The Piasa bird: the dragon of the Mississippi River
“They are as large as a calf; they have horns on their heads like those of deer, a horrible look, red eyes, a beard like a tiger’s, a face somewhat like a man’s, a body covered with scales, and so long a tail that it winds all around the body, passing above the head and going back between the legs, ending in a fish’s tail. Green, red, and black are the three colors composing the picture.” – Jacques Marquette
The reproduction of the Piasa Bird petroglyph in Alton, IL.
The Piasa Bird was a mythological bird-like creature that preyed along the Mississippi River. According to legend, it could latch onto deer with its talons. The human-flesh-hungry, Piasa Bird, ravished villages, while Illini tribes fled in horror.
According to a most likely fabricated translation from John Russell, a professor of Greek and Latin, the name “Piasa” translates to “the bird that devours men” or “bird of the evil spirit,” reflecting the creature’s fearsome reputation.
The local tribes depicted the dragon-like creature on two, petroglyphs. For centuries, the giant petroglyphs, painted on the side of bluffs, towered above the Mississippi River near Alton, IL. Dr. Mark J. Wagner (Director, Center for Archaeological Investigations and Professor, Department of Anthropology, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale) believes it was most likely created during the Mississippian period (AD 1000-1500), possibly around the time Cahokia flourished.
French explorer Jacques Marquette, while traversing down the Mississippi River in 1673, was startled to see “two painted monsters,” near modern-day Alton. Meanwhile, he marveled at the complexity of the murals.
“They are as large as a calf; they have horns on their heads like those of deer, a horrible look, red eyes, a beard like a tiger’s, a face somewhat like a man’s, a body covered with scales, and so long a tail that it winds all around the body, passing above the head and going back between the legs, ending in a fish’s tail. Green, red, and black are the three colors composing the picture.” – Jacques Marquette
Like many significant Native American sites, the remaining, original Piasa Bird petroglyph was destroyed to carve out the Great River Road in the 19th century. Today, a modern reproduction adorns the side of a bluff near Alton. Unfortunately, painters have to regularly restore the mural because of the poor limestone it adorns. Visitors to Alton often stop by the mural, intrigued by the lore and the striking image. It’s a unique link from Illinois’ present to its past.
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