East Saginaw courier. (East Saginaw, Mich.) 1859-18??, 1860-05-24
THE PHAsA.
AN INDIAN TRADITION OF ILLINOIS.

AN INDIAN TRADITION OF ILLINOIS.
The tradition Of the Piasa is still cur
rent among AL the tribes Of the Upper I
Mississippi, and those who have Inhabited
the valley Of the Illinois, and is briefly |
this: Many thousand moons before the !
arrival OF the pale faces when the great |
magalonyx and msstodon, whose bones /
are now dug up, were still living in this |
land Of green prairies, there existed q
bird of such dimensions that he could /
easily carry in his talous a full grown /
deer. Having obtained taste of human
flesh, from that time he would prey upon
nothing else. He was artful rs he was
powerful he would dart Suddenly aud
UNEXPECTEDLY upon an Indian, bear him
off into one of the caves in the bluff, aud
devour him. Hundreds of warriors at
tempted for years 10 destroy him, but
without success. Whole villages were
nearly depopulated, aud CONSERVATION
spread through all the tril es Of the Hi
nOis. At length, Uuat0ga, chief whose
fame as warrior extended even beyond
the great lakes, separating himself from
the rest of the tribe, tasted in solitude
for the space OF a whole moon, and
prayed TO the Great Spirit, the Master OF
life, that Inc would protect his children
from the Piasa. On the last night of his
fast, the Great Spirit appeared to Ouato-
Ga in dream, and directed him 10 select
twenty of his warriors each armed with
bow and poisoned arrow, aud conceal
them in a designated spot. Near the
place Of their coucealment, another war
rior was 10 stand in open view rs victim
for the Piasa, which they must shoot the
instant he pouncel upon his prey. When
the chief awole in the morning, he
thanked the Great Spirit and returned To-
his tribe and told them his dream. The
warriors were quickly selected and placed
in ambush as directed Ouatoga 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
Pasa perched on the cliff eyeiug his
prey. Ouatoga drew up his manly form
to Its utmost height, Ond planting his feet
firmly on the earth, began to chaunt the
death song of warrior. A moment
after, the Piasa rose in the air, and swift
as the thunderbolt, darted down upon the
chief Scarcely had he reached his vic
tim, when every bow was sprung, and
every arrow sent to the feather into his
body. The Piasa uttered a wild, fearful
scream, that resounded far over the other
side of the river, and expired. Ouatoga
was safe. Not an arrow, not even the
talons of the bird had touched him. The
Master of life in admiration of the gen.
erous deed of Ouatoga had held over him
all invincible shield. In memory of this
event, the image of the Piasa was en-
graved on the face of the bluff. Such i:
the Indian tradition. Of course [ do not
vouch for it's truth This much, how
ever, is certain: The figure of largo
bird cut in solid rock is still there, and a
height that is perfectly inaccessible
How, and for what purpose it was made
] leave for Others to determine even a
this day, an Indian never passes the spo
in his canoe without firing his gun at The
figure Of the bird. The marks OF ball
on the rocks are almost innumerablc.
Near the close Of March, Of the pres
ent year, / was induced to visit the bluff
below the mouth of the Illinois an
above that of the Piasa. My curiosit.
was principally directed to the examina
ton of cave connected with the abOv
tradition, as one of those to which tn
bird had carried his human victims. Pre-
ceded by an intelligent guide, who cal
RED a spade, / set out on my excursion
The cave was exit emely difficult of az
cess, aud at one point of our progress
stood at an elevation of more than on
hundred and fifty feet on the face of tl
bluff, with barely room to sustUin on
foot. The unbroken wall lowered aboN
me, while below was the river. After
long anil perilous clambering we reachc
the cave, which was about fifty fec
above tho surface of the river. BY I'll
all of long pole placed on the pro!ec
ing rock, and the upper end touching Il
mouth of the cave, we succeeded IN Ell
tering it, Nothing could he more III
pressive than the view from the entrant
of this cavern. The Mississippi vi
rolling in silent grandeur beneath u
high above our heads single cellar hur
its branches over the cliff, on the blastc
top of which was seated a bald eagle
No other sound or sign of life was ne
us. A Sabbath stiffness rested upon &
scene. Not a cloud was in the heaven
not a breath Of air was stirring. j
broad Mississippi lay before us, as cal
aud smooth as lake. The landsca
presented the same wild aspect as it d
before it had yet met the eye of the viii
man. The roof Of the cavern "
vaulted, tho top of which was hardly il
than twenty-five feet in height. t
shape of the cave was irregular, but
far as could judge, the bottom won
average twenty by thirty feet. The flo
of this cave throughout its whole exte
was mass of human bones Skulls a
other bones were mingled together in I
utmost confusion. To what depth tn
extended am unable to decide, but
dug to the depth of three or four feet
every quarter of the cavern, and still
found only bones. The remains Of th'
sands must have been deposited here,
How land by whom, and for what p
pose, it is impossible even to copjectu