Little Egypt is a nickname given to the southernmost section of the state of Illinois which is geographically, culturally, and economically distinct from the rest of the state. The region is bordered on three sides by the largest rivers in the U.S.: the Wabash and Ohio on the east and south and the Mississippi to the west. Geographically it is more hilly and rocky than the rest of the state and many consider it part of the Ozarks. When settlers began to come in great numbers they came by way of the ever-available rivers and found southern Illinois a convenient region for settlement. The advent of the steamboat and the development of trails and roadways soon led immigrants to bypass the southern part of the state. It thus was left a somewhat isolated region, a kind of historical eddy. In this region a culture, reasonably advanced at the time of its coming, tended to become static. The customs, practices, and beliefs of the pioneer survived here long after they had passed in less isolated regions. It is against the background of this distinctive area that the writer would have these offerings viewed.