USA > Illinois > Madison County > Centennial history of Madison County, Illinois, and its people, 1812 to 1912, Volume I > Part 29
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snow bird, chipping sparrow, swamp sparrow, indigo bird, cardinal, bobolink, red-winged black bird, meadow lark, American raven, common crow, red bird and blue jay, are among those that are now or have been with us.
Of what are usually denominated game birds we have, or have had, the wild pigeon, common mourning dove, wild turkey, prairie chicken, pinnated grouse, ruffled grouse, kildee, bald head, yellow legged and upland plover, wood cock, English snipe, red-breasted snipe, curlew, Virginia rail, American swan, trumpeter swan, snow goose, Canada goose, brant, mallard, black duck, pin-tail duck, green-winged teal, shoveler, wood duck; red head, canvass back, butter ball and merganser ducks.
We have also had the sand hill crane, white heron, great blue heron, bittern, pelican and the loon. The wood ibis was here in the sum- mer of 1854-5.
For the great portion of the enumeration . made above the editor is indebted to a list pre- pared some forty years ago by the late Hon. W. C. Flagg.
DRIVEN TO THE CITIES
Thanks to our loose game laws, the so-called march of civilization, the dictates of fashion, and the licensing of thousands of pot hunters in every county, who slaughter everything that flies, the greater part of the numerous species of song birds, ornamental birds and game birds, the former habitues of the fields and forests, lakes and rivers, have become extinct. The wild pigeons that once darkened the sky in their flight and roosted in countless thou- sands in our forests, have utterly disappeared -not only from this section but from the country at large. The spring and fall flights of geese and ducks still continue, with several weeks spent twice a year in our lakes and rivers, but in constantly decreasing numbers.
There is no compensation for the loss of
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
these early denizens of our county in the ar- rival and vast multiplication of the belligerent English sparrow, whose good qualities, if any, are not yet revealed, while its pestiferous traits are self-evident.
It is a curious fact that such birds as we have left have, by an instinct of self-preservation, largely adopted urban life, and dwell more in the parks, towns and cities than in the open
country. This is because of the fact that they are safer in town than in the country. Munici- pal ordinances, generally, forbid the discharge of fire arms within corporate limits, while in the rural districts the pot hunter ranges at large, killing the farmers' and orchardists' best friends, without mercy, thus depriving them of nature's safeguard against the ravages of worms and insects.
CHAPTER XXI
LEGEND OF THE PIASAU
PROF. JOHN RUSSELL'S VERSION-ANOTHER VERSION OF THE LEGEND-ANCIENT MARK FOR ARROW AND BULLET-HOW LEGEND IS PERPETUATED-THE LEGEND OF LOVERS' LEAP.
Reference has been made to the picture of the Piasau Bird portrayed on the Alton bluffs and which inspired the first French explorers with terror as they descended the Mississippi in June, 1673. There were various Indian legends connected therewith which were cur- rent among the tribes at the time of the first settlements by white men.
PROF. JOHN RUSSELL'S VERSION
The version of the legend published by Prof. John Russell in the early days is given below : "Many thousand moons before the arrival of the pale faces, when the great megalony and the mastodon, whose bones are still dug up, were yet in the land of the green prairies, the numerous and powerful nation called the Illini, inhabited the state which now bears their name and 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 district of their country-near the residence of their greatest chief-there appeared an enormous creature,-part beast and part bird,-which took up its abode in the cliffs, and banqueted daily on numbers of the people whom it bore off in its immense talons. It was covered with scales of every possible color, had a huge tail with a blow of which it could shake the earth. From its head, which was like that of a fox
with the beak of an eagle, projected immense horns, and its four feet were armed with powerful talons, 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 high up on the land.
"To this animal they gave the name of 'Bird of the Piasau,' or 'Bird of the Evil Spirit' (ac-
THIE PIASAU BIRD
cording 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 numbers of the tribe diminished to feed his insatiable appetite. Whole villages were depopulated and consternation spread among all the tribes of the Illini. At length the young chief of the nation, Ouatoga, or Wassatoga, beloved of his people and es- teemed their greatest warrior and whose fame extended even beyond the great lakes, called a
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
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 revealed to him that the only way to rid his people of their destroyer was to offer himself as a sacrifice.
"Ouatoga awoke, aroused the slumbering priests, and, informing them of what had oc- curred, announced his intention of making the required sacrifice. Ouatoga then dressed him- self in his chieftain's garb, put on his war paint as if going to battle, and taking his bow and arrows and tomahawk, placed himself on a prominent rock overhanging the river (now called Lovers' Leap), and awaited 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 cliffs, waiting, each with his arrow drawn to the head, until their chief should be attacked, to wreak their vengeance on their enemy. High and erect stood the bold Ouatoga chant- ing his death song with a calm and placid coun- tenance, when suddenly there came a roar as of awful thunder, and in an instant the bird of the Piasau, uttering a wild shriek that shook the hills, swept down upon the chief. At that moment Ouatoga dealt it a blow with his tomahawk, and every bow of the braves, sprung at once, sent its arrow quivering up to its feather into its body. The Piasau uttered a shriek that resounded far over the opposite shore 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 generous deed of Ouatoga, had held over him an invisible shield. The tribe now gave way to the wildest joy, and to commemorate their deliverance painted the figure of the bird on the side of the cliff on whose summit the chief- tain stood, and there it has endured for ages, a mark for the arrow or bullet of every red man who has since passed in ascending or de- scending the great father of waters."
ANOTHER VERSION OF THE LEGEND
. Another version of the same legend, nar- rated in a volume published in 1838 by A. D. Jones, entitled "Illinois and the West," differs somewhat in detail as to the sacrifice of Oua- toga, and is as follows: "At length it was 1e- vealed to Ouatoga that a mode was possible by which the dread visitant might be destroyed. First, a noble victim was to be selected, from among the bravest warriors, who, by religious rites and ceremonies, was to be sanctified for
OUATOGA, CHIEF OF THE ILLINI
the sacrifice. Second, twenty warriors, equally as brave, with their stoutest bows and swiftest arrows, were to conceal themselves near the place of sacrifice. The victim was to be led forth and singly to take his stand on an ex- posed point of rock, where the ravenous bird would be apt to note and seize upon him. At the moment of descent the hidden warriors were to let fly their arrows with the assurance that the monster would fall.
"On the day appointed the braves, armed ac- cording to the instructions in the vision, safely reached their hiding places which commanded a full view of the fatal platform. The name of the victim had been kept secret up to the sacrificial hour. Judge, then, the consterna- tion, when, dressed in his proudest robes, Ouatoga appeared, himself the voluntary vic- tim. The tears and shrieks of the women, and the expostulations of the chiefs availed
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nothing. He was bent upon his solemn and awful purpose.
"'Brethren and children,' he addressed them, 'the Great Spirit is angry with his chil- dren. He hath sent us the scourge to punish us for our sins. He hath demanded this sacri- fice. Who so fit as your chief ? The blood of my heart is pure. 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 spirt. I am a dry tree, leaf- less and branchless. Soon I shall lie 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 Ouatoga. Hinder me not-I go forth to the sacrifice.' "
How much of the "Legend of the Piasau" was tradition and how much imaginary with Professor Russell is a point of contention. That there was a legend connected with the painting on the cliffs seems indisputable. That it was connected with some great event or notable deliverance seems equally certain. It was known to the early settlers to be the sub- ject of superstitious awe to the Indians re- maining in the vicinity, and this superstition was not local but was wide-spread among the tribes of the Mississippi valley.
ANCIENT MARK FOR ARROW AND BULLETS
A. D. Jones further says, in his "Illinois and the West:" "The spot became sacred from the time of Ouatoga's sacrifice and no Indian ascended or descended the river, at any time, without discharging his arrows at the man-destroying bird. After the distribution of fire arms among the Indians bullets were substituted for arrows, and even to this day (1838) 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 pas- sage 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 ashore in a body, and proceeded to the bluff where they held a solemn war council, concluding the whole with a splendid war dance, manifesting all the while the most exuberant joy."
This record of Mr. Jones is confirmed by old residents of Alton who recall this Indian council and dance, though some credit the cere- mony to a delegation of Chippewas. The council must have taken place on the bluffs at the west end of what is now Prospect street. The painting on the bluff side, a few yards west of what is now known as "Lovers' Leap, was immediately below the present residences of Mr. H. M. Schweppe and George D. Hayden. In the march of progress the painting of the Piasau Bird was quarried away and burned into lime -greatly to the disgust and dismay of anti- quarians. Pioneer settlers relate that in early times, there was a cave in the bluffs near by, which was found full of bones. The presence of these bones was accounted for by the tradi- tion that it was here the Piasau repaired with its victims and feasted on their flesh. Why such a gifted and ravenous monster, typical of the demons of the earth, the air and the water should have left any bones is not explained.
How LEGEND IS PERPETUATED
The name of the Piasau (shortened to Piasa but pronunciation retained) is perpetuated at Alton in hotels, associations and clubs, and in one of the main streets of the city, while the self-sacrificing chieftain, Ouatoga, is recalled to remembrance in the name of the handsom- est pleasure yacht on the Mississippi, owned by Dr. W. A. Haskell, of Alton. The name, also, of the storied tribe of which Ouatoga
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
was the chieftain is perpetuated in the Illini Club House at Clifton Terrace and the splen- did Illini Hotel at Alton. Thus does the pres- ent generation pay tribute to a traditional or mythical past, and enshrine it not only in song and story but in milestones of material prog- ress.
LEGEND OF LOVER'S LEAP
Next to that of the Piasau Bird, the legend of Lover's Leap is perhaps the most noted and
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LOVER'S LEAP AT ALTON
interesting of any that cluster around the vicinity of Alton. The point described is located at the southernmost extremity of Prospect street, in the city of Alton, where it ends in a sheer bluff rising two hundred feet from the bank of the river. It is one of the few landmarks of special interest in this vicinity that have escaped the defacing hand of civilization, and commands one of the most
magnificent views to be found anywhere in the Mississippi valley.
The following metrical version of the legend is by Frank C. Riehl, late of Alton.
Slow the summer day lies dying, in the shadowy arms of night,
And the wind, its requiem sighing, sweeps around the headlands white.
Hear it; like a soul in anguish, that, distracted, comes to weep,
Fretting its fantastic pinions on the rocks of Lovers' Leap :
Here, while pale the moonbeams glisten, let us sit and muse awhile,
And the prospect will repay us for the moments we beguile.
Soft the landscape is, and dreamy, and the stars shine Overhead :
Far below the rippling waters glide along their sandy bed ;
Over stream and hill and valley Nature holds her court supreme,
And I catch the tender cadence of a golden, olden dream.
Long ago, so runs the record, ere the paleface saw the land,
And the red man in his glory trod the river's shining sand,
Came a maiden here to worship every evening, when the sun
Dipped behind the western woodland, and the daily chase was done-
Came to thank the Blessed Spirit for the many mercies sent,
And to ask for all her people grace and plenty, and content.
Fair she was, this dusky damsel, daughter of the tribal chief,
And she bore a charmed existence in the popular belief :
Many of the brave young warriors had contended for her hand,
And though all had failed to win her, all were slaves to her command.
But it chanced one fatal evening, gazing hence across the stream,
She beheld a youthful boatman, in the early twilight gleam,
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
And she hailed the comely stranger, till he turned in at the shore :
He was of another people, whom she ne'er had known before.
Each found pleasure in the other, and the chance acquaintance grew
Till they vowed to bide together, and exchanged love's pledges true.
But, alas! one eve they lingered, gazing on the peace- ful tide,
As the youth told his devotion, kneeling fondly by her side,
When their tryst was rudely broken, through a jealous rival's eyes
Who beheld an interloper winning thus his cherished prize,
And at once did spread the story that a hated enemy
Was enticing their fair princess from her native tribe to flee.
Then the chieftain, flushed with anger, seized his trusty bow and dart,
And forbade his warriors weapons-he would pierce the villain's heart :
Stealthily he stole upon them, all unconscious of their doom,
Till his shout of warning echoed like a death-knell through the gloom ;
Instantly the maiden, pleading, sprang to shield her lover's form ;
Woe! the deadly arrow speeding, sought her life- blood, fresh and warm:
Then the grim old warrior staggered,-he, a master in his art,
Who had never missed a target, shot his daughter through the heart ;
And the youth, when comprehending, caught the fair form in his arms
While the angry horde, advancing, pressed him close with wild alarms;
When he sprang upon yon boulder, stood a moment calmly there,
Cast at them a cold defiance-then leaped out upon the air.
Afterwards they found them, mangled, lying on the rocks below,
And the hills re-echoed, sadly, the remorseful cries of woe.
Tenderly the twain were buried, on the summit, side by side,
While the Indian priest, foreknowing, at the service prophesied
That the place should e'er be sacred to the spirit it had served,
As the homes of many people who these favors well deserved-
That the Manitou's best blessings, ever coming from above,
Here would hold his chosen children in the happy bonds of love.
Little dreamed the savage savant how his words would be fulfilled,
That another, conquering nation on this sacred spot would build,
When his own had crossed the river, driven, never to return,
To the distant, arid regions where the sunset glories burn :-
Little recked he of the changes, coming down the vales of Time,
That should blight his native woodlands in the grand- eur of their prime,
When a wilderness of wigwams, mountain high be- side his own,
Should obliterate his footprints from the land which he had known.
But he spoke with truth inspired: Though the In- dian's sun hath set,
And his memory, most forgotten, only lingers with us yet
In a score of doubtful legends, such as that rehearsed above,
Illustrative of his nature, passionate with hate and love :-
Other hearts here oft have spoken loves as true as theirs of old,
And exchanged some tender token as the fateful tale was told :
And we hold the place in rev'rence, as each passing season brings
Joys that bide in every household, like a dove with folded wings,
While the voice of new endeavor, ever just before us, leads
On to braver, worthier efforts, loftier aims and better deeds.
Yes, methinks I have been dreaming, and we, too, must go to rest,
For the morrow brings new duties and another, nobler quest :
Peace enwraps the slumbering city, but the winds their vigils keep
Crooning their prophetic murmurs round the point of Lovers' Leap.
CHAPTER XXII
A "SPECTATOR" OF 1837
PIONEER BUSINESS MEN OF ALTON AND THE LINES OF TRADE IN WHICH THEY WERE EN- GAGED-SOME BUSINESS MEN AND FARMERS OF 1822.
An interesting side light on the men who once constituted the business life of a com- munity is offered by the advertisements in the local papers. In Chapter IX of this work the pro-slavery riots of 1837, in Alton, were reviewed. It is therefore appropriate to note the names of business men who were promi- nent, at that epoch, in the commercial life of the place. For this purpose a copy of the Alton Spectator of November 9, 1837, is se- lected. This paper was then published by William Hessin. His paper of this date con- tained no notice of the great pro-slavery riot, save a guarded allusion thereto introducing a statement by the mayor. In the next issue, November 16th, no reference whatever is made to the tragedy that was shaking the nation. Instead thereof we find this wail: "The times are so dull that they afford no news. We have examined all our papers for something new and have not been able to dis- cover anything. The only portion of the com- munity that strive to make news are the Whig editors. But as implicit reliance cannot be placed on their news we do not think it neces- sary to publish it. It wants confirmation."
The idea of looking at home for news seems not to have occurred to Mr. Hessin. The Spectator was a "Democratic-Republi- can" paper, a type somewhat prevalent at the present day. But, politics aside, the Specta- tor correctly reflected the business life of the
community in its advertising columns, and I find the following firms and lines of business represented therein :
Clawson & Cock, Alton Cash Store, general merchandise.
A. B. Roff, stoves, grates and hardware.
H. G. Van Wagenen, hardware and cutlery. lery.
Willard & Whitney, medicines, paints, etc. Paris Mason, Grafton, offers 5,000 bushels of corn for sale.
Marsh, Hankinson & Company, full line of drugs.
Hawley, Page & Dunlap, groceries and twenty barrels brandy just received by steamer Clarion.
Negus & Robbins announce receipt of fifty barrels of whisky.
R. T. Todd advertises a slaughter house conveniently located.
Townsend & Co. call attention to their pork and beef packing house.
S. Page and Horace Buffum announce dis- solution of firm of Page & Buffum.
Van Antwerp, Noble & Company make a similar announcement of dissolution of part- nership.
Joseph Andrews, administrator's notice, es- tate of Richard Andrews, deceased.
J. A. Townsend, N. Buckmaster, J. Web- ster Chickering, Jacob C. Bruner, William Lane and E. G. Sigerson, commissioners, an-
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
nounce the opening of the subscription books of the Calhoun Coal & Mining Company.
M. S. Link, administrator's notice, estate of John Link of Greene county, deceased.
W. L. D. Ewing, later governor and United States senator, advertises opening of a real estate office at Vandalia.
John King and Simeon Ryder announce closing out of firm of Reily & Hankinson.
John C. Pendergrass solicits patronage for barber shop.
Godfrey, Gilman & Company, three hun- dred barrels of flour.
Andrew W. Johnson, executor's notice, es- tate of Henry Hutton, deceased, of Carlyle.
N. R. Lurton invites the attention of the traveling public to his hotel at Delhi.
Hail Mason and D. Tolman advertise lots in Clifton, platted in 1836.
Alfred Cowles, horse strayed or stolen.
William A. Griffey warns public against purchasing note given by him to John Bolton.
William Martin and F. B. Burdock, law- yers, dissolution of partnership, former hav- ing been appointed to the bench.
J. C. Bruner, store robbed of $1,500 in cash and notes. Warns against purchase of latter.
Alton Marine and Fire Insurance Company. Capital stock $100,000; E. Marsh, president ; B. I. Gilman, secretary. The directors then were: Simeon Ryder, A. Alexander, Stephen Griggs, Robert DeBow, J. M. Krum, Calvin Reily, A. Corey and J. A. Townsend. Opened for business September 13, 1837.
Gustavus P. Koerner asks for return of fourth volume of Jefferson's writings lost at Edwardsville.
Marsh, Hankinson & Co., agents for all kinds of fruit trees.
John A. Maxey and R. P. Maxey, adminis- trators for estate of Bennet Maxey, deceased.
Samuel Force and Philip Sharp, co-partner- ship notice; blacksmiths.
Frederick Hoffmeister, bakery.
John Warnock, drygoods, hardware, etc. Vol. I-13
Seth T. Sawyer, professional card, attorney at law.
W. W. Rice, clothing and boots and shoes.
Bailey & Bullock, attorneys at law; also offer store building for sale.
Drs. T. M. Hope and Horace Beall, physi- cians and surgeons.
Alfred Cowles and John M. Krum, law- yers ; co-partnership from June 8, 1837.
Robert Smith, two rooms to rent in Middle- town. Apply to subscriber, or Junius Hall.
Alex. W. Jones, George W. Olney, Jones and Olney, attorneys at law.
Taylor, Davis & McFee, Alton; H. Davis, Upper Alton, agents Brandreth's pills.
W. T. Dyer calls attention of citizens to his drug store.
Geo. T. M. Davis and .William F. DeWolf, professional card, law partners.
Philip Sharp, carriage factory, corner Third and Beall streets.
Thos. R. Wilson, solicits patronage for Illi- nois Hotel at Edwardsville.
S. W. Robbins, clerk of Municipal court, official notice.
George F. Bristow, hat manufacturer.
Alfred Shannan, notice "To whom it may concern."
Miss Tolman & Company, milliners, late of Boston.
John Cherry, administrator of William Cherry, deceased, late of Macoupin county.
F. B. Murdock, city clerk, notice of exten- sion of Front street.
William Kinney, commissioner, solicits pro- posals for the grading, bridging and masonry for the Alton & Mt. Carmel Railroad, from Alton to Edwardsville, fifteen miles.
U. F. Linder and Edward Keating, attor- neys at law, professional card.
Francis Pottgen, administrator of estate of John Hamel.
Thomas B. Affleck, George Rockwell and Sidney Breese, merchants of Carlyle, an- nounce dissolution of co-partnership.
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
John M. Krum, executor of estate of Wil- liam S. Emerson. Notice to creditors.
Drs. Randle & Martyn, professional card. George Quigley, administrator of estate of Charles F. Toomer, deceased.
Lewis J. Clawson, notice to his debtors.
Edward W. Dill, M. D., physician's card. M. W. Caroll, saddlery and harness.
John A. Langdon, real estate office.
J. B. Hundley, advertises "A grand specu- lation in lands."
Jehu Meguir, saddlery and harness, trunk manufacturer.
William Ryrie, notice of opening of private school.
Henry Tanner, hardware and cutlery, stoves and castings.
George Smith and S. C. Pierce, inspectors of the penitentiary, call for proposals for the erection of thirty-two cells for the peniten- tiary, of hammered stone, similar to those already erected. Particulars furnished by S. C. Pierce, one of the inspectors, or John R. Woods, superintendent of penitentiary.
But the most prominent advertisement in this paper is that of the delinquent tax list for 1837. It occupies five columns. The names of the owners of the several pieces of property are not given, merely the number of the lots and blocks. The number of pieces of prop- erty advertised is 794, a large number for a town of only 2,500 inhabitants and indicates that the panic of 1837 had struck Alton with full force. The sale is advertised by S. W. Robbins, city collector, and is to take place on December 25th. A queer way to celebrate Christmas. Much of the property so adver- tised probably belonged to non-residents.
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