Picture-Writing of the American Indians: Tenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1888-89, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1893, pages 3-822Mallery, Garrick
History
Picture-Writing of the American Indians: Tenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1888-89, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1893, pages 3-822
Mallery, Garrick
Picture-writing, Indian
On the rock faces and detached sandstone blocks of the banks of
the Ohio river there are numerous groups of intaglios, but in them
the style is quite different from those to which I have referred,
and which are located in the interior. Those on the Ohio river
resemble the symbolical records of the North American Indians,
such as the Kelley Island stone, described in Schoolcraft by Capt.
Eastman, the Dighton rock, the Big Indian rock of the Susquehanna,
and the “God rock” of the Allegheny river. In those the supposed
bird track is generally wanting. The large sculptured rock near
Wellsville, which is only visible at low water of the Ohio, has
among the figures one that is prominent on the Barnesville stones.
This is the fore foot of the bear, with the outside toe distorted
and set outward at right angles.
Other sculptured rocks of a similar character have been found in
Fairfield, Belmont, Cuyahoga, and Lorain counties.
That the ancient bird-track character belonged to the
mound-builders is evident from the fact that it is found among their
works, constructed of soil on a large scale.
One of these bird-track mounds occurs in the center of the
large circular inclosure near Newark, Ohio, now standing in the
Licking county fair grounds. Among the characters will be noticed
the human hand. In one instance the hand is open, the palm facing
the observer, and in the other the hand is closed, except the index
finger which points downward to the base of the cliff. Of the
bird-track characters there are many varieties. There is also a
character resembling a cross and another bearing some resemblance to
an arrow.
Fig. 64 is an illustration of the Independence stone, which is described
in the same volume, pp. 98, 99, as follows:
[Illustration: FIG. 64.--Independence stone, Ohio.]
Great care has been taken to obtain a correct sketch of what
remains of this inscription. A very rude drawing of it was published
in Schoolcraft’s great work upon the Indian tribes, in 1854.
The rock here described only contains a portion of the
inscription. The balance was destroyed in quarrying. The markings
on the portion of the rock preserved consist of the human foot,
clothed with something like a moccasin or stocking; of the naked
foot; of the open hand; of round markings one in front of the great
toe, of each representation of the clothed foot; the figure of a
serpent, and a peculiar character which might be taken for a rude
representation of a crab or crawfish, but which bears a closer
resemblance to an old-fashioned spearhead used in capturing fish.
Fig. 65 is a copy of the drawings on the Track rock, near Barnesville,
Belmont county, Ohio, the description of which is in the same volume,
pp. 89-93.
[Illustration: FIG. 65.--Barnesville Track rock, Ohio.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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