"The 1934 restoration of the Piasa Bird on the bluff over the Mississippi near Alton, Illinois, replacing the original which had been destroyed during quarrying operations in the 19th century." Information and photo courtesy of: http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/bodhidharma/piasa.html This photo is of the iron Piasa Bird which was replaced by the newest painting finished in 2000.  This iron bird was requested by Southwestern High School to incorporate into their new Sports Complex to represent their school mascot:  The Piasa Birds.  The industrial art students of the high school refurbished the steel painting after it was recovered from decay and corroding from under the Alton Clark Bridge. Information and photo courtesy of: http://altongodfreyrotary.org/PiasaBird/

The Alton area's most current image of the Piasa Bird. This photo is of the awaited Piasa Bird painted on the bluffs and completed in 2000.  The Alton area was without the remarkable image of the Piasa Bird for two to three years when the iron version was removed and stored under the Alton Clark Bridge. The photo is courtesy of:  http://dnr.state.il.us/Lands/Landmgt/parks/r4/PRM/Piabrd.htm

The Legend of the Piasa Bird has been widely known in the Alton area since before the days of 1673.  The legend has been passed down through the ages from parents to children and from old timers to newcomers.  Father Jacques Marquette discovered the first sightings of the Piasa Bird while exploring the Alton area with Louis Joliet.  The following are sections of Marquette's journal courtesy of the Brighton Boy Scouts:

The name "Piasa" originated from Marquette and means "the bird that devours men" or "the bird of the evil spirit" (Illinois Department of Natural Resources).  Years after Marquette's discovery, others discovered the picture of this atrocious beast.  Several versions of the image and its story escape with slightly different interpretations.

Along with these different interpretations come different names referring to what we know as the Piasa Bird.  In some stories it is referred to as "Storm-bird," "Thunderer," or most commonly "Piasa."  Reasons for these different versions or interpretations are hard to define, but many people depict their own meanings.  One reason for these differences could be due to the audience of the story, a person might modify the story to appeal more to that audience.  Personally, after reading the legends as reported on the Internet sites, I could not help but compare them to the legend I heard while growing up in Alton. Following is the websites and a brief overview of these stories:

In this version, the Piasa Bird was then referred to as "Storm-bird" by the Illini Indian tribe.

Summary:

"Many moons ago" "Storm-bird" lived in a cave by the river (Dunphy).  This bird had the capability of carrying a deer or buffalo in its large, sharp talons; however, its preference was human flesh.  Hundreds of warriors attempted to defeat the "Storm-bird" but were unsuccessful.  "Whole villages were destroyed and fear spread out through the Illini tribe" (Dunphy).  "A loud roar and a flapping sound signaled that "Storm-bird" was coming out of its cave"; the Illini were tired of hiding (Welker). Chief Ouatoga, determined to find a way, prayed to the Great Spirit to reveal a way to conquer "Storm-bird" (Dunphy).

Later that night, the Great Spirit appeared in Chief Ouatoga's dream with directions.  Chief Ouatoga announced to the tribe for all to hide in the tepees except for the selected twenty warriors (Dunphy).  Chief Ouatoga provided himself as bait to lure "Storm-bird" as the warriors positioned themselves in a line behind the bushes with bows and poisonous arrows. As Cheif Ouatoga stood, weaponless in his warbonnet, "Storm-bird" let out a roar and charged at the chief (Welker). The chief stood still, chanting his death song (Welker).  "Storm-bird" was then bombarded with arrows that were shot by the hidden warriors from every angle.  "Storm-bird" was struck with the poisonous arrows and fell to his death.  The chief and tribe were now safe. (Dunphy).

In this version, the Piasa Bird is referred to by its common name, "Piasa."

Summary:

One happy, lovely day in the Illini village, warriors were setting out on the river for their "early morning fishing expedition" (Illinois Department of Natural Resources).  "Out of the Western sky came a gigantic flying monster" (Illinois Department of Natural Resources).  Before the Indians realized the danger of this atrocious beast, it swooped down to the beach and carried an Illini Indian away (Illinois Department of Natural Resources).  The Illini were terrified from then after of the creature later referred to as the Piasa Bird.  "Each morning and afternoon thereafter, the Piasa Bird came, shattering the peace of the village with its blood-chilling screams and the thunderous beat of its wings.  More often than not, it retured to its lair with a victim" (Illinois Department of Natural Resources).

The village soon turned to Ouatoga, the tribe's chief, and most trusted and reliable Indian, for help.  After trial and error, the chief finally turned to the Great Spirit for direction.  The solution came clear:  "The body of the Piasa Bird was not protected under the wings"  (Illinois Department of Natural Resources).  The arrow maker, Tera-hi-on-a-wa-ka "sharpend arrows and painted them with poison while the tribe fasted and prayed" (Illinois Department of Natural Resources).

Six of the tribe's best warriors were selected to defeat the Piasa Bird.  Chief Ouatoga stood in view while the warriors hid behind a nearby rock ledge (Illinois Department of Natural Resources).  As Ouatoga came into sight, the Piasa Bird appeared and pounced on him.  The Piasa Bird sunk its talons into the chief's flesh as the chief held on for dear life to strong roots growing out of the ground (Illinois Department of Natural Resources).  The Piasa Bird raised its wings to carry the chief off to its cave; this were the warriors' only chance.  They stepped out from behind the rock ledge and began firing.  As the arrows penetrated the Piasa Bird's vulnerable spot, there was "a scream of agony as the Pisa Bird released its hold on Ouatoga and plunged down the bluff to disappear forever in the swift waters of the great river" (Illinois Department of Natural Resources).

The chief was carried away to his tepee and nursed back to health.  "The next day, Tera-hi-on-a-wa-ka mixed paints and, carrying them to the bluff, painted a picture of the Piasa Bird in tribute to the vicotry of Ouatoga and the Illini" (Illinois Department of Natural Resources).

This map is courtesy of:  http://www.infoplease.com/atlas/state/illinois.html

The Legend of the Piasa that I was told of many times, while growing up in the Alton area, differs from the legend I discovered on two Internet sites.  The story begins with the Piasa and the Illini Indians.  The Indians lived in a village on the top of what are now the bluffs. At this time in history, the river was level with the top of the present-day bluffs.  The Piasa Bird did not fly down and capture just any Indian, but would steal the Indian children of the Illini village.  As in the internet versions, following the prayer of Chief Ouatoga, the warriors and the chief set out to lure the Piasa back to the village for one last time.  The chief volunteered to lure the bird to the warriors, who would shoot it down with bows and arrows.  When the creature flew close enough, the warriors opened fire, shooting the creature dead.  The Piasa plunged to the bottom of the Mississippi River, never to be seen again.  To this day it is said that the remains of the Piasa Bird linger on the bottom of the river.             *            *            *            *            *            *            *            *            *           *  "To honor Chief Ouatoga and in rememberance of the event, a sculpture of the "Storm-bird" was carved into the cliffside and painted by the Illini Indian tribe.  This picture was an exact replica of the terrible beast" (Welker).  To this day, Chief Ouatoga is still honored by a painting of the Piasa Bird, recently painted in 2000, and by having a village named after him.  This village is on the way to Grafton on the Great River Road and is called "Ouatoga Bluff."  As you enter this same road, you can see the painting of the Piasa Bird on the bluffs.             *            *            *            *            *            *            *            *            *            * Depicting my own meaning of the version told to me as a youngster, it seems that, to a child,  a storyteller would rather tell of children being eaten by the Piasa than just any Indian.  I would think that they would tell of Indian children with the intensions of trying to get a scare or a satisfying response out of them.  Storytellers add to this version the fact that the Piasa's remains are still lingering on the river floor. This could be a frightening image to give to children.  While children are swimming or boating, for that matter, all they can imagine is the fact that beneath them are the remains of an atrocious beast.  These children were probably terrified that they would see something or fear the Piasa would come back to life and attack them.  This story was then passed on from those children to their children and so on, and is still being passed on today.

However, I researched the legend of the Piasa as far as I could to depict the true meaning of it.  It seems that this legend was modified by non-native fictive elements.

It was said to have been written by a nineteenth century American writer of frontier romance and adventure, John Russell (Dunphy).  In Marquette's journall, he never states that the monsterous image had wings.  It is said that Russell adds this to his creative writing after studying Black Hawk, a Sauk warrior.  The autobiography of Black Hawk is quoted:  "a good spirit has care of it, which lived in a cave in the rocks... He was white, with large wings like a swan's, but ten times larger" (Dunphy). Russell gives the impression that he took quotes from Black Hawk's autobiography and elaborated them to create this so-called legend. Arguing with the journal of Marquette, Russell also appeared to be the person who create the name Piasa.  The name he created was an altered spelling of Black Hawk's father's name, Py-e-sa (Dunphy).

Another source depicted  that the Piasa Bird was not made up of four animals but only of one.  The Piasa Bird was seen as a serpent-feline ambiguity known as a great underwater panther, water lynx, and/or lion Mishipizheu (Fox).  These animals were acknowledged as the most powerful underworld beings (Fox). These beings were known by pre-columbian Native Americans (Fox).  James Howard states that these underwater panthers were "sometimes described as having brassy scales on their bodies and horns like those of a bison on their heads..." (Fox). This describes the Piasa accurately, except for the portion about wings and the ablitity to fly.  Flying can be explained by the utter quickness of a leap by a panther, tiger, and/or lion. The panther could have been seen by the Natives as so quick that it seemed as if it could fly; however it was only leaping bountiful heights. A newspaper article suggests that the Piasa is misinterpreted for a jaguar or a tiger (Piasa Bird Team).  Father Marquette's "piasa" seemed to have been mistaken for the Native American term "pizha" which means tiger (Piasa Bird Team). A drawing by Jean-Bapiste Louis Franquelin from the written description in Marquette's journal, looks like that of a jaguar with a long tail and a human face (Piasa Bird Team).  "Jaguars are one of the few cats that like to swim and they often dive underwater looking for food like fish and turtles" (Piasa Bird Team).  This could also be seen as a reason this creature was seen to be capable of flight. Today, it is said that the Legend of the Piasa is just a myth (Piasa Bird Team). However, just try to convince the residents of the Alton area that the Piasa Bird is something of fiction.  I will be fascinated by this legend that I learned of as a child until the day I die. If this legend is proven as untrue and mythical with "hard core" evidence then, perhaps, I will alter my beliefs. The only explanation I can provide is that the Illini Indians observed something of great strength, power, and horror.  This creture attacked their tribe and fed on whatever it could catch, being fish, turtles, or even humans.  This creature, I suppose, could have been a jaguar or a panther but ruled as something so much larger in the eyes of this Native American tribe. Let the Legend live on...

The above is a drawing by mapmaker Jean-Bapiste Louise Franquelin from the written description in Marquette's journal. Photo courtesy of:  http://www.greatriverroad.com/Cities/Alton/PiasaBird.htm   Photo courtesy of:  http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/ Bleachers/3861/cats3noh.html Photo courtesy of: http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/ Bleachers/3861/cats3noh.html   Copyright:  Amber Downs Illinois College Jacksonville, IL  62650 Last Revised:  May 6, 2003 E-mail:   downsa@ic.edu If you have any questions, comments, or your own stories that you would like to share, feel free to send me an e-mail.

Dunphy, John J.  The Legend is Pure Fiction.  17 March 2003.  http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/dreyer_infonet/piasas4.htm

Fox, William A.  "Dragon Sideplates from York Factory:  A New Twist on an Old Tail."  Adams Heritage.  Manitoba Archaeological Journal , 2.2 (1992).  17
            March 2003.  http://www.adamsheritage.com/articles/fox/dragon_sideplates.htm

Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Pere Marquette.   The Legend of the Piasa Bird.  15 March 2003.
            http://dnr.state.il.us/Lands/Landmgt/parks/r4/PRM/Piabrd.htm

Piasa Bird Team.  "The Legend of the Piasa Bird."   Lewis and Clark:  The INcredible Journey.  April 2002.  17 March 2003.
            http://www.eiu.edu/~lewclark/pblegend.html

Welker, Glenn.  Legend of the Piasa.  19 May 1998.  17 March 2003.  http://www.indians.org/welker/piasa.htm