The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1888-04-06
ONATOGA'S SACRIFICE.
Indian Tradition of a Great Man.
Eating Bird.
The Terrible Plasau and the Noble Chief
The Heroic Manner In which
the Latter Saved His
People.

on which we live, red men, who were
brave and knew not what fear was in
battle, trembled at the mention of a
great man-eating bird that had lived
before the time told of in the traditions
known of their oldest chiefs
This bird which, according 70 the /
Indian legends, ate men, was known /
as the Piasau.
The favorite haunt of this terrible |
bird was bluff on the Mississippi |
river. short distance above the site |
of the present city of Alton, Illinois. |
There it was said to lie in wait, and to |
keep watch over the broad, open /
prairies. Whenever some rash Indian
ventured out alone to hunt upon this |
fatal ground, he became the monster I
prey. The legend says that the bird, |
swooping down with the fierce swift |
ness of hawk, seized upon it's victim |
and bore him to a gloomy cave wherein |
it made its horrid feasts. The monster |
must have had an Unsuitable appetite
or prolonged existence, for tradition
declares that it depopulated whole viii
lagos. Then it was that the wise men
began to see visions and to prophesy
the speedy extinction of the tribe
Years of its ravages followed one
upon another, until ut length, accord
ing to the legend, was lost all reckon
ing of the time when first that strange,
foul creature came to scourge their
sunny plains. Years before had died
the last of the wise men whose fathers
had once hunted the mastodon, or
chased the ostrich-like diornis, where
Il, a FOL
and the deer The aged men, whose
youth was but dim memory, could
say only that the bird was as it had al
ways been. Nothing like it had ever
been heard of save in vague traditions
carried from the far distant Darien
Isthmus. There, the legends ran, near
Dobayba, a wild hurricane had once
brought bird-fiend that plagued their
coast for many a weary moon, until a
wise man caught it in snare. But no
snare could save the men of the Illinois
tribe, the "Illini"-they were doomed!
Nets, arrows, stratagems planned by
the most cunning warriors, alike had
failed. Still the bird preyed upon
them.
There was one, Onatoga, who began
TO ponder.
Now, Onatoga was the great leader
of the Illini; one whose name was
spoken with awe even in the distant
gigwams north Of the Great Lake.
Long had he grieved and wondered
over the will of the Great Spirit; that
he should look upon the men of the
Western prairies, not as warriors, but as
deer or bison, only fit to fill the NAV
of SO pestilent thing as this mon
strous bird Before the new moon
began to grow upon the face of the
sky, Onatoga's resolve was taken. He
would go to some spot deep in the for
est, where by fasting and prayer his
spirit would become so pure that the
Great Master of Life would hear him
and once again be kind and turn His
face back, in light, upon the Illini.
Stealing away from his tribe in the
night, he plunged far into the trackless
forest Then, blackening his face, for
n whole moon he tasted. The moon
waxed full and then waned; but no
vision came to assure him that the
Great Spirit had heard his prayers.
Only one more night remained.
Wearied and sorrOw-wOrn, he closed
his eyes. But. through the deep sleep
that fell upon him, came the voice of
the Great Spirit. And this is the mes
sage that came to Onatoga, as he lay
sleeping in body but, in his soul,
awake:
''Arise, Chief of the nlinil Thou
shalt save thy race. Choose thou
twenty of thy warriors; noble-hearted,
strong-armed, eagle-eyed. Put in each
warriors hand bow. Give to each
an arrow dipped in the venom of the
snake. Seek then the man whose
heart loveth the Great Spirit Let
him not fear to look the Piasau in the
face; but see that the warriors. with
ready bows, stand near in the shadow
of the trees"
Onatoga awoke; strong, though ht
had tasted month; happy, though he
knew he was soon to diel Who, but
he, the Great Chief of the Illini, should
die for his people-for was it not death
to look on the face of the PiasauP
Binding his moccasins firmly upor
his feet. he washed the marks of grie
from his face, and painted it with th'
brightest vermilion and blue. Thus, in
the splendid colors of a triumphan
warrior, he returned homeward. Al
was silent in the village when, in tn,
gray light of early day, he entered hi
lodge. Soon the joyful news wa
known. From lodge to lodge it spreaC
until the last wigwam was reached
OnatOga's quest was successful
Then the warriors began to gather
Furtively, even in their gladness, the
sought his lodge, for the fear Of tn,
Piasau was over all. A solemn aw,
fell upon them as they gathere'
around the chief, who. it was whis
pered, had heard the voice of tn
Great Spirit Without, on that higl
bluff. they knew that the fiend-bir,
crouched, waiting for the morning
light to reveal its prey. Within, j.
sorrowtng silence. they heard how tn
VeapSA could be saved; but the heart
q, the warriors were heavy. All knew
the sacrifice demanded-their braves
and their besti
Onatoga chose his twenty warrior
and appointed them their place, wher
the rolling prairie was broken by tn