The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Mississippi

MISSISSIPPI, one of the southern United States and the seventh admitted to the original Union, situated between lat. 30° 13′ and 35° N. and long. 88° 7′ and 91° 41′ W.; extreme length, north and south, 332 miles; average breadth, 142 miles, varying from 78 miles below lat. 31° N., to 189 miles on that parallel, and 118 miles on the north line; area, 48,610 square miles, being 1.61 per cent of the territorial extent of the United States. It is bounded north by Tennessee, east by Alabama, south, between the Alabama line and Pearl River, by the Gulf of Mexico, and from the Pearl to the Mississippi on the parallel of 31° N., by the State of Louisiana; and west by Louisiana and Arkansas, having below lat. 31° N. the Pearl River, and above that line the Mississippi as the dividing lines. The Round, Horn, Ship, Deer, Cat, Petit Bois and several other islands lying outside of and forming the southern limit of the Mississippi Sound belong to this State. Mississippi was admitted to the Union 10 Dec. 1817 and takes its name from the river which forms its western boundary for a distance of over 500 river miles. There are 80 counties in the State. The capital city is Jackson.

Topography.— Mississippi lies in two principal hydrographical divisions, separated by a low broad watershed; the eastern rivers flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, and the westernmost streams emptying into the Mississippi. East of the dividing broad ridge the surface of the State consists of broad rolling fertile prairies; the ridge itself is rolling and broken into narrow valleys where streams afford plentiful water supply, while to the west the land falls away into the low swampy lands of the Yazoo and Mississippi rivers. The State is very low, the highest altitude being but 1,000 feet. The coast has a shore line on the Gulf of Mexico of 88 miles, or including the irregularities and islands, of 287 miles. In the eastern part of the State the prairies are covered with grass the greatest part of the year. East of this prairie region extends a level but very fertile tract on the upper course of the Tombigbee River. In the northern district is a range of hills of moderate elevation, well-wooded but devoid of undergrowth. These hills find their western limit in the Walnut Hills; and west of them and between them and the Mississippi

River, in about lat. 32° 30′, for a distance of more than 170 miles, north and south, and 60 miles extreme east and west, the country is occupied by immense bottom lands, produced and fed formerly by the inundations of the Mississippi, constituting the so-called “Delta.” Nearly all of this low region has been now reclaimed by a system of levees and is rapidly being opened up and settled, and penetrated by railroads. The bottom-lands are about 7,000 square miles in extent.

Rivers and Lakes.— Mississippi is well watered by the Homochitto, Big Black, Yazoo, Sunflower, Coldwater and Tallahatchie rivers, all emptying into the Mississippi, and the Pearl, Pascagoula, Leaf and Tombigbee, all emptying into the Gulf of Mexico. There are many small streams in all parts of the State, which, though inferior in capacity to those already noticed, are locally important, watering extensive districts and giving fertility to the soil. In the bottom lands are numerous lakes, bayous and channels, and in this district, along the Mississippi, levees are built by the State partly from a fund derived from a special tax on the land, and partly with moneys derived from the sale of swamp lands. Drainage districts in the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta have been recently established, one project alone calling for the expenditure of $8,000,000.

Climate.—The State lies in what is called the semi-tropic climate belt. The winters are short and mild, the mean temperature 45° F.; the summers are devoid of intense heat, the mean 81°, seldom reaching 100°. Ice from 1 to 2 inches thick forms in the northern part of the State. The elevation of the surface and the Gulf breezes render the climate delightful during most of the year. The annual rainfall ranges from 48 to 58 inches. The death rate is very low — 12.9 in 1,000. The heaviest rains occur in late winter or early spring, when the warm Gulf winds meet the cold north winds. The average wind velocity for the whole year is seven miles per hour. The prevailing wind for January is from the north, while it is from the south for July.

Geology.— Mississippi is occupied wholly by deposits of the Tertiary and Upper Secondary formations, which, sweeping around from the southern Atlantic States, attain here their greatest width. Near the Gulf of Mexico the sands and clays of the largest periods are spread over the country, and further north the deposits gradually become of greater age. At Vicksburg the Eocene appears at the base of the river bluffs and the upper portion of these is covered by a deep deposit of yellowish loam or loess, containing fresh-water and land shells. This extends over the country eastward and attains a thickness of 60 feet or more. The Upper Secondary appears near Jackson and occupies the northern portion of the State. Fossil remains of a gigantic marine animal, resembling the alligator, are found in the prairie regions.

Flora and Fauna.—There are over 100 species of trees in the State, including 15 varieties of oak. There are cypress, poplar, long-leaved pine, tupelo, sycamore, persimmon, magnolia, holly, cucumber, tree, sweet-gum, black-walnut and various species of hickory, elm and maple. Wild animals, such as the deer, puma, wolf, bear and wild-cat, are still occasionally

seen. Alligators occur in the Mississippi River as far north as the mouth of the Arkansas, and in some of the smaller rivers; and most of the streams abound in fish. Paroquets are seen as far north as Natchez and wild turkeys are still somewhat common.

Forestry.— There are about 32,000 square miles of timbered land in the State. The yellow pine ranks first among the forest trees, and extends northward from the coast for 150 miles. The hills or bluffs along the Mississippi Delta extend to the prairie lands on the eastward and affords numerous forests of oak, gum, poplar, tulip, ash, maple and hickory, and a few pine trees. The prairies of the southern part are covered with the long-leaved pine. Only within recent years has the timber product been important. Nearly all the timber cut consists of yellow pine and oak and other hard woods. Turpentine, resin and other naval stores are no small portion of the product from the timber belt.

Agriculture.— The fertility of the soil and a favoreble climate give to Mississippi eminent advantages as an agricultural State. Nowhere in the world are there better alluvial lands than the Mississippi bottom or “Delta” contains — an alluvial plain in a mild climate, level as the surface of the ocean and of inexhaustible fertility; and this plain is only a small part of the fertile lands of the State. The table-lands of the north, the loams along the bluffs and banks of the Mississippi, the dark and heavy prairie lands of the northeastern section and the inland bottoms are of scarcely less fertility. The prairies, especially in the Tombigbee district, furnish excellent pasturage and, besides the common crops, produce fine alfalfa. Sugar is produced in the southern portion, besides molasses, but cotton and cotton-seed form the great staple of practically the entire State. Maize and oats are grown everywhere and wheat of fine quality is sometimes, though not commonly, produced in the northern parts. All the fruits of temperate climes grow in perfection, including berries and melons; plums, peaches and figs are abundant and, in the southern part, oranges and pecans. The farms of Mississippi, according to latest reliable statistics, numbered about 274,382 (average size 67.6 acres), total acreage 18,557,533 acres, of which 9,008,310 acres were improved land, valued at $426,314,634. Of this, $254,002,289 was value of land, $80,160,000 was value of buildings, $16,905,312 of implements and machinery and $75,247,033 of domestic animals, poultry and bees. Of the farmers, 108,909 were native-born whites, 736 were foreign-born whites, 164,239 were negroes, 248 Indians and 11 Chinese. Of the whites, 67,040 were owners, 41,886 were tenants and 719 managers; of the non-whites, 25,026 were owners, 139,605 were tenants and 106 managers.

The principal crops with their acreage, production and value in 1910 were: Corn, 3,232,000 acres, 66,256,000 bushels, valued at $41,741,000; wheat, 5,000 acres, 70,000 bushels, valued at $81,000; oats, 175,000 acres, 3,360,000 bushels, valued at $1,848,000; sweet potatoes, 56,045 acres, 4,427,988 bushels, valued at $2,213,944; cotton, 3,400210 acres, 1,127,156 bales, valued at $47,340,000; cottonseed, 564,000 tons, valued at $6,692,000; hay from cultivated grasses, 98,788 acres, 128,351 tons, valued at $1,732,000;

cane sugar, 24,861 acres, 222,600 tons, valued at $2,226,000; cane molasses, 2,920,519 gallons, valued at $1,000,000.

The total value of Mississippi crops for 1910 was, including fruits, nuts and vegetables, $147,315,621, with approximately $9,008,310 improved land in farms. In 1915 the aggregate value of cotton, cotton-seed and cotton-seed products was $82,000,000, and that of grain crops, hay and potatoes was $57,496,000.

The total value of livestock on farms and ranges in 1910 was $73,255,756, of which $15,269,364 represented the value of cattle, $20,303,851 horses, $32,028,421 mules, $4,913,166 swine and the rest asses, burros, goats and sheep. Of the cattle, $429,587 represented the value of dairy cows.

In 1917 cotton was grown on 2,801,000 acres and yielded 895,000 bales, valued at $127,538,000; maize yielded 84,050,000 bushels from 4,100,000 acres and valued at $115,989,000. Oats in the same year yielded 5,700,000 bushels from 300,000 acres and valued at $5,358,000. Potatoes were raised on 14,000 acres, yielded 1,092,000 bushels valued at $1,835,000. The 1917 hay crop from 261,000 acres was valued at $5,676,000. In 1918 the State had 253,000 horses, 307,000 mules, 508,000 milch cows, 644,000 other cattle, 174,000 sheep and 1,902,000 hogs.

Many counties are pressing vigorously the work of tick eradic a tion and more than ⅔ of the territory of the State is now freed from that pest and from the Federal quarantine on cattle shipments. The value of the fruit product of the State in 1917 was about $1,900,000, of this amount nearly 50 per cent was contributed by the peach crop; 10 per cent by apples, and 5 per cent each by figs and strawberries.

Fisheries.— This industry is centred at Biloxi, from which great quantities of oysters and shrimps are shipped annually. Buffalo fish, mullet, catfish, sea trout are the principal fishes sought. About 2,000 persons are engaged in the industry in which is invested capital to the extent of over $500,000. The value of the annual catch is about $550,000.

Minerals.— Mississippi is not a mining State. Clay is the principal product, being produced annually to the value of about $800,000. Marl, phosphate rock, hydraulic lime, gypsum and lignite are also found in limited quantities. None of these are worked to any considerable extent. There are six mineral springs which in a recent year produced 257,200 gallons, valued at $52,780.

Manufactures.— At the last industrial census, measured by the value of products of its manufacturing industries ($79,550,095), Mississippi ranked 39th among the States and with an average of 46,702 wage-earners engaged in its industries, the State ranked 31st in this respect. The census reported 2,209 industrial establishments, employing 52,277 persons, of whom 2,386 were proprietors and firm members, 3,189 salaried employees and 46,702 wage-earners. The primary horse power required to operate these establishments aggregated 186,434, the capital amounted to $81,005,484; the cost of materials aggregated $41,340,122; the value of products $79,550,095, making the value added by manufacture $38,209,973. Of the latter sum only $19,176,627 was paid in wages and $3,831,133 in salaries, or an average

of $410 per annum for each wage-earner, leaving over $15,000,000 for rent and taxes ($1,320,197), payments for contract work ($2,075,852), interest on investment, depreciation, etc. The following table shows the relative importance of the leading industries:

Of the 52,277 persons engaged in manufacturing industries, of whom 46,702 were wage-earners, as already stated, 46,069 were 16 years of age and over and 633 under 16 years; 1,904 were women and girls and 119 of the latter were under 16 years of age. Consult ‘Census of Manufactures’ (Vol. I, issued by Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Washington, D. C, 1918).

The above statements do not include about 2,000 cotton-ginning plants.

Finances.—On 1 Oct. 1918, the total indebtedness of the State, including $2,354,607.74 of debt for school funds, on which interest alone is paid, was $5,102,991. Total bonded debt as of May 1, 1919 is $8,301,607.74. The assessed valuation in 1917 was as follows: Real estate, $417,164,293; personal property, $117,551,983; public service corporations, $91,580,335; total, $626,296,611; and the State tax rate $4 per thousand. The total receipts for the year 1917-18 were $9,485,790.68, total disbursements, $8,301,526.57. The main source of income is a direct State property tax, which yields almost 45 per cent of the total income. Of the disbursements in 1918, 15 per cent were for common school purposes and 5 per cent for redemption of the State debt.

Banks and Banking.—The first bank in the State was opened in Natchez in 1809. On 31 Dec. 1918, there were 33 national banks in operation with $30,310,811.87 of deposits, including

savings deposits; and 288 State banks with $83,891,325.59 of deposits, including $8,301,526.57 of savings accounts. A comparative statement of the State banks, not including national banks, is: On 30 June 1900, resources, $19,345,840; on 25 Aug. 1905, $50,620,811; on 2 June 1910, $66,688,649; on 31 Dec. 1918, $149,198,055.78. In this State the Uniform Negotiable Instruments Act has been adopted.

Education.— Nearly all the cities and towns in the State maintain graded schools for 10 months in the year. The country free schools are maintained four months. Separate schools are conducted for the two races. In 1915 the children of school age numbered 737,356; the enrolment in public schools were 575,653, and the average daily attendance was 312,650. There were 6,656 licensed teachers, 7,500 public school buildings, and school property valued at $2,500,000. The State appropriation for common schools in 1915 was $1,695,651, in addition to which the counties and the towns levy additional taxes for schools, and there are other sources of public revenue for schools. For higher education, there were 115 graded public schools, 17 private secondary schools, 3 public and 2 private normal schools, 8 universities and colleges for men and 6 colleges for women. The men's colleges include the Agricultural and Mechanical College (State) at Starkville; the Mississippi College (Baptist) at Clinton; Millsaps College (Methodist) at Jackson; Jefferson College (at Washington) near Natchez; Chamberlain-Hunt (Presbyterian), Port Gibson; Rust University at Holly Springs. Among the most notable women's colleges are the Industrial Institute and College (State) at Columbus; Blue Mountain College (Baptist) at Blue Mountain; East Mississippi Female College (Methodist) at Meridian; Belhaven College (Presbyterian) at Jackson; Hillman College (Baptist) at Clinton; Whitworth College (Methodist) at Brookhaven; Grenada College (Methodist) at Grenada; Stanton College at Natchez. The University of Mississippi at Oxford is a coeducational institution, as also the Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College at Rodney, a State technological institute for colored pupils; also the Tougaloo University, a Baptist missionary industrial institution, at Tougaloo, near Jackson. Normal schools are established at various points.

In 1916 there were 227 newspapers issued in the State, including 16 daily, 183 weekly, 7 semi-weekly, 2 fortnightly, 5 semi-monthly and 14 monthly; 2 agricultural and 13 religious.

Religion.—The Baptist Church claims over half the church population of the State; and then follow the Methodist Episcopal, South; the African Methodist, the Methodist Episcopal, the Roman Catholic, the Southern Presbyterian, the Cumberland Presbyterian, the Disciples of Christ and the Protestant Episcopal. At present there are 6,500 Sunday schools conducted by church organizations, with over 33,000 officers and teachers and about 300,000 pupils.

Charities and Correction.—There is a State penitentiary, the prisoners being employed at labor on State farms. There are State hospitals for the insane at Asylum and Meridian. The State Deaf and Dumb Institute, for white and colored, and the School for the Blind (white) are located at Jackson. The Beauvoir

Home is located at Beauvoir. There are charity hospitals supported by the State at Jackson, Natchez and Vicksburg. There are altogether 17 benevolent institutions, of which about 12 have been founded by private or church authorities. At present there are about 435 paupers in institutions, being 24.3 per 100,000 population, and about 2,300 prisoners in penal institutions, being 127 per 100,000 of the population.

Government.— The State is governed under a constitution adopted in 1890, with some later amendments. The governor is elected for a term of four years, and receives a salary of $5,000 per annum. He is not eligible for re-election. Other executive officers are the lieutenant-governor, auditor, attorney-general, secretary of state and treasurer. Legislative sessions are held biennially, beginning on Tuesday after the first Monday in January; but only those sessions held in the leap years are unlimited as to scope and duration; the other sessions can deal only with revenue and appropriations and such other matters as the governor shall submit to them by message. The legislature and entire State government are Democratic. Each member receives $400 per annum and mileage. There are eight representatives in the United States Congress. The legislature is composed of 138 representatives and 45 senators. There are six supreme judges, elected by the people for eight years; and circuit judges and chancery judges, also elected by the people for four years. Voters must have resided in the State for two years and in the election district for one year. Registration is necessary, and the voter must be able to read any section of the Constitution of the State, or be able to understand the same when read to him, or give a reasonable interpretation thereof. He must also have paid taxes for two years and must pay a poll tax of $2 for school maintenance.

State and county officials are nominated at primary elections, the expenses being paid by the political parties interested. The commission form of government is permitted to municipalities, which enjoy a large measure of home rule. The initiative and referendum is allowed in municipal charters and is called into operation by petition of 10 per cent of the voters. A commission charter may be abandoned by any city by a vote of the electors after it has been six years in operation. Among the special statutory provisions is one according to which a public service corporation forfeits its charter for intrastate commerce in case it removes a suit from the State to the Federal courts. Contributory negligence is not recognized as a bar to a suit for damages for injuries, etc. Women may make contracts and dispose of or acquire property on equal terms with their husbands.

Transportation.—The total length of railroads within the State in 1916 was 4,242 miles; besides 44 miles of electric interurban railways. The most important lines were, the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley, having 1,143 miles within the State; the Illinois Central, 679 miles; the Gulf and Ship Island, 305 miles; the Kansas City, Memphis and Birmingham, 143 miles; the Mobile and Ohio, 315 miles; the Southern, 377 miles; the Alabama and Vicksburg, 141 miles; the Louisville and Nashville. 74 miles;

the New Orleans and Northeastern, 153 miles; the New Orleans and Great Northern, 106 miles; the Mobile, Jackson and Kansas City, 370 miles; and the Mississippi Central, 164 miles. Vicksburg, Greenville and Natchez are the principal ports on the Mississippi River; and Gulf port, Biloxi and Pascagoula, on the Gulf of Mexico. The various counties are spending a great deal of money improving the roads by graveling to the extent of many hundreds of miles in the aggregate.

Population.—The total population in 1910 was 1,797,114, or 38.8 to the square mile, of which 908,000, or 58 per cent, were colored. There were 1,253 Indians and 9,389 foreign-born inhabitants, of whom 1,665 were German, 2,137 Italian and 747 Irish. The estimated population on 1 July 1916 was 1,951,674. Until 1830, and later, the white population was somewhat in excess of the colored; but in the decade 1830 to 1840 the cessions of Indian Territory within the State made by the Chickasaw and Cherokee Indians, and the opening for occupancy of the lands so ceded, constituting more than half the State, invited an immediate and immense inflow of settlers, with very many slaves because of the fine cotton lands, the colored population at once ran over the white, and it has so remained since. The history is shown by this table:

The total population in 1860 was 791,305; in 1870 was 827,922; in 1880 was 1,131,597; in 1890 was 1,289,660; in 1900 was 1,551,270; in 1910 was 1,797,114. The largest cities are Meridian 25,378; Jackson, 21,262; Vicksburg, 23,264; Natchez, 12,670. Other important towns are Hattiesburg, Greenville, Laurel, Biloxi, Yazoo City, Gulfport and McComb City — named in order of population.

History.— (q.v.) and his companions first visited the Mississippi region in 1539. They made no settlements, however, and the death of the leader in 1542 put an end to the expedition. In 1682 La Salle descended the Mississippi, took formal possession of the adjacent country for the king of France and called it Louisiana. In 1698 M. d'Iberville was authorized by the French king to colonize the regions of the lower Mississippi. He landed near Ship Island and, from this point, setting out with two large barges, explored the coast, discovered the mouth of the Mississippi, reaching the bend at the mouth of the Red River, and returning to Ship Island erected a fort at the Bay of Biloxi, about 80 miles east from the site of New Orleans. He then embarked for France, leaving the fort in command of his two brothers, Sauvolle and Bienville. In December 1699, Iberville returned, and soon after built a fort on the banks of the Mississippi. In 1700 the Chevalier de Tonty

arrived at Iberville's fort with a party of Canadian French from Illinois. Availing himself of de Tonty's knowledge of the country, Iberville dispatched a party under his lead to explore the river and its banks. They ascended to the Natchez country, 400 miles above the French fort, and here selected a site for a fort and called it Rosalie. A settlement was also made in 1703 on the Yazoo River, which was called Saint Peter's. The colonies thus planted grew but slowly, and New Orleans, being founded soon after, drew off a large oortion of the colonists from the interior, besides attracting the new immigrants. In 1728 the settlers and the Natchez Indians became enemies and, as a result, the latter massacred the settlers, and over 200 persons were killed and 500 taken prisoners. The captives were, however, released, and new and stronger forts were erected. Aided by the Choctaw tribes, the French succeeded in destroying the tribe, the greater part of which fell in battle. In 1733 the colony went to war with the Chickasaws, allies of the English, and the conflict continued for several years. There was a peace, followed in 1752 by another Indian war. In 1762 when Florida was ceded to Great Britain, that part of the present State lying south of a line drawn eastward from the mouth of the Yazoo River (practically from Vicksburg) was claimed to be part of Florida; and when in 1781 Spain conquered Florida, that part of the State came under Spanish rule. In 1798 the Mississippi Territory was created by Congress. Its boundaries were the Mississippi River on the west, the 31st parallel on the south, the Chattahoochee on the east and a line drawn from the mouth of the Yazoo due east on the north. The Territory having been surrendered to the United States as part of Georgia, the consent of that State had been previously obtained 'to the establishment of a territorial government. This consent was followed in 1802 by the further cession by Georgia of all her lands south of Tennessee, and these by an act of Congress in 1804 were attached to the Mississippi Territory, which thus comprised the whole of what are now the States of Alabama and Mississippi from the 31st to the 35th parallel. The territory between the Pearl and. the Perdido rivers was added in 1811, having been wrested from Spain under the plea that it had originally formed a part of Louisiana. In March 1817, Alabama was separated from Mississippi and organized under a territorial government of its own; and on 10 December of the same year Mississippi was admitted into the Union as an independent State. In 1861 it passed an ordinance of secession, took a prominent part in the Civil War, and finally, in January 1869, was readmitted to representation in Congress, after ratifying the 15th amendment. The principal battles fought here during the Civil War were those of Corinth, Baker's Creek, Holly Springs, Iuka and the siege of Vicksburg. The several State constitutions have been those of 1817, 1832, 1869 and 1890; the latter, with certain amendments, being now in force. The State has had four territorial governors, two provisional governors, one Union Democrat, three Republican and 30 Democratic governors.

Bibliography.—Claiborne, ‘Mississippi as a Province, Territory and State’ (1889); Davis, ‘Recollections of Mississippi’ (1889); Duval, ‘History of Mississippi’ (1892); Garner, ‘Reconstruction in Mississippi’ (1901); Goodspeed, ‘Memoir of Mississippi’ (1891); Hurt, ‘Mississippi, Its Climate, Soil and Production’ (1883); Hilgard, ‘Report on the Geology and Agriculture of Mississippi’ (1860); Lowry and McCardle, ‘History of Mississippi’ (1891); Monette, ‘History of Mississippi Valley’ (1848); Mayes, ‘Educational History of Mississippi’ (1891); Rozier, ‘History of Early

Settlements in the Mississippi Valley’ (1890); Tracy, ‘Mississippi as It Is’ (1895); Wall, ‘The State of Mississippi’ (1879); Winsor, ‘The Mississippi Basin’ (1895); ‘Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society’ (16 vols.); Rowland, ‘Encyclopædia of Mississippi History’ (2 vols., 1907); Reports of the Executive Departments of the State; Rowland, ‘Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi’ (Centennial ed., Madison, Wis., 1917).