Island No. 40 and No. 41/Centennial Cutoff/Chickasaw Bluff No. 3

Island No. 40 and No. 41/Centennial Cutoff/Chickasaw Bluff No. 3. Mississippi River Walk. , Island No. 40 and No. 41 , Mile 746.0 AHP, These islands joined to become one large body in the middle of the river, known as Beef Island. In 1842, the steamer General Pratte, carrying 450 newly arrived German immigrants, caught fire near Beef Island. The captain quickly ran the boat to shore and lowered the gangplank, but the immigrants, most of whom spoke no English, were frozen in terror. Many were so frightened that they were taken bodily off the boat, and crew members carried elderly passengers and children ashore. Through their heroic efforts not a single life was lost., Centennial Cutoff , Mile 754.0 AHP, In 1876, The Mississippi cut off a dangerous westward bend here, known as the Devil's Elbow. Centennial Cutoff quickened the river flow, causing more changes downstream, and partially blocking the Memphis harbor. Brandywine Chute, the current channel, later bypassed Centennial Cutoff. The changes in the river's course that began with Centennial Cutoff eventually shortened the Mississippi channel by 30 miles in this area, and may have contributed to the formation of Mud Island. , Chickasaw Bluff No. 3 , Mile 755.0 AHP, James Colbert, a Scotsman who became a leader of the Chickasaws, maintained an encampment on the Third Chickasaw Bluff in the late 1700s. Colbert, an ally of the British, led a band of 300 outlaws which raided Spanish boats from this outpost and from a base camp on the lower bluff at the present site of Memphis. The effectiveness of Colbert's guerilla band helped keep the Spanish from establishing control over this region.