Plus One : Arkansas, The Natural State

I haven't done a Plus One in a while and for that I apologize. I was going over the list of states that have visited our little neck of the internet woods recently and noticed that we are blessed to have a few new readers in Arkansas. Therefore, I concluded that The Natural State would make a fine Plus One subject today. Something I learned today is the origin of the state's name. Here's Wikipedia : "The name "Arkansas" derives from the same root as the name for the state of Kansas. The Kansas tribe of Native Americans are closely associated with the Sioux tribes of the Great Plains. The word "Arkansas" itself is a French pronunciation ("Arcansas") of a Quapaw (a related "Kaw" tribe) word "akakaze" meaning "land of downriver people" or the Sioux word "Akakaze" meaning "people of the south wind"." Arkansas, formerly part of the Louisiana Purchase, was the 25th state to join the Union (June 15, 1836) and did so just as neighboring Texas a few weeks earlier gained its independence from Mexico. Arkansas has produced some of the most famous people in recent American history - in sports, Paul "Bear" Bryant, Lou Brock and Jerry Jones; entertainment, Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell and Floyd Cramer and in politics, William Jefferson Clinton. Arkansas is not called The Natural State for nothing. It's one of the most scenic states in the country. Need proof? How 'bout this? Or this. There's a slideshow right here that I offer as further evidence. Now that there is plum purty and 2.8 million Arkansans are very proud people..."people of the south wind".