The land from St. Louis to Alton on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River is very flat. It would be flooded often were it not for the large levees. However, from Alton upstream along the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers there are tall limestone bluffs overlooking the waters.
The first one rises abruptly on the western edge of town. There you will find an imaginative painting of the legendary, monstrous Piasa (PIE a saw) bird. There are several versions of the story. Look at http://www.altonweb.com/history/piasabird/ if interested. The photos on the link are old, with much brighter colors.
4 comments:
That was one hungry bird.
Great to see, and read about the bird. I went to school on those bluffs in Elsah, IL. Somehow back in the 60s I never heard of the bird. But young naive woman that I was, I missed a lot of what was going on.
goodness .. a bird that devours men
Impressive!
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