Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Wayne County, Ind.) 1831-1837, 1836-08-20

his fast, the Great Spirit appeared to Ouatogo
in a dream, and directed him to select TWEEN
ty of his warriors, each armed with bow
) and a poisoned arrow, and conceal them in ;
designated spot. Near the place OF then
10 concealment, another warrior was TO stand u
., open view, as a victim for the Piasa, which
il they must shoot the instant that he pouncef
: upon his prey. When the chief awoke IN the
h morning he thanked the great spirit, and e.
y turning to his tribe, told them his dream
The warriors were quickly selected and pla.
ced in ambush as directed. Ouatogo offered
himself as the victim. He was willing to die
for his tribe. Placing himself in open view
of the bluff, he soon saw the Piasa Perched
ion the cliff cycling his prey. Ouatoga drew
Iup his manly form to its utmost height, and
Ipiantins his feet firmly upon the earth, began
to chant the death song of a warrior. sno-
ment after, the Piasa rose into the air, and,
swift as the thunderbolt. darted down upon
the Chief. Scarcely had he reached hls victim,
when every bow was sprung, and every ar
row sent to the feather, into his body. The
Piasa uttered wild, fearful scream, that re-
sounded far over the opposite side OF the riv-
er. and expired. Ouatoga was safe. Not an
arrow. nor even the talens of the bird had
touched him. The master of life, IN adtnira-
ton Of the generous deed Of Ouotoga, had
held over k:m an invisible shield. In memo
~ of this event, the image OF the Piasa was
engraved on the face Of tire bluff. Such Is
the Indian tradition. Of course l do not
vouch Tor its truth. This much, however, IS
certain; the figure of large bird, cut into
the solid rock, is still there, and at a height
that is perfectly inaccessible. How and for
what purpose it was made, leave for others
to determine; even at this day, an Indian
never passes that spot in his canoe without
firing his gun at the figure Of the bird. The
marks of balls on the rock are almost innum-
cradle.
Near the close of March of the present.
wear, was induced to visit the bluffs below
the mouth Of the Illinois and above that oil
the Piasa. My curiosity was principally di-I
rccted to the examination of & cavc'connect-
ed with the above traditions, as ore OF those
to which, the bird had carried his human VIC
tins. Preceded by an intelligent guide VINO
carried spade, set out on my excursion.-I
The cave was extremely difficult OF access,
and a: one point of our progress stood ut an
elevation of more than one hundred and fifty
feet on the face of the bluff, with barely room
to sustain one foot. The unbroken wall tow
cred above me, while below was the river
After a long and perilous clamberlng we
reached the cave which was about fifty feet
above the surface Of the river. BY the and
of long pole, placed on the projecting rock
and the upper end touching the mouth OF the
cave. we succeeded in entering IT. Nothing
could be more impressive than the view from
the entrance Of this cavern. The M'ss:ss'p-
pi was rolling in silent grandeur beneath US :
hirh over our heads single cedar hung Its
branches over the cliff. on the blasted top OF
when was seated bald eagle. No other
sound or sign of life was near us. SAB
bath stiffness rested upon the scene. NOT a
cloud was in the heavens; not a breath oil ar
was string The broad Mississippi lay be-
fore us. calm and smooth as lake. Inc
landscape presented the same Wild aspect as
it did before it had yet met the eye OF the
white man.
1 The roof of the cavern was vaulted. the
top of which was hardly less than twenty
five feet in height. The shape OF the cave
WIS irregular. but so far Us could Judge. the
bottom would average twenty by thirty ieet'
, The floor of this cave throughout its whole
extent was a mass Of human bones. Souls
and other human bones were mingled togeth-
er in the utmost confusion. To what depth
theycxtcnded am unable to decide. but we
dug to the depth OF three or four feet IN eve
nv quarter of the cavern, and still we found
I, only bones. The remains of thousands mus
have been deposited here. How, and o!
whom, and for what purpose, 1t IS Impossible
/, even to conjecture.
MASSACRE OF FANNlx's COMMAND.
/ AMONG the passengers in the ship Mexican
: from Vera Cruz. was Mr.. Joseph H. Sphon
a native of New Orleans. who was with Coi
, Fannin at Goliad. and made his escape, IN
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