 29 dams, beginning in downtown Minneapolis, all contain locks and were constructed to improve commercial navigation of the upper river. Taken as a whole, these 43 dams significantly shape the geography and influence the ecology of the upper river. Beginning just below Saint Paul, Minnesota , and continuing throughout
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3648-443: The intendant Duchesneau estimated there were eight hundred coureurs des bois, or about 40% of the adult male population. Reports like that were wildly exaggerated: in reality, even at their zenith coureurs des bois remained a very small percentage of the population of New France. In 1681, to curb the unregulated business of independent traders and their burgeoning profits, French minister of marine Jean-Baptiste Colbert created
3762-491: The most recent Ice Age . The southernmost extent of this enormous glaciation extended well into the present-day United States and Mississippi basin. When the ice sheet began to recede, hundreds of feet of rich sediment were deposited, creating the flat and fertile landscape of the Mississippi Valley. During the melt, giant glacial rivers found drainage paths into the Mississippi watershed, creating such features as
3876-458: The 1660s and 1670s with his brother-in-law, des Groseilliers, on various trade and exploration voyages into the west of the continent. Much of Radisson's life during this period is wrapped up in the story of des Groseilliers. Together they are credited with the establishment and shaping of the Hudson's Bay Company . Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut (1639–1710) was a French soldier and explorer who
3990-432: The 1660s, several factors resulted in a sudden spike in the number of coureurs des bois. First, the population of New France markedly increased during the late 17th century, as the colony experienced a boom in immigration between 1667–84. Of the new engagés (indentured male servants), discharged soldiers, and youthful immigrants from squalid, class-bound Europe arriving in great numbers in the colony, many chose freedom in
4104-465: The 16th century changed the native way of life as first explorers, then settlers, ventured into the basin in increasing numbers. The river served sometimes as a barrier, forming borders for New Spain , New France , and the early United States, and throughout as a vital transportation artery and communications link. In the 19th century, during the height of the ideology of manifest destiny , the Mississippi and several tributaries, most notably its largest,
4218-679: The Canadian comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall depict two trappers, Jacques ( Dave Foley ) and François ( Kevin McDonald ), canoeing through high-rise offices and cubicles to trap businessmen wearing designer Italian suits as a parody of this moment in Canadian colonial history. The Revenant (2015), directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu , depicts a group of uncharacteristically violent, anti-Indian coureurs des bois in North Dakota, which
4332-579: The Earth's mantle (specifically, the Bermuda hotspot ) that was undergoing a period of intense activity. The upwelling of magma from the hotspot forced the further uplift to a height of perhaps 2–3 km of part of the Appalachian-Ouachita range, forming an arch that blocked southbound water flows. The uplifted land quickly eroded and, as North America moved away from the hot spot and as
4446-426: The French and the natives. Native leaders also encouraged such unions, particularly when the couple formed lasting, permanent bonds. Jesuits and some upper-level colonial officials viewed these relationships with disdain and disgust. French officials preferred coureurs des bois and voyageurs to settle around Quebec City and Montreal . They considered the lasting relationships with native women to be further proof of
4560-497: The French aristocracy's fears of insubordination which only served to confirm their ignorance; and coureurs des bois became emblematic of the colony for those in the metropolis. The myth of the coureurs des bois as representative of the Canadians was stimulated by the writings of 18th-century Jesuit priest F-X. Charlevoix and the 19th-century American historian Francis Parkman ; their historical accounts are classified as belonging to popular rather than academic history. Charlevoix
4674-418: The French rather than with the Dutch, who were active along the Hudson River and Atlantic coast. The boys learned native languages, customs, and skills, and tended to assimilate quickly to their new environments. A year after leaving Étienne Brûlé in 1610, with a Huron tribe , Champlain visited him, and was surprised to find the young man attired completely in native clothing and able to converse fluently in
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4788-400: The French rendering of the Anishinaabe ( Ojibwe or Algonquin ) name for the river, Misi-ziibi (Great River). In the 18th century, the river was set by the Treaty of Paris as, for the most part, the western border of the new United States. With the Louisiana Purchase and the country's westward expansion, it became a convenient boundary line between the western and eastern halves of
4902-450: The French. On July 19, 1629, when Quebec fell to the Kirke brothers who took control for England, Jean Nicolet fled to the safety of the Huron country. He worked from there against English interests until the French were restored to power. After Canada was restored to France he married Marguerite Couillard. Marguerite, the daughter of leading Quebec settler Guillaume Couillard [ fr ] and his wife Marie-Guillemette Hébert ,
5016-588: The Gulf of Mexico by this route, rather than continuing down the Mississippi's current channel past Baton Rouge and New Orleans on a longer route to the Gulf. Although the Red River was once an additional tributary, its water now flows separately into the Gulf of Mexico through the Atchafalaya River. The Mississippi River has the world's fourth-largest drainage basin ("watershed" or "catchment"). The basin covers more than 1,245,000 square miles (3,220,000 km ), including all or parts of 32 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. The drainage basin empties into
5130-409: The Gulf. The Mississippi River empties into the Gulf of Mexico about 100 miles (160 km) downstream from New Orleans. Measurements of the length of the Mississippi from Lake Itasca to the Gulf of Mexico vary somewhat, but the United States Geological Survey 's number is 2,340 miles (3,766 km). The retention time from Lake Itasca to the Gulf is typically about 90 days; while speed varies along
5244-409: The Huron language. Early explorers such as Brûlé educated the French colonists on the complex trading networks of the natives, served as interpreters, and encouraged the burgeoning fur trade. Between 1610 and 1629, dozens of Frenchmen spent months at a time living among the natives. Over time, these early explorers and interpreters played an increasingly active role in the fur trade, paving the way for
5358-404: The Illinoian Stage. Timeline of outflow course changes In March 1876, the Mississippi suddenly changed course near the settlement of Reverie, Tennessee , leaving a small part of Tipton County, Tennessee , attached to Arkansas and separated from the rest of Tennessee by the new river channel. Since this event was an avulsion , rather than the effect of incremental erosion and deposition,
5472-472: The Indigenous people's ritual practices and marrying Indigenous women. French Canadians associated the coureur des bois with being ungovernable and fearless men. The biggest problem with the coureur des bois was their interference with the missionary effort of the French Canadians. They denounced the French priests and missionaries and undermined their evangelistic efforts by supplying the Indigenous peoples with liquor . The coureur des bois refusal to submit to
5586-399: The King between Paris and Cherbourg", and Marguerite de Lamer. They were members of the Roman Catholic Church . He was a known friend of Samuel de Champlain and Étienne Brule , and was attracted to Canada to participate in Champlain's plan to train young French men as explorers and traders by having them live among Native Americans, at a time when the French were setting up fur trading under
5700-408: The Midwestern and eastern U.S. These earthquakes created Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee from the altered landscape near the river. When measured from its traditional source at Lake Itasca , the Mississippi has a length of 2,340 miles (3,766 km). When measured from its longest stream source (most distant source from the sea), Brower's Spring in Montana , the source of the Missouri River , it has
5814-416: The Mississippi River between Saint Paul and Saint Louis is between 9 and 12 feet (2.7–3.7 m) deep, the deepest part being Lake Pepin , which averages 20–32 feet (6–10 m) deep and has a maximum depth of 60 feet (18 m). Between where the Missouri River joins the Mississippi at Saint Louis, Missouri, and Cairo, Illinois, the depth averages 30 feet (9 m). Below Cairo, where the Ohio River joins,
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#17327757086485928-411: The Mississippi River has experienced numerous large and small changes to its main course, as well as additions, deletions, and other changes among its numerous tributaries, and the lower Mississippi River has used different pathways as its main channel to the Gulf of Mexico across the delta region. As Pangaea began to break up about 95 million years ago, North America passed over a volcanic " hotspot " in
6042-415: The Mississippi River near New Madrid, Missouri , between Memphis and St. Louis, is related to an aulacogen (failed rift) that formed at the same time as the Gulf of Mexico. This area is still quite active seismically. Four great earthquakes in 1811 and 1812 , estimated at 8 on the Richter magnitude scale , had tremendous local effects in the then sparsely settled area, and were felt in many other places in
6156-404: The Mississippi near Rock Island, Illinois, diverting it to its present channel farther to the west, the current western border of Illinois. The Hennepin Canal roughly follows the ancient channel of the Mississippi downstream from Rock Island to Hennepin, Illinois . South of Hennepin, to Alton, Illinois , the current Illinois River follows the ancient channel used by the Mississippi River before
6270-414: The Mississippi's watershed drains all or parts of 32 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces between the Rocky and Appalachian mountains. The river either borders or passes through the states of Minnesota , Wisconsin , Iowa , Illinois , Missouri , Kentucky , Tennessee , Arkansas , Mississippi , and Louisiana . The main stem is entirely within the United States; the total drainage basin
6384-529: The Missouri River; the Middle Mississippi, which is downriver from the Missouri to the Ohio River; and the Lower Mississippi , which flows from the Ohio to the Gulf of Mexico. The Upper Mississippi runs from its headwaters to its confluence with the Missouri River at St. Louis, Missouri. It is divided into two sections: The source of the Upper Mississippi branch is traditionally accepted as Lake Itasca , 1,475 feet (450 m) above sea level in Itasca State Park in Clearwater County, Minnesota . The name Itasca
6498-443: The Ohio River confluence, the Middle Mississippi falls 220 feet (67 m) over 180 miles (290 km) for an average rate of 1.2 feet per mile (23 cm/km). At its confluence with the Ohio River, the Middle Mississippi is 315 feet (96 m) above sea level. Apart from the Missouri and Meramec rivers of Missouri and the Kaskaskia River of Illinois, no major tributaries enter the Middle Mississippi River. The Mississippi River
6612-427: The Puans near Menominee, Michigan . Although the Menominee people and the Puants were different tribes, they were allies who jointly controlled access to Green Bay . Also, the Menominee would have been able to serve as interpreters for Nicolet in negotiations with the Puans. Lurie and Jung propose that the main purpose of Nicolet's mission was to establish peace between New France and the Puants and an alliance against
6726-430: The Upper Mississippi River is the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam in Minneapolis. Above the dam, the river's elevation is 799 feet (244 m). Below the dam, the river's elevation is 750 feet (230 m). This 49-foot (15 m) drop is the largest of all the Mississippi River locks and dams. The origin of the dramatic drop is a waterfall preserved adjacent to the lock under an apron of concrete. Saint Anthony Falls
6840-426: The Upper Mississippi is a simple steel culvert, through which the river (locally named "Nicolet Creek") flows north from Lake Nicolet under "Wilderness Road" to the West Arm of Lake Itasca, within Itasca State Park . The earliest bridge across the Mississippi River was built in 1855. It spanned the river in Minneapolis where the current Hennepin Avenue Bridge is located. No highway or railroad tunnels cross under
6954-555: The areas drained by them. Denser salt water from the Gulf of Mexico forms a salt wedge along the river bottom near the mouth of the river, while fresh water flows near the surface. In drought years, with less fresh water to push it out, salt water can travel many miles upstream—64 miles (103 km) in 2022—contaminating drinking water supplies and requiring the use of desalination . The United States Army Corps of Engineers constructed "saltwater sills" or "underwater levees" to contain this in 1988, 1999, 2012, and 2022. This consists of
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#17327757086487068-404: The beginning of the fur trade in the North American interior . Initially they traded for beaver coats and furs. However, as the market grew, coureurs de bois were trapping and trading prime beavers whose skins were to be felted in Europe. While French settlers had lived and traded alongside Indigenous people since the earliest days of New France, coureurs des bois reached their apex during
7182-423: The colony, creating a lasting myth that would continue to define New France for centuries. Shortly after founding a permanent settlement at Quebec City in 1608, Samuel de Champlain sought to ally himself with the local native peoples or First Nations. He decided to send French boys to live among them to learn their languages in order to serve as interpreters, in the hope of persuading the natives to trade with
7296-573: The colony. A successful coureur des bois had to possess many skills, including those of businessman and expert canoeist. To survive in the Canadian wilderness, coureurs des bois also had to be competent in a range of activities including fishing, snowshoeing and hunting. As one Jesuit described them, venturing into the wilderness suited: The sort of person who thought nothing of covering five to six hundred leagues by canoe, paddle in hand, or of living off corn and bear fat for twelve to eighteen months, or of sleeping in bark or branch cabins. The life
7410-411: The country. This is reflected in the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, which was designed to symbolize the opening of the West, and the focus on the " Trans-Mississippi " region in the Trans-Mississippi Exposition . Regional landmarks are often classified in relation to the river, such as "the highest peak east of the Mississippi " or "the oldest city west of the Mississippi". The FCC also uses it as
7524-555: The coureur de bois and the natives often included a sexual dimension; marriage à la façon du pays (following local custom) was common between native women and coureurs des bois, and later between native women and voyageurs. These unions were of benefit to both sides, and in later years, winter partners of major trading companies also took native wives. As wives, indigenous women played a key role as translators, guides and mediators—becoming "women between". For one thing, Algonquin communities typically had far more women than men, likely as
7638-458: The coureur des bois. Under the voyageurs, the fur trade began to favor a more organized business model of the times, including monopolistic ownership and hired labor. From 1681 onwards, therefore, the voyageurs began to eclipse the coureurs des bois, although coureurs des bois continued to trade without licenses for several decades. Following the implementation of the congé system, the number of coureurs des bois dwindled, as did their influence within
7752-624: The coureurs des bois were seen more frequently as explorers than their voyager counterparts. The voyager's ties to fur companies dictated how and where they trapped, whereas the courerur des bois were free to explore and trap in any place they could find. The coureur des bois freedom and intimate ties to the Indigenous peoples resulted in many French people viewing them as only a step above Native American men. Most coureurs des bois were primarily or solely fur-trade entrepreneurs and not individually well known. The most prominent coureurs des bois were also explorers and gained fame as such. Étienne Brûlé
7866-427: The course of the river, this gives an overall average of around 26 mi (42 km) per day, or 1 mi (1.6 km) per hour. The stream gradient of the entire river is 0.01%, a drop of 450 m over 3,766 km. The Mississippi River discharges at an annual average rate of between 200 and 700 thousand cubic feet per second (6,000 and 20,000 m /s). The Mississippi is the fourteenth largest river in
7980-403: The delta of the Chippewa River of Wisconsin as it enters the Upper Mississippi, is more than 2 miles (3.2 km) wide. By the time the Upper Mississippi reaches Saint Paul , Minnesota, below Lock and Dam No. 1, it has dropped more than half its original elevation and is 687 feet (209 m) above sea level. From St. Paul to St. Louis, Missouri, the river elevation falls much more slowly and
8094-532: The depth averages 50–100 feet (15–30 m) deep. The deepest part of the river is in New Orleans, where it reaches 200 feet (61 m) deep. The Mississippi River runs through or along 10 states, from Minnesota to Louisiana , and is used to define portions of these states' borders, with Wisconsin , Illinois , Kentucky , Tennessee , and Mississippi along the east side of the river, and Iowa , Missouri , and Arkansas along its west side. Substantial parts of both Minnesota and Louisiana are on either side of
8208-472: The dividing line for broadcast call-signs , which begin with W to the east and K to the west, overlapping in media markets along the river. Due to its size and importance, it has been nicknamed The Mighty Mississippi River or simply The Mighty Mississippi . The Mississippi River can be divided into three sections: the Upper Mississippi , the river from its headwaters to the confluence with
8322-470: The emergence of the coureurs des bois proper in the mid-17th century. The term "coureur des bois" is most strongly associated with those who engaged in the fur trade in ways that were considered to be outside of the mainstream. Early in the North American fur trade era, this term was applied to men who circumvented the normal channels by going deeper into the wilderness to trade. Traditionally,
8436-482: The fears and apprehensions which they had of the Ancien Régime . If order and discipline were proving difficult to maintain in continental Europe, it seemed impossible that the colonies would fare any better, and it was presumed things would become even worse. Accounts of young men choosing a life where they would "do nothing", be "restrained by nothing", and live "beyond the possibility of correction" played into
8550-410: The fur trade. The requirement of licenses to participate in trapping and trading furs limited the types of people who could participate in the lucrative trade. Trapping and trading without one of the required licenses was a legally punishable offense. The coureurs des bois were seen by the French government and French citizens as problematic because they did not abide by the licensing laws. Additionally,
8664-589: The government of New France preferred to let the natives supply furs directly to French merchants, and discouraged French settlers from venturing outside the Saint Lawrence valley. By the mid-17th century, Montreal had emerged as the center of the fur trade, hosting a yearly fair in August where natives exchanged their pelts for European goods. While coureurs des bois never entirely disappeared, they were heavily discouraged by French colonial officials. In 1649,
8778-503: The hotspot's activity declined, the crust beneath the embayment region cooled, contracted and subsided to a depth of 2.6 km, and around 80 million years ago the Reelfoot Rift formed a trough that was flooded by the Gulf of Mexico . As sea levels dropped, the Mississippi and other rivers extended their courses into the embayment , which gradually became filled with sediment with the Mississippi River at its center. Through
8892-541: The importance of the latter in terms of number and proportion in terms on influence on trading. But Charlevoix was influential; his work was often cited by other authors, which further propagated the myth of the Canadian as a coureur des bois. Finally, romans du terroir (rural novels) also added to the myth of the coureurs des bois by featuring them out of proportion to their number and influence. The coureurs des bois were portrayed in such works as extremely virile, free-spirited and of untameable natures, ideal protagonists in
9006-402: The last two decades, this number was only 160 million short tons (145 million metric tons) per year. The reduction in sediment transported down the Mississippi River is the result of engineering modification of the Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio rivers and their tributaries by dams, meander cutoffs , river-training structures, and bank revetments and soil erosion control programs in
9120-473: The lawlessness and perversion of the coureurs des bois. The role and importance of the coureurs des bois have been exaggerated over the course of history. This figure has achieved mythological status, leading to many false accounts, and to the coureurs des bois being assimilated with " Canadiens " (French Canadians). The mythmaking followed two paths; initially, people in France judged the colonies according to
9234-555: The life of the coureur des bois. Furthermore, renewed peaceful relations with the Iroquois in 1667 made traveling into the interior of Canada much less perilous for the French colonists. The companies that had been monopolizing and regulating the fur trade since 1645, the Cent Associés and the Communautés des Habitants , went bankrupt after the Iroquois war . The Compagnie des Indes occidentales , which replaced them,
9348-558: The lower 10 miles (16 km) of the Kaskaskia River, forming a new Mississippi channel and cutting off the town from the rest of the state. Later flooding destroyed most of the remaining town, including the original State House. Today, the remaining 2,300 acres (930 ha) island and community of 14 residents is known as an enclave of Illinois and is accessible only from the Missouri side. The New Madrid Seismic Zone , along
9462-415: The lower Mississippi from shifting into the channel of the Atchafalaya River and bypassing New Orleans . Since the 20th century, the Mississippi River has also experienced major pollution and environmental problems — most notably elevated nutrient and chemical levels from agricultural runoff, the primary contributor to the Gulf of Mexico dead zone . The word Mississippi itself comes from Misi zipi ,
9576-438: The majority of space in the canoe." Food en route needed to be lightweight, practical and non-perishable. The business of a coureur des bois required close contact with Indigenous peoples. Native peoples were essential because they trapped the fur-bearing animals (especially beaver) and prepared the skins. Relations between coureurs and natives were not always peaceful, and could sometimes become violent. In general, trade
9690-560: The male-chorus marching song Tramp Tramp Tramp (Along the Highway) , which included the words, "Blazing trails along the byway / Couriers de Bois are we" [sic]. (Some later versions change Rida Johnson Young 's lyric to "For men of war are we.") In James A. Michener 's 1974 historical novel Centennial and the 1978–1979 NBC television mini-series of the same name , the colourful, French Canadian or French Metis , coureur des bois, from Montreal , Quebec , Canada, named Pasquinel,
9804-420: The new governor Louis d'Ailleboust permitted Frenchmen familiar with the wilderness to visit Huron Country to encourage and escort Hurons to Montreal to participate in the trade. While this did not legally sanction coureurs des bois to trade independently with the natives, some historians consider d'Ailleboust's encouragement of independent traders to mark the official emergence of the coureurs des bois. In
9918-449: The new river channel, contiguous with the adjacent state. Also, due to a meander in the river, a small part of western Kentucky is contiguous with Tennessee but isolated from the rest of its state. Many of the communities along the Mississippi River are listed below; most have either historic significance or cultural lore connecting them to the river. They are sequenced from the source of the river to its end. The road crossing highest on
10032-620: The past 5,000 years, caused the coastline of south Louisiana to advance toward the Gulf from 15 to 50 miles (24 to 80 km). The currently active delta lobe is called the Birdfoot Delta, after its shape, or the Balize Delta , after La Balize, Louisiana , the first French settlement at the mouth of the Mississippi. The current form of the Mississippi River basin was largely shaped by the Laurentide Ice Sheet of
10146-604: The people who lived along these shores were called Ho-Chunk , which some French mistakenly translated as "People of the Sea". In the Ho Chunk language, it means people of the big voice, because they believe their language was the original language of their family of tribal languages. However, the Ojibwe had a less appealing name for them, Winnebago, or "people of the fragrant waters," translated to French as, Puants or Puans. This exonym
10260-549: The plume did not mix with the surrounding sea water immediately. Instead, it stayed intact as it flowed through the Gulf of Mexico, into the Straits of Florida , and entered the Gulf Stream . The Mississippi River water rounded the tip of Florida and traveled up the southeast coast to the latitude of Georgia before finally mixing in so thoroughly with the ocean that it could no longer be detected by MODIS. Over geologic time,
10374-479: The river, although the Mississippi defines part of the boundary of each of these states. In all of these cases, the middle of the riverbed at the time the borders were established was used as the line to define the borders between adjacent states. In various areas, the river has since shifted, but the state borders have not changed, still following the former bed of the Mississippi River as of their establishment, leaving several small isolated areas of one state across
10488-508: The romanticized novels of important 19th-century writers such as Chateaubriand , Jules Verne and Fenimore Cooper . The coureurs des bois were known for their trapping abilities by outside parties but French Canadians knew these men as being looked upon without favor. The courerur des bois lived outside of the typical confines of society and had to adapt to the expectations of the Indigenous peoples around them. They did this by adopting
10602-405: The second half of the 17th century. After 1681, the independent coureur des bois was gradually replaced by state-sponsored voyageurs , who were workers associated with licensed fur traders. They travelled extensively by canoe. Coureurs des bois lost their importance in the fur trade by the early 18th century. Yet, even while their numbers were dwindling, the coureur des bois developed as a symbol of
10716-400: The site of the head of navigation of the river. The Upper Mississippi has a number of natural and artificial lakes, with its widest point being Lake Winnibigoshish , near Grand Rapids, Minnesota , over 11 miles (18 km) across. Lake Onalaska , created by Lock and Dam No. 7 , near La Crosse, Wisconsin , is more than 4 miles (6.4 km) wide. Lake Pepin , a natural lake formed behind
10830-532: The state line still follows the old channel. The town of Kaskaskia, Illinois once stood on a peninsula at the confluence of the Mississippi and Kaskaskia (Okaw) Rivers . Founded as a French colonial community, it later became the capital of the Illinois Territory and was the first state capital of Illinois until 1819. Beginning in 1844, successive flooding caused the Mississippi River to slowly encroach east. A major flood in 1881 caused it to overtake
10944-501: The two explorers went to France in an attempt to rectify their legal situation. When this attempt failed, the pair turned to the English. Through this liaison with the English and thanks to their considerable knowledge and experience in the area, the pair are credited with the establishment of the Hudson's Bay Company . Pierre-Esprit Radisson (1636–1710) was a French Canadian fur trader and explorer. His life as explorer and trader
11058-543: The upper St. Lawrence River and the lakes, passing by Detroit on the way to Michilimackinac or Green Bay . This route had fewer portages, but in times of war, it was more exposed to Iroquois attacks. The powerful Five Nations of the Confederacy had territory along the Great Lakes and sought to control their hunting grounds. Such trading journeys often lasted for months and covered thousands of kilometers, with
11172-573: The upper and lower river, the Mississippi is further controlled by thousands of wing dikes that moderate the river's flow in order to maintain an open navigation channel and prevent the river from eroding its banks. The head of navigation on the Mississippi is the St. Anthony Falls Lock. Before the Coon Rapids Dam in Coon Rapids, Minnesota , was built in 1913, steamboats could occasionally go upstream as far as Saint Cloud, Minnesota , depending on river conditions. The uppermost lock and dam on
11286-509: The will of the missionaries made them an enemy. This resulted in the coureur des bois being labeled as unruly and a threat to colonial survival. The coureurs des bois were renowned for their ability to trap animals for the fur trade but their overall reputation was negative for French Canadians. The coureurs des bois are often confused with voyagers however the two groups had very different reputations. The coureurs des bois were considered outlaws because of their lack of licenses to participate in
11400-425: The woods" ' ) or coureur de bois ( French: [kuʁœʁ də bwɑ] ; plural: coureurs de(s) bois ) were independent entrepreneurial French Canadian traders who travelled in New France and the interior of North America , usually to trade with First Nations peoples by exchanging various European items for furs. Some learned the trades and practices of the indigenous peoples. These expeditions were part of
11514-479: The world by volume. On average, the Mississippi has 8% the flow of the Amazon River , which moves nearly 7 million cubic feet per second (200,000 m /s) during wet seasons. Before 1900, the Mississippi River transported an estimated 440 million short tons (400 million metric tons) of sediment per year from the interior of the United States to coastal Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico. During
11628-469: Was physically arduous and succeeding as a coureur was extremely difficult. But the hope of making a profit motivated many, while the promise of adventure and freedom was enough to convince others to become coureurs. Because of the lack of roads and the necessity to transport heavy goods and furs, fur trade in the interior of the continent depended on men conducting long-distance transportation by canoe of fur trade goods, and returning with pelts. Early travel
11742-522: Was also the goddaughter of Champlain. The couple were residents of Trois-Rivières in later life, where they raised children. Nicolet is noted for being the first European to explore Lake Michigan . In 1634 he became the first European to explore what would become Wisconsin . Jean Nicolet landed at Red Banks , near modern-day Green Bay, Wisconsin , in search of a passage to the Orient. He and other French explorers had learned from their native contacts that
11856-500: Was chosen to designate the "true head" of the Mississippi River as a combination of the last four letters of the Latin word for truth ( ver itas ) and the first two letters of the Latin word for head ( ca put ). However, the lake is in turn fed by a number of smaller streams. From its origin at Lake Itasca to St. Louis, Missouri , the waterway's flow is moderated by 43 dams. Fourteen of these dams are located above Minneapolis in
11970-582: Was contrary to these trappers, who embraced the culture and way of life of Native Americans. Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States . From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota , it flows generally south for 2,340 miles (3,766 km) to the Mississippi River Delta in the Gulf of Mexico . With its many tributaries ,
12084-514: Was dangerous and the coureurs des bois , who traded in uncharted territory, had a high mortality rate. Typically, they left Montreal in the spring, as soon as the rivers and lakes were clear of ice (usually May), their canoes loaded with supplies and goods for trading. The course west to the richest beaver lands usually went by way of the Ottawa and Mattawa rivers; it required numerous overland portages. Alternatively, some canoes proceeded by way of
12198-1094: Was denied by the French court. Du Lhut's exploration and trapping history could have been as successful as his rival René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle if he had been given permission to continue. Jacques La Ramee (1784–1821) Pierre de La Vérendrye (1685–1749) Louis-Joseph de La Vérendrye and his three brothers, the sons of the Vérendrye mentioned above (1717–1761) François Baby (1733–1820) Jacques Baby (1731–1789) Horace Bélanger (1836–1892) Jean-Marie Ducharme (1723–1807) Dominique Ducharme (1765–1853) Luc de la Corne (1711–1784) Jacques de Noyon (1668–1745) Martin Chartier (1655–1718) accompanied Joliet and LaSalle, became an outlaw, and eventually traded for furs in Tennessee, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Peter Bisaillon (1662–1742) Jacques Le Tort (1651–1702) James Le Tort (1675-1742) The 1910 Victor Herbert operetta Naughty Marietta featured
12312-522: Was derogatory, however, not knowing that, Nicolet concluded that the people must be from or near the Pacific Ocean and would provide a direct contact with China. Nicolet became the French ambassador to the Ho-Chunk people. He wore brightly colored robes and carried two pistols, to convey his authority. The Ho-Chunk people appreciated his ritual display. With some Ho-Chunk guides, Nicolet ascended
12426-426: Was introduced as an early frontier mountain man and trapper, in 1795 Colorado , Spanish Upper Louisiana Territory of Mexico , now the present-day state of Colorado. Pasquinel was portrayed in the miniseries by American TV actor Robert Conrad . The fictional character of Pasquinel was loosely based on the lives of French-speaking fur traders Jacques La Ramee and Ceran St. Vrain . In a 1990 skit called "Trappers",
12540-455: Was made much easier by the two groups maintaining friendly relations. Trade was often accompanied by reciprocal gift-giving; among the Algonquin and others, exchanging gifts was customary practice to maintain alliances. Pierre-Esprit Radisson and his companions, for instance, "struck agreeable relations with Natives inland by giving European goods as gifts". Furthermore, relations between
12654-598: Was much less restrictive of internal trade, allowing independent merchants to become more numerous. Finally, a sudden fall in the price of beaver on the European markets in 1664 caused more traders to travel to the "pays d'en haut" , or upper country (the area around the Great Lakes), in search of cheaper pelts. During the mid-1660s, therefore, becoming a coureur des bois became both more feasible and profitable. This sudden growth alarmed many colonial officials. In 1680,
12768-688: Was not looking for a route to China, did not wear a Chinese robe, and did not meet the Puans at Red Banks. Ronald Stiebe proposed that Nicolet did not even go to Lake Michigan but that the Puants were actually Algonquin people and Nicolet met them at Keweenaw Bay, Michigan . Nancy Oestreich Lurie, of the Milwaukee Public Museum —followed by Patrick J. Jung, of the Milwaukee School of Engineering —concluded that Nicolet actually met
12882-539: Was particularly influential in his writings, because he was a trusted source of information, as he was a Jesuit priest who had journeyed in Canada. But his "historical" work has been criticized by historians for being too "light" and for relying too heavily on other authors' material (i.e. plagiarizing), rather than his own first-hand account. Critics of Charlevoix have also noted that in his account, he confuses different periods of time, and therefore does not differentiate between voyageurs and coureurs des bois, misrepresenting
12996-523: Was the first European to see the Great Lakes . He traveled to New France with Samuel de Champlain. Jean Nicolet (Nicollet) de Belleborne (Ca. 1598 – 1 November 1642) was a French coureur des bois noted for exploring Green Bay in what is now the U.S. state of Wisconsin . Nicolet was born in Normandy , France in the late 1590s and moved to New France in 1618. In that same year, he was recruited by Samuel de Champlain , who arranged for him to live with
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