Who Discovered the Mississippi River?

This engraving depicts Hernando de Soto’s discovery of the Mississippi River at a point below Natchez on May 8, 1541. De Soto (1500–1542) was the first European to document the river. The image shows him and his men approaching the river and a group of Native Americans camped there. At the center, de Soto, riding a white horse, moves toward the American Indians, who watch in front of their tepees. A chief holds out a peace pipe to de Soto. In the darker foreground are pictured men with weapons, armor, and cannon. A monk prays as men set a crucifix in the ground.