“Savannas,” sa-văn´nas. A wide plain without trees, and covered with grass. “Father of Waters.” Mississippi is an Indian word meaning “father of waters.” The following line refers to the immense quantities of débris that the river carries from hills and mountains, and in which many relics of the past are found buried. “Prairie,” prā´re. Often incorrectly pronounced. “Courier-des-bois.” French—literally scouts of the forest. “Voyageurs.” Travelers. “St. Catherine’s tresses.” St. Catherine lived a virgin; hence the expression means to live unmarried. “Shard.” A shred. The word is obsolete in this meaning. “Op-e-lou´sas.” “Chutes,” shoots. A rapid descent in a river, or the opening in a river dam. “Lagoon,” la-goon´. A marsh, shallow pond, or lake. “Wimpling.” Lying in folds; rippling. “Pĕl´i-cans.” A web-footed bird of large size, and remarkable for its bill, to the lower edge of which is attached a pouch which will hold many quarts of water. “Bayou of Plequemine,” bī´oo of plak-mēn´. One of the numerous lakes, outlets, or, as they say in the South, bayous, of the delta of the Mississippi. The southeast province of Louisiana, lying on the Gulf and containing the delta, is called Plaquemine. “Ten´e-broŭs.” Gloomy, dusky. “Mi-mō´sa.” The sensitive plant; its name comes from a Greek word signifying imitator, because the plant seems to imitate animal sensibility. “Atchafalaya,” atch-af-a-lī´a. A river or bayou of Louisiana connecting with the Mississippi just below the Red River. The Atchafalaya river is the outlet to the volumes of water bound by the levees of the Mississippi. “Where thirty-eight years ago,” says a writer in _Harper’s Weekly_, “the farmer waded across the Atchafalaya, now they find a depth of one hundred and twenty-two feet. The question that this wonderful change raises is whether the Atchafalaya will not eventually absorb the Mississippi current. The results would certainly be serious, and it is the opinion of many that unless proper care be taken, the Mississippi will take this short cut to the Gulf.” “Lō´tus.” An aquatic plant. “Wa-chi´ta.” “Cope.” An arch, or cover. “Pĕnd´ū-loŭs.” Swinging. “Under the lee of.” The word lee comes from the Anglo-Saxon word for shelter; hence the expression means under the shelter of the island. “Pal-mĕt´tos.” A species of the palm tree. “Thōles.” The pin used to keep the oar in the row-lock when rowing. “Têche,” tesh. “Bac-chăn´tes.” Devotees of Bacchus, the god of wine in Roman mythology. “Yule-tide.” Christmas-time. “Sombrero,” som-bra´ro. A kind of broad-brimmed hat. “O-zark´.” A range of hills running from the Missouri River in Missouri into Indian Territory. “Olympus.” The chief abode of the gods in Grecian mythology. “Cidevant,” se-de-vong´. Former. “Natch-ī-tōch´es.” Said to be pronounced by the inhabitants, nak´-e-tush. A northwest province of Louisiana having a capital of the same name.