Islands of the Mississippi River

While writing my latest novel, I discovered my story needed an island on the Mississippi River big enough for a group of river pirates to hide out.

Are there any islands on the Mississippi River large enough live on permanently? Turns out the answer is yes. (I’m guessing some of you already knew this, but color me clueless!) Some islands have a history of providing safety, security, and trading opportunities for travelers while others harbored danger to all who drew near. And like the pirates in my story and the mist along the river, over long periods of time, these land masses come and go at will … and sometimes with a little help from the Army Corp of Engineers.

Bloody Island appeared in 1798. Situated opposite St. Louis, MO, the densely wooded island became the preferred meeting spot for duelists since it was not under Missouri or Illinois jurisdiction. After a few years, the growth of the island threatened the harbor of St. Louis. In 1837, the U.S. Army Engineers established a system of dikes and dams to wash out the western channel and join the island to the Illinois shore.

Farmland on Grand Tower Island in Missouri
By Nyttend - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29413915

Davis Island, located 20 miles southwest of Vicksburg, MS consists of 30,000 acres. Formerly a peninsula bounded on three sides by the Mississippi River, a shift in the river cut it off from the mainland in 1867. Owned by Jefferson Davis’ brother, the Davis family built two sprawling plantations on the island. After the Civil War, former plantation overseer Ben Montgomery and other freedmen leased the island and continued to operate a successful farming operation on the island before losing the lease in 1876 when crops failed due to catastrophic floods. Today, Davis Island is owned by the Brierfield Hunting Club, with access only by water.

Rock Island, (Arsenal Island) comprises 946 acres and is located on the Mississippi River between the cities of Davenport, Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois. The Rock Island Arsenal is home of First Army headquarters. The island was originally established as a government site in 1816, with the building of Fort Armstrong. It is now the largest government-owned weapons manufacturing arsenal in the United States. 

The House-In-the-Woods, Campbell's Island, Illinois

At the turn-of-the last century, Campbell’s Island in Illinois was bought by a street-car company with the intentions of turning it into an amusement park. There were many summer cottages and The House-In-the-Woods, built in 1904, offered dining and concerts. Today, Campbell’s Island is home to a suburban community with many of the island homes built on stilts to withstand seasonal flooding.

Grand Tower Island is known for its prime farming land. Kaskaskia Island, with a population of 14 at the last census has seen its numbers swell to SEVEN THOUSAND in the past. Pike Island was an internment camp for more than 1600 Dakotas in 1862.

Kaskaskia Church, Kaskaskia, Illinois
By Charles Houchin - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3726290

And then there is Stack Island, located in north Mississippi, the island I based my fictional Cottonmouth Island on. Sometimes called the Crow’s Nest, Stack Island was notorious as a hideout for horse thieves, robbers, counterfeiters, and murderers. Samuel Mason and the Harpe brothers (Micaiah Jones from The Crossing at Cypress Creek is loosely modeled on the villainous Micajah Harpe) were among the vicious outlaws who frequented the Crow’s Nest.

Cave-In-Rock, Illinois
By Karl Bodmer - Maximilian, Prince of Wied’s Travels in the Interior of North America, during the years 1832–1834http://www.gallery.oldbookart.com/main.php?g2_itemId=30172, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26707096

This is just a sampling of the twenty-four or so land masses on the Mississippi River that qualify as islands. I find the idea of island life on the Mississippi River fascinating! So, have you ever visited an island on the river? Or, be still my heart, lived on one?

Don't miss The Crossing at Cypress Creek, the third and final book in Pam Hillman's
The Natchez Trace Novel Series

CBA Bestselling author PAM HILLMAN was born and raised on a dairy farm in Mississippi and spent her teenage years perched on the seat of a tractor raking hay. In those days, her daddy couldn't afford two cab tractors with air conditioning and a radio, so Pam drove an Allis Chalmers 110. Even when her daddy asked her if she wanted to bale hay, she told him she didn't mind raking. Raking hay doesn't take much thought so Pam spent her time working on her tan and making up stories in her head. Now, that's the kind of life every girl should dream of. www.pamhillman.com

Alexander Selkirk, Marooned by Choice

The Real Robinson Crusoe?

Alexander Selkirk was a privateer born in the small Scottish town of Lower Large, Fife, near the sea, in 1676. He became a sailor and then a privateer, that is, a pirate sanctioned by the government.

Statue of Selkirk in his hometown in Scotland, created by Thomas Stuart Burnett in 1885.

Photo by Hopea1147 via Wikimedia Commons.

In 1704, he was raiding Spanish ships and coastal villages in the Pacific, up and down the coast of South America and Mexico. Selkirk served under the leadership of British explorer and privateer William Dampier. Captain of the St. George, Dampier was also responsible for a second ship, the Cinque Ports, on which Selkirk was sailing master under twenty-one-year-old Captain Thomas Stradling. There is little doubt that Selkirk had more sailing experience than his captain.

Title page of 1835 book about Selkirk, public domain

 The two ships parted ways, and the Cinque Ports stopped in the tropical Juan Fernandez islands off Chile to restock their water. The island group was uninhabited, but was well known as a hideout or outpost for privateers and pirates in the 17^th Century.

Selkirk’s ship was among many privateers fighting the Spanish at that time, during the War of Spanish Succession. During their year of raiding along the coast and fighting several battles, the Cinque Ports’s condition had deteriorated. Selkirk told the captain that they should stop and repair it, but Stradling disagreed. Selkirk declared that he would rather be left on the island than sail farther in the unseaworthy ship, and Captain Stradling obliged him.

You Made Your Bed, Now Make Your Hut

Woodcut of Selkirk at his hut, reading his Bible, from 1835 biography

Apparently, Selkirk thought other crew members would agree with him and force an overhaul of the vessel, but none of them wanted to stick their necks out. When he saw that he would be left alone, Selkirk begged the captain to take him back aboard, but Stradling would not. Selkirk was left on the shore with only a musket and a small supply of gunpowder, his clothing and bedding, a Bible, some tobacco, and a few tools.

After he was later rescued, Selkirk told how he had survived. Known as a brawler at home in Scotland, he said he sang psalms and read from the Bible every day.

He lived near the shore at first, eating lobster and other offerings of the sea, but a great number of aggressive sea lions invaded his new home, and he was driven inland. This turned out to be a good thing, as he discovered a large colony of feral goats. Apparently, some ship that had previously stopped there let their livestock ashore to graze, and a few goats escaped and remained on the island.

Illustration from the 1835 book shows Selkirk catching a goat.

He shot several goats for food. When his gunpowder ran out, he learned to outrun and outflank them and kill them with his knife. His father was a tanner back in Scotland, and Selkirk had no problem tanning the goatskins and making new clothes from them.

He also found turnips and cabbage leaves growing, and ate pepper berries. A few feral cats that had probably jumped ship when other vessels came there kept him company and kept down the rat population.

It Helps to Have a Place to Hide

During Selkirk’s sojourn, two Spanish ships dropped anchor at the island. Selkirk hid from the enemies. In one case, the sailors saw him and gave chase, but he was able to hide up in a tree until they gave up the search.

Selkirk being taken aboard the Duke, public domain

He stayed there alone for four years and four months. Ironically, his old commander William Dampier was pilot of the Duke, the ship that came to his rescue. Many of the crew were hungry and ill with scurvy. Selkirk, in his joy to see British men, was able to help them. He killed three goats a day for them to eat and helped the crew regain their health. The Duke’s captain, Woodes Rogers, referred to Selkirk as governor of the island. He made the castaway second mate and later gave him command of a prize ship.

The island on which Selkirk lived for more than four years is now known as Robinson Crusoe Island. Archaeologists found evidence a few years ago of Selkirk’s huts and also part of a pair of navigational dividers, a tool that would only belong to a ship’s master or navigator, such as Selkirk. The sailors who rescued Selkirk said he had some “practical pieces” and mathematical instruments in his meager personal possessions.

 

1742 map of the island now known as Robinson Crusoe Island

Selkirk’s return to England in 1711, after being gone eight years, caused a great stir. After that, he continued sailing and privateering. He became wealthy from his share in the plunder. In 1721, he was master’s mate on the HMS Weymouth. He died Dec. 13, 1721, off the west coast of Africa, probably of yellow fever, and was buried at sea.

In 1719, Daniel Defoe’s novel Robinson Crusoe was first published. While Selkirk was clearly one of his inspirations, it is also believed Defoe drew from other castaway accounts of the time. Selkirk is mentioned in many books and poems. Films have been made both of Selkirk’s life and the beloved tale of Robinson Crusoe.

Want more island tales? Leave a comment including your contact information and you will be entered in a drawing for a paper or e-book copy of Susan’s novel Frasier Island.

Susan Page Davis is the author of more than sixty published novels. She’s always interested in the unusual happenings of the past. Her newest books include Echo Canyon, Seven Brides for Seven Texans, The Saboteur, River Rest, and Tearoom for Two. She’s a two-time winner of the Inspirational Readers’ Choice Award, and the Will Rogers Medallion for western fiction, and also a winner of the Carol Award and a finalist in the WILLA Literary Awards and the More Than Magic Contest. Visit her website at: www.susanpagedavis.com .