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1、LIFEONTHEMISSISSIPPIBYMARKTWAINTHE'BODYOFTHENATION'BUTthebasinoftheMississippiistheBODYOFTHENATION.Alltheotherpartsarebutmembers,importantinthemselves,yetmoreimportantintheirrelationstothis.ExclusiveoftheLakebasinandof300,000squaremilesinTexasandNewMexico,w
2、hichinmanyaspectsformapartofit,thisbasincontainsabout1,250,000squaremiles.Inextentitisthesecondgreatvalleyoftheworld,beingexceededonlybythatoftheAmazon.ThevalleyofthefrozenObiapproachesitinextent;thatofLaPlatacomesnextinspace,andprobablyinhabitablecapacity,
3、havingabouteight-ninthsofitsarea;thencomesthatoftheYenisei,withaboutseven-ninths;theLena,Amoor,Hoang-ho,Yang-tse-kiang,andNile,five-ninths;theGanges,lessthanone-half;theIndus,lessthanone-third;theEuphrates,one-fifth;theRhine,one-fifteenth.Itexceedsinextentt
4、hewholeofEurope,exclusiveofRussia,Norway,andSweden.ITWOULDCONTAINAUSTRIAFOURTIMES,GERMANYORSPAINFIVETIMES,FRANCESIXTIMES,THEBRITISHISLANDSORITALYTENTIMES.Conceptionsformedfromtheriver-basinsofWesternEuropearerudelyshockedwhenweconsidertheextentofthevalleyof
5、theMississippi;norarethoseformedfromthesterilebasinsofthegreatriversofSiberia,theloftyplateausofCentralAsia,orthemightysweepoftheswampyAmazonmoreadequate.Latitude,elevation,andrainfallallcombinetorendereverypartoftheMississippiValleycapableofsupportingadens
6、epopulation.ASADWELLING-PLACEFORCIVILIZEDMANITISBYFARTHEFIRSTUPONOURGLOBE.EDITOR'STABLE,HARPER'SMAGAZINE,FEBRUARY1863Chapter1TheRiverandItsHistoryTHEMississippiiswellworthreadingabout.Itisnotacommonplaceriver,butonthecontraryisinallwaysremarkable.Considerin
7、gtheMissouriitsmainbranch,itisthelongestriverintheworld--fourthousandthreehundredmiles.Itseemssafetosaythatitisalsothecrookedestriverintheworld,sinceinonepartofitsjourneyitusesuponethousandthreehundredmilestocoverthesamegroundthatthecrowwouldflyoverinsixhun
8、dredandseventy-five.ItdischargesthreetimesasmuchwaterastheSt.Lawrence,twenty-fivetimesasmuchastheRhine,andthreehundredandthirty-eighttimesasmuchastheThames.Nootherriverhassovastadrainage-basin:itdrawsi
