Legendary Piasa Bird of the Mississippi River

"As we coasted along rocks frightful for their height and length, we saw two monsters painted on one of the rocks, which startled us at first, and upon which the boldest Indian dare not gaze long. They are as large as a calf, with horns on the head like a deer, a frightful look, red eyes, bearded like a tiger, the face somewhat like a man's, the body covered with scales, and the tail so long that it twice makes the turn of the body, passes over the head and down between the legs, ending at last in a fishes' tail. Green, red and a kind of black are the colors employed. On the whole these two monsters are so well painted that we could not believe any Indian to have been the designer, as good painters in France would find it hard to do as well; besides this they are painted so high upon the rock that it is hard to get conveniently at them to paint them. As we were discoursing of them, sailing gently down a beautiful still clear water we heard the noise of a rapid, into which we were about to fall. I have seen nothing more frightful: a mass of large trees, entire with branches, real floating islands, came rushing from the mouth of the river Pekitanoui (the Missouri,) so impetuously that we could not without great danger expose ourselves to pass across. The agitation was so great that the water was all muddy, and could not get clear.

Pekitanoui is a considerable river, which coming from very far in the north-west empties into the Mississippi. Many Indian towns are ranged along this river, and I hope by its means to make the discovery of the Red or California Sea." (Discovery and Explorations of the Valley of the Mississippi, page 39 and 249.)

The rocks, to which the explorer here refers, constitute part of an extensive chain of almost perpendicular bluffs, commencing at the city of Alton and extending northward up the Mississippi. Upon one of these, the Piasa or Pi-a-sau Rock, so-called from the remarkable legend connected with it, and situated on the western confines of Alton, immediately on the Mississippi, the remains of two enormous figures, corresponding in all respects to the description given by Marquette, were still to be observed at a comparatively recent date. But the original face of the bluff has been removed to a considerable extent in quarrying for building stone, and with it all trace of their existence has also disappeared.

"The tradition connected with this rock was not confined to a few tribes but existed among all the aboriginal inhabitants of the great west, none of whom even to this day (1841) pass the rock without discharging their rifles or arrows at the figures upon and around which are innumerable marks of balls and other missels. (Wild's Mississippi Valley Illustrated.)

As the legend may serve in some measure to illustrate the beliefs and superstitions of the ancient race who once inhabited this beautiful land, no apology is needed for introducing it here entire.

The Legend of the Piasa.

Many thousand moons before the arrival of the pale faces, when the great Megalonyx and Mastadon whose bones are dug up, were still in this land of green Prairies the numerous and powerful nation called the Illinois, inhabited the State which now bears their name over the greater portion of which their hunting grounds extended. For many years they continued to increase in numbers and prosperity and were deemed the bravest and most warlike of all the tribes of the great Valley. At length in the most populous districts of their country near the residence of their greatest chief, there appeared an enormous animal, part beast and part bird, which took up its abode on the rock, and banqueted daily upon numbers of the people, whom it bore off in its immense talons. It was covered with scales of every possible color, and had a huge tail, with a blow of which it could shake the earth. From its head which was like the head of a fox, with the beak of an eagle, projected immense horns, and its four feet were armed with powerful claws, in each of which it could carry a buffalo. The flapping of its enormous wings was like the roar of thunder, and when it dived into the river it threw the waves far up on the land. To this animal they gave the name of the Bird of the Pi-a-sau, or "Bird of the Evil Spirit." [According to some "the bird which devours men."] In vain did the Medicine Men use all their power to drive away this fearful visitor. Day by day the number of their tribe diminished to feed his insatiable appetite. Whole villages were desolated, and consternation spread through all the tribes of the Illinois. At last the young chief of the nation Wassatogo (or Ouataga,) beloved by his people and esteemed their greatest warrior and whose fame extended even beyond the great lakes, called a council of the Priests in a secret cave, where after fasting many days they slept, and the Great Spirit came to the young chief in his sleep, and told him the only way to rid his people of their destroyer was to offer himself as a sacrifice. Wassatogo started up, aroused the slumbering Priests and informing them of what had occurred to him, announced his determination to make the required sacrifice.*

Wassatogo then dressed himself in his chieftain's garb, put on his warpaint as if going to battle, and taking his bow and arrows and tomahawk he placed himself on a prominent point of rock to await the coming of the monster bird. Meanwhile as had been directed in his vision a band of his best braves had been concealed in the interstices of the rock, waiting each with his arrow drawn to the head of the monster when their chief should be attacked, to wreak their last vengeance on their enemy. High and erect the bold Wassatogo stood chanting his death song with a calm and placid countenance, when suddenly there came a roar as of awful thunder and in an instant the bird of the Piasau uttering a wild scream that shook the hills, darted down upon the chief. At that moment Wassatogo dealt it a blow in the head with his tomahawk, and every bow sprung at once sent its arrow quivering up to the feather into its body. The Piasau uttered a shriek that resounded far over the opposite shore of the river and expired. Wassatogo was safe. Not an arrow, not even the talons of the bird had touched him. The Master of Life in admiration of the generous deed of Wassatogo had held over him an invisible shield. The tribe now gave way to the wildest joy, and held a great feast in honor of the event, and to commemorate it, painted the figure of the bird on the side of the rock, on whose summit the chieftain stood, and there it has endured for ages a mark for the arrow or bullet of every red man who has since passed it in ascending or descending the great Father of Waters.*

*In another narration of the same Legend we find the following version, viz: At length, in a trance it was revealed to Owatoga, that the terrible visitant, who had hitherto eluded their utmost sagacity, might be destroyed. The mode was this. First, a noble victim was to be selected from among the bravest warriors of the tribe, who by religious rites was to be sanctified for the sacrifice. Secondly, twenty, equally as brave, with their stoutest bows and sharpest arrows, were to conceal themselves near the spot of sacrifice. The victim was to be led forth, and singly to take his stand upon an exposed point of the rock, where the ravenous bird would be likely to note and seize upon him. At the moment of descent the concealed warriors were to let fly their arrows, with the assurance that he would fall.

On the day appointed, the braves, armed agreeably to the instruction of the vision, safely reached their hiding place, which commanded a full view of the fatal platform. The name of the victim had been kept profoundly secret, up to the sacrificial hour. Judge then, the consternation, when, dressed in his proudest robes, Owatoga appeared at the head of his tribe, himself the voluntary victim.— The tears and shrieks of the women, and the expostulations of all his chiefs language [text missing].

[Text missing…] availed nothing; he was bent upon his solemn and awful purpose. "Brothers and children," he addressed them, waving his hand in which he held a short wand, and which procured for him instant and profound audience, "the Great Spirit is angry with his children. He hath sent us this scourge to punish us for our sins. He hath demanded this sacrifice. Who so fit as your chief? The blood of my heart is pure. Who will bring any charge against 0watoga? Many moons have I been your chieftain. I have led you to conquest and glory. I have but this sacrifice to make, and I am a free spirit. I am a dry tree, leafless and branchless. Soon shall I sink upon the wide prairie and moulder away. Cherish and obey the sapling that springs up at my root. May he be braver and wiser than his sire. And when the Great Spirit smiles upon you and delivers you, forget not the sacrifice of Owatoga. Hinder me not—I go forth to the sacrifice."—"Illinois and the West," by A. D. Jones, 1838,—page 55-6-7.

"The spot became sacred from that time, and no Indian ascended or descended the Father of Waters for many a year without discharging his arrow at the image of the warrior-destroying Bird. After the distribution of fire-arms among the Indians, bullets were substituted for arrows, and even to this day no savage presumes to pass that magic spot without discharging his rifle and raising his shout of triumph. I visited the spot in June (1838) and examined the image, and the ten thousand bullet-marks upon the cliff seemed to corroborate the tradition related to me in the neighborhood. So lately as the passage of the Sac and Fox delegations down the river on their way to Washington, there was a general discharge of their rifles at the Piasau Bird. On arriving at Alton, they went on shore in a body, and proceeded to the bluffs, where they held a solemn war-council, concluding the whole with a splendid war dance, manifesting all the while the most exuberant joy. — Ibid, page 59.

Derived from: A Gazetteer of Madison County..." by James T. Hair. Published in 1866. With original material obviously from the journals of 1673!

Mississippi Valley Mecca for Wintering Birds to be Enhanced

Habitat which provides a winter mecca for waterfowl other migratory birds in Arkansas, will be enhanced through a project funded by a federal grant and local conservationists.

View of project area wetland. Images courtesy of Richard W. Johnson.

A recent grant of $909,138 from the North American Wetlands Conservation Act will be used for habitat management at Bayou Meto Wildlife Management Area. Partners in the grant proposal include Ducks Unlimited, Wetlands America Trust, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, M.E. Black Farms, Bear Bayou L.L.C., Arkansas Audubon, Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, Stuttgart Chamber of Commerce, Farmers & Merchants Bank, Rich-N-Tone Duck Calls, Mack's Prairie Wings, Benny Petrus Chevrolet, 5-Oaks Lodge, Pine Bluff Sand & Gravel Co., Hardly Able L.L.C., and private individuals. They provided about $200,000 in matching funds and another $1.9 million of in-kind contributions.

Activities that will result include easements donated on 5,200 acres, restoration of 4,874 acres, and enhancement of 2,730 acres. A portion of the funds will also help a habitat enhancement project at the White River National Wildlife Refuge.

"This proposal is the first of at least two to restore and enhance the Bayou Meto Basin (BMB) of the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV) to meet conservation objectives for migratory birds and other wetland dependent fish and wildlife," according to the NAWCA grant summary.

The "proposal secures perpetual protection of 4,066 acres of palustrine forested wetlands, 26 acres of palustrine emergent wetlands, 117 acres of palustrine scrub-shrub wetland, 472 acres of riparian habitat, and 519 acres of agricultural-upland habitats via donated conservation easements. The proposal also will restore 5,442 acres, including 844 acres of palustrine emergent or seasonally-flooded wetlands, 4,393 acres of palustrine forested wetlands, and 205 acres of palustrine scrub-shrub wetlands, and it will enhance 2,730 acres, including 586 acres of palustrine emergent wetlands, 376 acres of palustrine forested wetlands, 96 acres of lacustrine wetland, and 1,672 acres of seasonally-flooded rice field. Forest restoration and enhancement in this project will help ameliorate for the estimated 80% loss of this wetland resource in the LMAV.

"This grant will provide an estimated 869,607 Duck Use Days (a measure of carrying capacity or the number of waterfowl a given area of land can support in terms of forage) on wetlands restored and enhanced by this grant. Collectively, this represents 3,794,705 DUDs toward the LMVJV goal of providing approximately 490 million DUDs that will benefit at least 19 species of waterfowl, including five NAWCA high priority species and five NAWCA other priority waterfowl species. Restoration, enhancement, and protection of 9,307 acres of forested wetlands and riparian habitats in or near three LMV joint venture-designated Forest Bird Conservation Areas (FBCA) will benefit at least ten NAWCA priority species for the LMAV (Bird Conservation Region 26) and 15 other wetland dependent forest bird species using the proposal area. At least three NAWCA BCR 26 Priority Species of shorebirds and 20 other species of shorebirds that migrate through or winter in the LMAV also will benefit directly from work proposed herein. Protection, restoration and enhancement activities proposed herein will benefit the NAWCA BCR 26 priority species Little Blue Heron and at least 8 other species of marsh or wading birds.

Waterfowl use of wetland habitat.

“The Halowell Project will benefit numerous species of waterfowl, primarily the Northern Pintail, Mallard, Ring-necked Duck, American Wigeon, Green-winged teal, Blue-winged Teal, Gadwall and Northern Shoveler,” said Richard W. Johnson, wetlands program coordinator with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. “Other species that will use moist-soil habitat occasionally but not exclusively include Lesser Scaup, Greater Scaup, Wood Duck, Redhead, Canvasback, Ruddy Duck and the Hooded Merganser. Although the wood duck and hooded merganser use forested areas more often than moist-soil and the others are most often associated with deep open water habitats, they can be seen in the moist-soil areas, just not in the great numbers as with the other species. Greater White-Fronted Goose, Lesser Snow Goose and Ross’ Goose will use moist-soil areas as well. Some other birds that will utilize these areas include the Stilt Sandpiper, American Woodcock, White Ibis, Least Bittern, King Rail, Greater Yellowlegs, Solitary Sandpiper and Least Sandpiper.

“The moist-soil areas provide habitat to a wide variety of birds throughout the year. They provide a suite of natural vegetation that provides a “balanced diet” for waterfowl and a substrate for invertebrates that are important to egg-laying hens. Shorebirds will use them and during the summer other species will use them like deer, turkey, rabbits and other small mammals, reptiles and amphibians,” he said.

Wetlands conserved by this proposal provide significant ecological goods and services, especially water quality benefits. The 3,102 acres of seasonally flooded wetland and rice fields to be enhanced and restored by this work will prevent an estimated 47-1,551 tons of topsoil being lost to streams and rivers in the proposal area."

Wetland and forest habitat.

"Plans for the enhancement project call for Halowell's west and central units to be divided into two units each, for a total of four units," Johnson said. "The reservoir's east unit will be used as a storage compartment for surface water. Other enhancements include the installation of a tailwater recovery system and water-transfer canals that will allow each unit to be flooded and drained independently.

"Until recently, Halowell had never been actively managed as a moist-soil unit," Johnson said. "Moist soil management is a lot like farming - the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. This grant will improve management efficiency and enable us to actively manage this area and create more food for ducks and other migratory birds.

"Basically, we're setting up Halowell as a small-scale farm to grow beneficial plants for waterfowl," Johnson said.

"Ducks don't just sit on one area and never move," said Luke Naylor, AGFC waterfowl program coordinator. "They're going to get up and move into the timber to loaf and feed. Improving habitat at Halowell Reservoir should also be beneficial to duck hunters in Bayou Meto WMA."

Johnson said the projects will increase and enhance waterfowl habitat in one of the Mississippi Flyway's most important wintering areas, help Arkansas meet its habitat goals under the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, and help attract ducks and other migratory birds to the state.

The project partners "fully endorse implementation of long-term wetlands conservation strategies to meet regional goals and objectives of this proposal. This proposal integrates important public lands with those of dedicated private landowners who sought to restore or enhance valuable wetlands on their property in the Bayou Meto Basin."