Infection.—Mortality and Epidemics.—The Cost of Funerals.

CHAPTER XLIII.
I meet an Acquaintance.—Coffins and Swell Houses.—Mrs. O'Flaherty
goes One Better.—Epidemics and Embamming.—Six hundred for a
Good Case.—Joyful High Spirits.

CHAPTER XLIV.
French and Spanish Parts of the City.—Mr. Cable and the Ancient
Quarter.—Cabbages and Bouquets.—Cows and Children.—The Shell
Road. The West End.—A Good Square Meal.—The Pompano.—The Broom-
Brigade.—Historical Painting.—Southern Speech.—Lagniappe.

CHAPTER XLV.
"Waw" Talk.—Cock-Fighting.—Too Much to Bear.—Fine Writing.
—Mule Racing.

CHAPTER XLVI.
Mardi-Gras.—The Mystic Crewe.—Rex and Relics.—Sir Walter Scott.
—A World Set Back.—Titles and Decorations.—A Change.

CHAPTER XLVII.
Uncle Remus.—The Children Disappointed.—We Read Aloud.
—Mr. Cable and Jean au Poquelin.—Involuntary Trespass.—The Gilded
Age.—An Impossible Combination.—The Owner Materializes and Protests.

CHAPTER XLVIII.
Tight Curls and Springy Steps.—Steam-plows.—"No. I." Sugar.
—A Frankenstein Laugh.—Spiritual Postage.—A Place where there are
no Butchers or Plumbers.—Idiotic Spasms.

CHAPTER XLIX.
Pilot-Farmers.—Working on Shares.—Consequences.—Men who Stick
to their Posts.—He saw what he would do.—A Day after the Fair.

CHAPTER L.
A Patriarch.—Leaves from a Diary.—A Tongue-stopper.—The Ancient
Mariner.—Pilloried in Print.—Petrified Truth.

CHAPTER LI.
A Fresh "Cub" at the Wheel.—A Valley Storm.—Some Remarks on
Construction.—Sock and Buskin.—The Man who never played
Hamlet.—I got Thirsty.—Sunday Statistics.

CHAPTER LII.
I Collar an Idea.—A Graduate of Harvard.—A Penitent Thief.
—His Story in the Pulpit.—Something Symmetrical.—A Literary Artist.
—A Model Epistle.—Pumps again Working.—The "Nub" of the Note.

CHAPTER LIII.
A Masterly Retreat.—A Town at Rest.—Boyhood's Pranks.—Friends
of my Youth.—The Refuge for Imbeciles.—I am Presented with
my Measure.

CHAPTER LIV.
A Special Judgment.—Celestial Interest.—A Night of Agony.
—Another Bad Attack.—I become Convalescent.—I address a
Sunday-school.—A Model Boy.

CHAPTER LV.
A second Generation.—A hundred thousand Tons of Saddles.—A Dark
and Dreadful Secret.—A Large Family.—A Golden-haired Darling.
—The Mysterious Cross.—My Idol is Broken.—A Bad Season of
Chills and Fever.—An Interesting Cave.

CHAPTER LVI.
Perverted History—A Guilty Conscience.—A Supposititious Case.
—A Habit to be Cultivated.—I Drop my Burden.—Difference in Time.

CHAPTER LVII.
A Model Town.—A Town that Comes up to Blow in the Summer.
—The Scare-crow Dean.—Spouting Smoke and Flame.—An Atmosphere
that tastes good.—The Sunset Land.

CHAPTER LVIII.
An Independent Race.—Twenty-four-hour Towns.—Enchanting Scenery.
—The Home of the Plow.—Black Hawk.—Fluctuating Securities.
—A Contrast.—Electric Lights.

CHAPTER LIX.
Indian Traditions and Rattlesnakes.—A Three-ton Word.—Chimney
Rock.—The Panorama Man.—A Good Jump.—The Undying Head.
—Peboan and Seegwun.

CHAPTER LX.
The Head of Navigation.—From Roses to Snow.—Climatic Vaccination.
—A Long Ride.—Bones of Poverty.—The Pioneer of Civilization.
—Jug of Empire.—Siamese Twins.—The Sugar-bush.—He Wins his Bride.
—The Mystery about the Blanket.—A City that is always a Novelty.
—Home again.

APPENDIX.
         A
         B
         C
         D

THE 'BODY OF THE NATION'

BUT the basin of the Mississippi is the Body of The Nation. All the other parts are but members, important in themselves, yet more important in their relations to this. Exclusive of the Lake basin and of 300,000 square miles in Texas and New Mexico, which in many aspects form a part of it, this basin contains about 1,250,000 square miles. In extent it is the second great valley of the world, being exceeded only by that of the Amazon. The valley of the frozen Obi approaches it in extent; that of La Plata comes next in space, and probably in habitable capacity, having about eight-ninths of its area; then comes that of the Yenisei, with about seven-ninths; the Lena, Amoor, Hoang-ho, Yang-tse-kiang, and Nile, five-ninths; the Ganges, less than one-half; the Indus, less than one-third; the Euphrates, one-fifth; the Rhine, one-fifteenth. It exceeds in extent the whole of Europe, exclusive of Russia, Norway, and Sweden. It would contain austria four times, germany or spain five times, france six times, the british islands or italy ten times. Conceptions formed from the river-basins of Western Europe are rudely shocked when we consider the extent of the valley of the Mississippi; nor are those formed from the sterile basins of the great rivers of Siberia, the lofty plateaus of Central Asia, or the mighty sweep of