. The story of corn and the westward migration. e source ofthe Missouri, which lies in the mountains of north-western Montana, its waters flow through the northtemperate zone and pass into the Gulf of Mexicoafter a course of about forty-five hundred miles—a distance equal to nearly one fifth of the circum-ference of the globe. The Mississippi has abouttwo hundred fifty tributaries, which drain an areastretching from the state of New York to Idaho,and from Canada to the Gulf. This mighty riversystem drains the fields and forests of twenty-fivestates. It is easy to see, therefore, that the appea
. The story of corn and the westward migration. e source ofthe Missouri, which lies in the mountains of north-western Montana, its waters flow through the northtemperate zone and pass into the Gulf of Mexicoafter a course of about forty-five hundred miles—a distance equal to nearly one fifth of the circum-ference of the globe. The Mississippi has abouttwo hundred fifty tributaries, which drain an areastretching from the state of New York to Idaho,and from Canada to the Gulf. This mighty riversystem drains the fields and forests of twenty-fivestates. It is easy to see, therefore, that the appear-ance of the steamboat on those waters would makea wonderful difference in the life of the people. But the navigation of the rivers was beset withmany difficulties. The Mississippi-Missouri is notonly the longest river in the world but it is likewisethe most crooked. The waters of the Mississippi Connecting the Corn Country with the World i6i alone travel from its source about three thousandmiles before they reach the Gulf, whereas the air-. Copyright. 1907, by H, D. Ayer A scene along the Mississippi River near its sourceat Lake Itasca line distance is only about one thousand threehundred miles. No two surveys of the course of theriver made at different periods have recorded thesame length. The measurements sometimes varyas much as two hundred or three hundred wonderful river has been known to cut acrossthe country in a night, shortening its course bythirty miles. It has swept around obstructions andleft its old bed far inland. It has played havoc l62 The Story of Corn with boundary lines—land once in Arkansas is to-day in Mississippi, and vice versa. It has made andunmade towns along its banks. It is said that atown in the state of Mississippi used to be threemil^s below Vicksburg as the river then ran, butto-day it is two miles above Vicksburg as the rivernow runs. It has thrown river towns far inland, andvillages that once lay on its banks and listened tothe
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