The Mississippi
Franquelin's Map of the Mississippi River Valley (1682) |
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| Date: | 1682 |
| Author: | Jean Baptiste Louis Franquelin |
| Dwnld: | Full Size (9.76mb) |
| Source: | Library of Congress |
| Print Availability: | |
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| See our Prints Page for more details | |
This map isn't part of any series, but we have other maps of exploration that you might want to check out.
My boy Jean Baptiste Louis Franquelin was high as hell when he made this. You can just tell.
Human-faced alligator with deer antlers? C'mon Jean. Don't play.
UPDATE: Loyal BIG Map Blog reader "Joe" points out in the comments section that the “Human-faced alligator with deer antlers” is, in fact, the legendary "Piasa Bird", pictured below. You'd think I'd have heard about it, living a couple of miles away as I do... but I guess I'm just thick.
Many thanks to Joe for his eagle-eyes and his knowledge of history. Click the picture above to check out the Piasa Bird wikipedia article.
He may well have been high, but he didn’t make up the “Human-faced alligator with deer antlers.” It’s the Piasa bird and it can still be seen outside of Alton, IL on the bluffs of the Mississippi. Father Jacques Marquette reported a sighting of it in 1673.
Love the blog, thanks for your efforts.
Awesome catch, Joe. Just the type of new info that I’m always looking to learn, and the latest in a long string of interesting insights that I’ve gotten from readers of the blog. I can’t thank y’all enough.
Wikipedia link: “Piasa Bird“
Thanks for the kind word; real glad you like it.
Kind regards,
-t59K