Along the the shores of the Ohio River, on the Illinois side, you'll find a dramatic landscape and an amazing piece of history.  Carved into the face of a high bluff you'll find the gaping and sinister looking maw of a 55 foot wide limestone cave.   

This is . . .
Cave-in-Rock.

Carved by water tens of thousands of years ago, Cave-in-Rock has been used by native peoples and travelers for centuries.  While the cave offered shelter and protection it also has an unsavory past.   The cave's  deep, dark recesses immediately conjure up images of  something quite unpleasant . . . bandits and river pirates.
 

 
Cave-in-Rock served as a backdrop for a scene in the MGM movie classic “How The West Was Won.” The scene was a near-accurate portrayal of how, ruthless bandits and river pirates of the 18th and 19th centuries, used the cave to lure unsuspecting travelers to an untimely end.

Popular culture recalls the river pirate history in scenes from Walt Disney's Davy Crockett and the River Pirates, as Davy Crockett and Mike Fink anachronistically fight Sam Mason and his pirates.

In 1997, The History Channel show, "In Search of History" also filmed at the site for an episode entitled "River Pirates."
 

Cave-in-Rock - A Mysterious and Cryptic Past

At one time, the walls of Cave-in-Rock were covered with cave paintings.  These paintings were said to consist of likenesses of plants, animals, humans and heavenly bodies such as the sun, the moon, and the stars.  There were also some strange and unknown symbols.

In 1833 Josiah Priest wrote, "On the Ohio, twenty miles below the mouth of the Wabash, is a cavern, in which are found many hieroglyphics, and representations of such delineations as would induce the belief that their authors were, indeed, comparatively refined and civilized."  Priest related that the costumes worn by the humans were similar to those worn by ancient Greeks and Romans.

In 1848 another early explorer, William Pidgeon, recorded his observations of Cave-in-Rock and its curious paintings. He included pictographs and believed that the humans must represent Egyptians. Pidgeon also wrote that he believed that ancient peoples of the western hemisphere were multiracial, a result of countless human voyages and settlements all over the world.

Tragically, abuse of the cave for well over 150 years by modern man, flooding of the Ohio River, and the collapse of an upper chamber directly over the main cave, have scoured the walls and have obliterated the ancient art.  The 20th century, spray paint graffiti of course is simply unconscionable.  

When hiking around the Cave-in-Rock State Park, be aware!  The terrain is rugged and can be rather treacherous. Be smart, be safe, use common sense, as gravity always wins!  Also watch out for rattlesnakes, and the numerous poisonous plants that grow here.