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
It is more probable that the lines from the mouth of the animal indicate
magic or supernatural power, of which many examples appear in this
paper, as also of the device in the region of the animal’s heart, from
which a line extends to the mouth. These characteristics connect the
glyph with the Ojibwa drawings on bark.
OREGON.
Many bowlders and rock escarpments at and near the Dalles of the
Columbia river, Oregon, are covered with incised or pecked glyphs. Some
of them are representations of human figures, but characters of other
forms predominate.
Mr. Albert S. Gatschet, of the Bureau of Ethnology, reports the
discovery by him, in 1878, of rock etchings 4 miles from Gaston, Oregon,
and 2-1/2 miles from the ancient settlement of the Tuálati (or Atfálati)
Indians. These etchings are about 100 feet above the valley bottom on
six rocks of soft sandstone, projecting from the grassy hillside of
Patten’s valley, opposite Darling Smith’s farm, and are surrounded with
timber on two sides.
This sandstone ledge extends for one-eighth of a mile horizontally along
the hillside, upon the projecting portions of which the inscriptions
are found. These rocks differ greatly in size, and slant forward so
that the inscribed portions are exposed to the frequent rains of that
region. The first rock, or that one nearest the mouth of the canyon,
consists of horizontal zigzag lines and a detached straight line, also
horizontal. On another side of the same rock is a series of oblique
parallel lines. Some of the most striking characters found upon other
exposed portions of the rock appear to be human figures, i. e., circles
to which radiating lines are attached, and bear indications of eyes and
mouth, long vertical lines running downward as if to represent the body,
and terminating in a furcation, as if intended for legs, toes, etc.
To the right of one figure is an arm and three-fingered hand (similar
to some of the Moki characters), bent downward from the elbow, the
humerus extending at a right angle from the body. Horizontal rows of
short vertical lines are placed below and between some of the figures,
probably numerical marks of some kind.
Other characters occur of various forms, the most striking being an
arrow pointing upward, with two horizontal lines drawn across the shaft,
and with vertical lines having short oblique lines attached thereto.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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