Case file · Folklore / legend
The Singing River
A low humming said to rise from the Pascagoula River on summer evenings is explained by a legend that the Pascagoula people walked into the river singing rather than be conquered by the Biloxi.
1730 CE · 30.36, -88.56 · status: legend
The account
French colonial officials recorded versions in the 18th century; one of the earliest is credited to Governor Étienne Périer. Some tellings blame a love affair between a Biloxi princess and a Pascagoula chief.
The sceptical view
The Pascagoula did not die out; they moved west and merged with other tribes. The sound has been put down to fish, gas from the riverbed, or insects.