02x05 - The Mississippi River

[bunniefuu]

[upbeat music]

Hey, everybody. Let's G-O go!

♪ With ABC, --, and Do-Re-Mi ♪

♪ There's endless people and places to see ♪

♪ From the classroom they can search and explore ♪

♪ With every adventure you learn more ♪

♪ They visit countries near and far ♪

♪ They love to learn wherever they are ♪

♪ They see the world in a brand new way ♪

♪ They make great new friends every day ♪

♪ ABC, -- and Do-Re-Mi ♪

♪ Come along and you will see ♪

♪ The more they travel the more you know ♪

♪ Get ready, let's G-O go ♪

What are you reading, ABC?

[claps] Yoo-hoo!

He's in a special happy reading place.

[Do-Re-Mi] Oh. Maybe this'll do it.

[plays Reveille]

That book must be fantastic.

[sighs] Finished.

Oh. Of course.

Hi, --, Do-Re-Mi.

I noticed on the way up

that the great American author Mark Twain

wrote all of these books.

Have you read 'em all?

You bet I have, but that's the third time

for "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."

It's one of his most famous books.

[--] What's it about?

It's the adventures of a boy, Huckleberry Finn,

and a lot of it takes place

on the Mississippi River.

I can tell you

that the Mississippi River sounds exciting.

I know a little about it.

For example, did you know that it's more than , miles long?

Whoa. What a river!

I want to know more!

Then what are we waiting for?

[all] Let's search it!

[Do-Re-Mi] Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Whoa!

The Mississippi River connects a lot of states.

[ABC] Ten of 'em!

[--] Ooh, what kind of boat is that?

That's a steamboat.

There's a picture of one in my copy of "Huckleberry Finn."

I've always wondered how a steam engine works.

Oh, I want to see that.

[ABC] The Gateway Arch.

Let's G-O--

ABC, wait!

The Mississippi River is so long.

Where do we start?

Oh.

How 'bout the beginning?

That sounds perfect.

Searching the beginning of the Mississippi River.

[all] Lake Itasca, Minnesota.

Let's G-O go.

Okay, we're looking for a sign that marks the beginning

of the Mississippi River.

[ABC] That's not it, but we're getting close.

There it is. Ready?

[-- and Do-Re-Mi] Ready!

I can't believe I'm finally making this trip.

It's going to be incredible!

Oh.

ABC, --, and Do-Re-Mi.

This really is a lucky day.

Hi. I'm Tara.

[all] Hi, Tara.

Welcome to the beginning of the Mississippi River.

I was picturing something a little deeper.

And a lot wider.

[chuckles] A long time ago,

my ancestors, who spoke the Algonquin language,

gave this river its name.

The Mississippi?

Yes. It means "big water."

Further down the river, past this beginning part,

called the headwaters,

the river can be as much as miles wide.

Eleven miles? This little stream?

But how is that possible?

[Tara] The Mississippi is one big river,

but there are many other rivers and streams that flow into it.

See this light green area?

The streams and rainfall from different states

flows into the Mississippi.

I can see why your ancestors called it "big water."

Look how clear the water is.

It gets a lot muddier the closer you get to its end,

down near the Gulf of Mexico.

Is that because of all the soil the river picks up along its way

from here to there?

-Exactly. -Wait.

You're paddling all the way to the Gulf of Mexico?

Mm-hm.


-Wow! -Amazing!

That's more than , miles.

That's incredible.

Ooh, it's raining.

I'm taking that as a sign of good luck.

How long will it take you to paddle to the Gulf?

About as long as it will take these raindrops to reach it.

A little over days.

Can we come?

I can help paddle the boat.

Uh, ABC, days is about three months.

Oh. [chuckles] Right.

Maybe another time.

So where are you off to now?

We'd like to see a steamboat.

I know just the person to visit. He's a steamboat pilot.

A pilot? Of a boat?

That means he steers the boat.

I read about that

in "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," too.

[gasps] He'll know how a steam engine works.

I'm so excited!

[ABC] Bye, Tara! Safe travels.

Bye.

[gasps] Oh, wait. We need your phone!

[laughs] Quick. Jump in the boat.

Yahoo!

Our first adventure on the Mississippi River.

[all laugh]

[horn blows]

So, how does a steam engine work?

In a steamboat,

water is heated up and it turns into steam.

Then the steam goes through a machine,

the engine, which makes those giant paddles turn.

[--] Oh.

[horn blows]

[captain] Steamboats are a very important part of our history,

because they changed how people and things

moved around the country.

They did?

Sure.

A steamboat could do something

smaller boats had a hard time doing.

It went up the river because it had a powerful steam engine.

[ABC] Whoa!

[captain] You see, it's easy for boats to go down the river,

because that's the way the water moves.

But it's hard to go up the river

because the water tries to take you the other way.

[--] But big, powerful steamboats

could easily carry large, heavy loads

up and down the river.

[captain] That's right.

Which meant more people and more things.

Cities like Memphis, St. Louis, and Baton Rouge got bigger

as more people came and new businesses opened.

If steamboats were so important,

why don't we see more of them today?

[captain] Better boats were invented.

[Do-Re-Mi] You can sure get a lot more stuff

on a big ship like that than on a steamboat.

And when trains came along,

there was a different way for people and things to travel.

And trains go places that steamboats can't.

Oh. Because steamboats could only go

where the rivers and lakes were.

So where are my three favorite explorers going to next?

I really want to see the Gateway Arch.

It's in St. Louis.

Are you headed that way?

Not today, but I know someone that lives nearby.

-[gasps] -[all] Great.

[gasps] Is that...?

[--] Huckleberry Finn?

It couldn't be. Could it?

[Do-Re-Mi] No way. He's a made-up character.

[yawns] Ain't no matter if you never heard of me.

It sure looks like Huckleberry Finn.

ABC Mouse?

I can't believe it's you!

And I can't believe it's you!

No, really. Who are you?

Oh. [chuckles] Right. I'm Steve.

I'm playing Huckleberry Finn in a play tonight

and everyone I know is coming to see it.

I'm a little nervous, though,

and wanted to take a break before the show.

Well, do you want to show us the Gateway Arch?

You know, that would be great!

But we'll need to be quick, so we'll take my scooter.

[all] Scooter?

Yup. Hold on!

Does it go any faster?

I had a feeling that would be your next question.

[all cheering]

There's a great view of the Gateway Arch right over here.

I'm so excited.

So, have you read a lot of Mark Twain's books?

Almost all of them. He's my favorite author.


Mine too! Well, at least right now.

Did you know that Mark Twain wasn't his real name?

It wasn't?

It was Samuel Langhorne Clemens.

Before he was a famous writer,

he was a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River.

He called himself Mark Twain

because as long as a riverboat was in water

that was at least feet deep,

the crew on the boat would yell out, "mark twain!"

That way the pilot knew the water was deep enough

for the riverboat.

Well, here we are.

The Gateway Arch.

[Do-Re-Mi] It really is tall.

feet high, to be precise.

Here's a fun fact:

It's the tallest arch in the world.

[ABC] The Arch is like a gateway to the West,

helping people remember all the pioneers

who went out West to live.

Wow. You know your history.

Well, we'd better get back to the theater now.

One last scooter ride?

What do you say, --?

Race you to the scooter!

[all laughing]

[cheering and applause]

-Bravo! -That was wonderful!

Good job!

[sighs] "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer."

That's my favorite book yet.

Hm.

What to read next?

[straining]

Ta-da!

Whoa!

[laughs]

Well, he's back in his special happy reading place.

[all laugh]

[ABC] Now it's time to sing along.