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GRIND
YOUR COFFEE AT HOME
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MISSISSIPPI. |
DE SOTO was the first
European to visit this section of
the United States, now known as
the State of Mississippi. In 1540
he crossed Florida and Alabama,
fighting the Indians and
perpetrating great cruelties. In
May, 1541, he stood upon the
banks of the Mississippi River,
in Tunica County, near the
Chickasaw Bluffs, above the mouth
of the St. Francis River. The
mighty river filled De Soto with
admiration. In 1673 Marquette and
Joliet visited the same region,
passing from Quebec up to the
Great Lakes, and descending both
the Wisconsin and Mississippi
rivers. Nine years later La Salle
followed the same route, taking
possession of the country in the
name of France. In 1699 an
expedition sent out by Louis XIV,
headed by Iberville and
Bienville, occupied Ship and Cat
Islands, and erected a fort at
Biloxi. Later they laid out the
town of Rosalie, on the site of
the city of Natchez, where a
settlement was made in 1716. The
Indians valiantly contested the
settlement by the Whites in that
part of the country, they were at
war with them periodically until
1832-34, when the Choctaws and
Chickasaws departed across the
Mississippi River, and soon after
a great influx of settlers
occupied their deserted fields.
Mississippi was one of the first
States to declare for Secession,
and as early as January, 1861,
artillery was planted at
Vicksburg so as to command the
river. In April, 1863, General
Grant crossed the river at
Bruinsburg, captured Grand Gulf
and Jackson, defeated Pemberton's
troops at Champion Hills, and on
July 4th, he received the
surrender of Vicksburg, and its
capture practically ended the war
on the Mississippi. |
ILLUSTRATIONS. |
De
Soto Discovering the Mississippi;
River Boats Racing; Cotton
Plantation; Battle of Vicksburg, 1863. |
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