It was another rain-threatened day due to a huge disturbance up and down the Mississippi Valley. The pilot said yesterday that the river is expected to rise 4 feet a day for 2 days and then 2-3 feet a day for a week (a total rise of more than 20 feet). We’ve had a lot of rain!
Natchez, Mississippi is a city of about 18,000 people and while larger than the other towns we have visited is suffering from the same issues of declining population. Natchez is the southern point on the Natchez Trace Trail which runs loosely up to western Tennessee. The trail is said to have been a primary transportation route for more than 10,000 years.
The stories we heard about Natchez and the Civil War were different than others. It seems that instead of putting up a strong resistance, the Confederacy surrendered the city immediately. It was occupied by the Union army and a symbiotic relationship was established. That’s probably the reason many of the buildings have remained.
The people of Natchez we met were gracious and welcoming. After wandering around for the morning, we just hung out on the ship for the afternoon. Rain was coming and we just decided to take a break. We were given a really interesting tour of the ship’s navigation areas. The automation in place and the sophistication of the engines were something to see.
Just before dinner we were told that the weather is supposed to be so back tomorrow that we will not be stopping in St. Francisville and will go straight to Baton Rouge. Because they actually run the ship on shore and then tie off to shore (trees in this case) the wind strength was going to cause a few problems. We will still see the sites we planned in St. Francisville, but by taking a bus from Baton Rouge.
