For hundreds of years, an image once painted on the bluffs above the Mississippi River in Alton, Ill., served as a source of speculation among archaeologists and historians.

For hundreds of years, an image once painted on the bluffs above the Mississippi River in Alton, Ill., served as a source of speculation among archaeologists and historians.



This mysterious image of a creature, commonly referred to as Piasa, was discussed Wednesday night as Duane Esarey presented "Untangling the Piasa's tale: A revised interpretation" at an Illinois Valley Archaeological Society meeting at Dickson Mounds State Museum.



"We've lacked an integrated explantation of what it means for a long time," said Esarey, of the Illinois State Archaeological Survey.



The first account of this painting dates back to 1673, with a description by explorer Father Marquette that details "composite creatures with various features of different animals," Esarey said.



Other stories have surfaced of these paintings, which were destroyed early on, though some include significant differences.



The trouble is, the drawing with Marquette's story has apparently been lost and some of the other accounts make little sense.



To help clear up some confusion with the Piasa, Esarey integrated two stories, one of which told by a Peoria Indian named George Washington Finley in 1895.



According to Esarey, Finley told the story about an indian named Wissakatchakwa who led a French man into an underwater lair where a man-eater resided. Wissakatchakwa defeated the man-eater and took control of the lair, only to later be attacked by payiihsaki — or malevolent twin dwarfs.



The payiihsaki then took over control of the lair, with the story ending of the creatures' footprints being seen there.



The other tale, on the other hand, dealt with flying monster named Piasa that had a taste for human flesh, as told by local historian John Russell in 1836.



With Russell's story, the monster lived in a cave above the bluffs and caused nearby tribes a great assortment of trouble until an Illinois indian chief received instruction through a dream on how to overcome the beast. When the monster vanished, the Piasa's image was painted on the bluff to commemorate the event.



According to Esarey, explanations of these stories can be integrated by the similarities between them, which he said "seems to resolve the tension of the stories."



In addition, he also spoke about a long-forgotten map containing a drawing of the creature by Louis Jolliet, who explored with Marquette.



Esarey said the map was the third of three that Jolliet had created. After losing all of his work during traveling, Jolliet eventually drew a detailed map with the help of the journal of deceased Marquette.



Because of this, Esarey said it can be concluded that the map, and image of the creature, is either a literal copy of a drawing included in Marquette's journal or at least a Jolliet-approved drawing of what he saw with his own eyes at Alton.



Also, Esarey addressed findings of footprints of humans carved into stone at a number of locations, mainly along rivers, plunge pools and rapids.



These footprints varied, with some having four to six toes and others with what Esarey said looks like a long curing tail with a fork at the end, among other types.



He said he believed it to be an "intriguing ending" to Finley's story of payiihsaki taking over an underwater lair, which ended with "you can still see its footprints quite clearly there."