Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1869-03-28
THE MISSISSIPPI.
What IL has Been, is, and Shall
be.
By LEON. TROUsDALE.


The great Northwest was aroused to
the inspiration of arms which called
forth every stalwart son, mainly by the
controlling conviction that, if the Seces-
sion of the Southern States should be-
come an accomplished fact the naviga-
lion of our oreqf rirer would be restricted
by international laws, and thus Its free
dom destroyed. Those Who read the
publie Journals of 1860-6l wih well re-
member how decisive was this idea upon
the fortunes of the Southern movement.
The whistle of Roderiek Dhu was not
more potent pibroeh, in gathering IN ad-
herents to his cause, than was the sAIRo-
Ieth adopted By Northern leaders, py
which the apprehension vas aroused that
the laughing waters, which leap to
the roar Of ST. Anthony, would net Ind
= free passage to the Gulf for crafts
freiphted with Northwestern products
This motive was so irresistible, so over
uhelming to the practical mind OF the
Northwestern people, that they were
horne avay with 1t with as much iE-
mise and power as is exerted by the
: King of Floods when he rises from
his bed of sand and slough and spreads
wide his arms over the broad valley and
around the giant trees of his kingdom.
From the time Of the earliest settlements
along the Ohio, the Wabash, the Scioto,
and the Missouri, the broad-hOrns
Of the West had foated jazily and IN
challenged upon Its mighty current, pay
ing no toll, submitting to no exaetions
and gathering the rich reeompense Of
the kavests which Its fertile valleys
had Yielded 10 The husbandman.
The fatboatmeH Of the West had
danced and rollicked aRd revelled on
the decks of their rude argosies, With all
the reckless daring Of free rover Of the
seas had scattered stores from their
granaries along the shore from Memphis
to New Orleans and gathered into their
Ieathern exehequers in solid mint
drops the principal profits Of slave
labor. When their occupation had
geue into disuse and the sceptre OF
Steam waived over the inland sea OF
our continent, q commerce lnnniteiy
more wide, difusive and remuneratlBg
was substituted for that Of the broad
horn fleets. The sBeat-drOps Of the
pegros we're coined into gold, as much
for the corn planter Of Illinois as for the
cotton-planter of Mississippi or tie
sugar producer of louisiana. The cot
ton fields Welded their snowy fleece and
the sugar cane waived its sweetness aud
Its wealth. not mere for their nominal
owners than for the manufacturers OF
Massachusetts, and the agrieultnrists OF
Indiana. The horn Of Plenty was for
once so inverted as to scatter blessings
over al the broad land-from East to
West and from North to South.
The foresight and sagacity Of Jefferson
bsd perceived the benefits to how from
an unrestricted navigation of the great
river. qe had violated the theories OF
+ba strict construction school Of states
mauship, of which he was the father, by
expending $4,000, ,0OG Of francs for the
Durehase of Louisiana from France, thus
iiftipy from the shoulders Of succeeding
generations the heavy burthen OF per
mits aud passports, toll gatherers and
custonhouse exactions, which foreign
Government must have fastened upon
the trade Of West, at the point where
Il was destined TO debouch into the Cult
and enter upon the high seas. BY tins
80, stroke of statesmanship, Mr..
Jefferson enfranchised the commerce OF
the Mississippi and conferred upon his
eountrymen benefit which they con-
tinued to appreciate and to applaud
nth that feryor and enthusiasm which
aroused the masses Of the Northwest to
take I'D arms against their own country
men. rather than fOrfeit the blessings
they had acquired.
If was an event Of historical impor-
tance, scarcely second to the discovery
"a the Mississippi itself by hernandC
DeSo.o, by which in few decades 0.
vssrs tSe Indian canoe was banlsheC
from the tul bid current and the granC
professions of civilization began to mus
ter along its banks Snd upon its heayine
bosom. These three great hlstorlca
events are the salient points OF llS ms
tory and its progress-in the croer o.
their occurrence the Discovery ~ pe
Soto. the Purchase Of Louisiana by Jef
fersop. and the resistance Of the North
western people-whose troops were the
,oost efficient Federal leyies Of the war
to the supposed effort Of the South t
abolish its free navigation We II
Memphis-have streets named IN homo
of both jefferson and DeSoto, to attes
our recognition Of their part in givinl
impulse to our city. We also have
Union street, which may be supposed t
bear witness to our zeal for the Union
which makes the Mississippi ire
highway.
But neither the era of the Discover.
Of the Mississippi by DeSoto, the en-
franchisement Of its navigation by JET
fersOn or the resistance to the restriction
of its trade by the Northwest, can at al
compare in imp ortanee, when we come t
consider the history of its progress, wit
the application Of steam to its navlga
tion. Without entering into dry stats
,;cs tie immense tonnage of its vessels
tbe ysIue of the wealth which foate
nnon is channel, through the years
its apdispated reign, the vastly improve
means of IOcOnOtiOn which it introduced