Most of the stories and accounts offered here are associated with the southern section of Illinois popularly termed “Egypt.” Therefore, it may be meaningful to explain why this region is frequently referred to by that name.

The boundaries of “Egypt” in Illinois are agreed upon to be the Wabash, Ohio, and Mississippi rivers on the east, south, and west. The northern limits, however, are indefinite. There are some, with reasonable territorial ambitions, who would have it include all the state lying south of an east-west line in the approximate latitude of Vandalia. Others, perhaps less imperialistic or perhaps selfish, would include only that part of the state lying south of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, roughly a line from East St. Louis to Vincennes.

A second term, Little Egypt, often is applied to a smaller area at the southern tip of the state. It…