Capes on the Mississippi River

Capes on the Middle Mississippi - Carte de la rivière de Mississippi, by Guillaume de L’Isle

Map by Lieut. Ross - 1772

The term cape has a different tradition of usage in the American Midwest along the Mississippi River. The middle Mississippi River Valley once formed part of the French Colonies of Quebec and Louisiana, also referred to as Upper Louisiana (Haute-Louisiane) or the Illinois Country (Pays des Illinois).^[1] The Illinois Country also included the left bank of the Mississippi River in present-day Missouri.^[2][3]

The French explorers and mapmakers used the word cape (or in French, “cap”) to describe the bluffs and promontories along the Mississippi River. A “cap” could sit next to any body of water, not just the ocean.^[4] Spanish authorities also used the term cabo (cape) for points on the Mississippi River. Along the Mississippi River between St. Louis and Cairo there are a number of capes of French origin.^[5]

Capes on the Mississippi River and tributaries
Name	Original French Name	Translation	State	Location
Cape Cinque Hommes or Cape St. Cosme [6]	Cap des Cinque Hommes or Cap St. Cosme	cape of five men or cape of St. Cosme	MO	37°41′33.2″N 89°31′45.3″W / 37.692556°N 89.529250°W [7]
Cape Creche	Cap Crèche	cape manger	MO
Cape La Croix	Cap de la Croix	cape of the cross	MO	37°14′53.51″N 89°28′05.76″W / 37.2481972°N 89.4682667°W [8]
Cap à la Cruche	Cap à la Cruche	cape pitcher	MO
Cape Fair [9]	--	--	MO	36°43′48″N 93°30′37″W / 36.73000°N 93.51028°W [10]
Cape Garlick [11]	Cap à l’Ail	cape garlic	MO
Cape Girardeau [12]	Cap de Girardot	cape of Girardot	MO	37°18′21″N 89°31′05″W / 37.30583°N 89.51806°W [13]
Cap au Gris	Cap au Gris [14]	cape of gray	MO	38°59′56″N 90°41′30″W / 38.99889°N 90.69167°W [15]
Cape de la Grotte	Cap de la Grotte	cape of the caves	MO
Cap aux Pistolets	Cap aux Pistolets	cape of the pistols	MN
Cape La Roche	Cap de la Roche	cape of the rock	MO
Cape de Roche Blanche [16]	Cap de Roche blanche	cape of the white rock	MO
Cape Rock	--	--	MO	37°19′43″N 89°29′45″W / 37.32861°N 89.49583°W [17]
Cape St. Anthony [18]	Cap de St. Antoine	cape of Saint Anthony [19]	IL	37°37′57″N 89°30′7″W / 37.63250°N 89.50194°W [20]
Cape Swallow	Cap l’hirondelle	cape swallow	MO
Pointed Cape	Cap de la Pointe	cape of the point	MO

See also

• Cape (geography)

References

1. Moonis Raza (1990). "Geographical Dictionary Of The World In The Early 20th Century With Pronouncing Gazetteer (in 2 Vos.)". ISBN 9788172680114.
2. Charles Léon Souvay; John Ernest Rothensteiner (1920). "Saint Louis Catholic Historical Review, Volumes 2-3".
3. Nicolas de Finiels; Carl J. Ekberg (1989). "An account of upper Louisiana". ISBN 9780826207029.
4. Southeast Missouri Newspaper: Cape Girardeau isn’t the only “cape” around here http://www.semissourian.com/blogs/pavementends/entry/24018/
5. Louis Houck (1908). "A History of Missouri: From the Earliest Explorations and Settlements Until the Admission of the State Into the Union".
6. Sidney Breese; Melville Weston Fuller (1884). "The Early History of Illinois: From Its Discovery by the French, in 1673, Until Its Cession to Great Britain in 1763, Including the Narrative of Marquette's Discovery of the Mississippi".
7. Cartographic.info USA http://cartographic.info/usa/map.php?id=715379
8. U.S. Government Printing Office (1909). "Congressional Serial Set".
9. State Historical Society of Missouri: Place Names in Stone County http://shs.umsystem.edu/manuscripts/ramsay/ramsay_stone.html
10. Cartographic.info USA http://cartographic.info/usa/map.php?id=749204
11. Robert Brown (2005). "The countries of the world".
12. Jerry M. Hay. "Mississippi River-Historic Sites & Interesting Places". ISBN 9781467562508.
13. Cartographic.info USA http://cartographic.info/usa/map.php?id=731549
14. Walter Williams (1913). "A History of Northeast Missouri, Volume 1".
15. Roadside Thoughts.com http://www.roadsidethoughts.com/mo/cap-au-gris-misc.htm
16. Cartography of the Illinois Country http://dig.lib.niu.edu/ISHS/ishs-1982winter/ishs-1982winter277.pdf
17. Cartographic.info USA http://cartographic.info/usa/map.php?id=715382
18. John M. Lansden (1910). "A history of the city of Cairo, Illinois".
19. Louise Phelps Kellogg (2009). "Early Narratives of the Northwest 1634-1699". ISBN 9780806351872.
20. Placekeeper.com: St. Antoine, Missouri http://www.placekeeper.com/Missouri/Cape_Antoine-736427.html