Kaskaskia - in the tracks of Gail's ancestos

We floated down the Mighty Miss just like Tom Sawyer and Jim. We floated past St. Genevieve and Cape Girardeau, settled by the French and located where, some maintain, "The South Begins." Hurray!

Tom and Jim encountered whirlpools that spun their raft around.

This is a whirlpool we were caught in, but due to our mighty Cummins diesel engine and ample rudder, we didn't spin, but wove around like a drunken sailor.

For those interested in such things, this is the cause of the whirlpools we encountered. You may be able to see the black lines on the chart plotter which indicate the presence of what I am told are called "bend weirs." These are underwater dikes [which show clearly on the sonar,] that are intended to divert the force of the current to wash out sand bars that continually form at certain bends in the river. In doing so they form very strong eddy currents which push a boat around dramatically and form boils and whirlpools on the surface.

Gail was impressed with the beauty of the river. It sure dosen't look like the Mississippi that we all know in New 0rleans!

As we recently read:

"The song of the river ends not at her banks, but in the hearts of those who have loved her." Buffalo Joe

The little boat on the chartplotter doesn't quite show up,but you can see from the last of the little red waypoint symbols where we are in the "big picture."

We have entered the mouth of the Kaskaskia River. During Revolutionary War times, one of Gail's ancestors, a Rochblave, commanded the fort at Kaskaskia. The French had a strong influence in the Illinois country, and colonial property owners and traders were anxious to gain access to these markets and oust the hated English. 0ne of them, one George Rogers Clark, older brother of William Clark, of Lewis and Clark fame, was comissioned by the Governer of Virginia to mount a military expedition against the English and their allies, the French. Why Virginia? That colony claimed as their western boundary, the Mississippi. Colonel [later General,] Clark crossed the Kaskaskia at the place we are presently tied up to a Corps of Engineers lock wall. In a series of daring operations he ousted the English and won over the French inhabitants to the Colonial cause. Virginia passed legislation making Illinois a county in Virginia.

Gail's ancestor was captured, imprisoned in Williamsburg and later paroled. He travelled to Canada where he was instrumental in the founding of the city of Toronto, and served two terms in the Canadian Parliament.