Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1836-09-30
THE P[ASA.
An INDIAN TRADITION OF Ill,

No part Of the Untcd States. not even
the highlands of the Hudson, can vie. in
wild and romnnlic scenery. with the bluff
of ILLINOIS. Ga one side Of he river, often
at the waters edge, perpendicular wall
Of rock rises to he heiyht of some hundred
feet. Generally on the opposite shore is II
level bnt0m of prairie, of several miles in
width. extending to Il similar blut that runs
parallel with the river.
One OF these ranges commences a' a Hon.
and extends with few intervals for many
miles along the left bank of The Illinois. -
On descending the river to Alton, the ttav
eIier will observe between that town aud
the mouth OF the lilinins. a narrow ravine
through which a small ST ream dlscha rceS
its waters iato tie Mississippi. Tina,
stream is the Plasa. lis name Is Indian.
and signifies. in the language Of The IIlinl.
1.-The bird that devours, men" Near the
mouth of hat stream, on the smooth and
perpendicular face of the bnif, at an cleva
lion which no human art can reach is cut the
figure of an enormous bird, with us wings
extended. TIE bird which This figure rep
resehts was called by the Indians ne Piasa
and from this is derived the name Of the
stream.
The tradition ofthc piasa is still current
among all the tribes of the Upper Miss;s-
sippi, and those who hive inhabited the
valley of the Illinois, and is briefly this: -
MANY thousand moons before the arrival
of the pale faces, when the great magano.
nyx and mastodon, whose bones are now
dug up, were still living in tins land of
green praries, their existed bird Of such
dimensions That he could easily carry off
in Ia tnln FIJI a L.,
obtained taste of human II sh, from that
time he would prey upon nothing else. H."
was nrllnl and he was powerful would
dart suddenly aud unexpectedly upon an
Indian. bear him eff into one Of the caves
in the bluff. and devour him, Hundreds of
warriors attempted for years to destroy
him, but without success. Whole villages
were nearly depppnIalcd aud cnnsterna ION
spread through all the tribes OF the l'nl.
AT length, Oaa,"ga, chief, whose fame
as a warrior extended even beyond tn"
great lakes, separating himself from the
rest of his tribe, tasted 10 solitude for the
space of whole moon, and prayed to tht
great spirit, the muster of life, that h
would project his children from the P,asa
On the last night OF his fast, the great splr
it appeared to Onatoga in a dream, and d,
rec'ed him To select twenty of his Warriors
each armed with brw and poisoned ar
row. md conceal them in dc> gna ed spot
Near the place Of their cnnccalnent anulh
er warrior was To stand in open view, as
victim for The Piasa, which they mus
shoot the inst ant that he ponhccd upon hi
prey. When the chief awoke IN he morn
ing, he thanked the great spirit, and re
turning to his tribe told them his dream.
The warriors were quickly selected an
placed in ambush as directed. Oualog
Offered himself as the victim. lie was WI
ling to die for his tribe. Placing hmse
in open view of the bluff, he soon saw tn
Pasa perched on the cliff eyelng his prey
Ouaioga drew up his manly form to its nj
most height. and planting his feet frml
upon The earth, began TO chant the deaf
song of the warrior. A moment after, tn
Piusa rose into the air, and, swift as tn
thunderboli, darled down upon the chic
Scarcely had he reached his victim, whe
every bow was sprung, and every arro'
sent. to the feather, into his body. Tn
Piasa uttered q wild, fearful scream tina
resounded far over the opposite side of th
river, and expired. Ouioga, was SAFE
Not az arrow, nor even the ialons ct IN
bird had touched him. The master of life
in admiration Of The generous deed of On
atoga, had held over him an invisible shield
In memory of this event, the image OF To
Piasa was engraved on the face Of th
bluff" Such is the Indian tradition. U
course / do not vouch for its truth. Th'
much, however, is certain; the figure OF
large bird, cut into the solid rock. is stl
there. and at height that is perfectly ~
accessible. How and for what purpose
was made, leave for others to determine
even at this day, an Indian never passe
that spo, in his canoe without firing hi
gun at the figure OF the bird. The mark
of balls on the rocks are almost innumerl
bic.
Near the close of March of the preser
year, | was induced TO visit the bluff be
low the mouth Of ibe Illinois end abov