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
Fig. 95, from the same locality and authority, was also interpreted
by the Shoshoni and Banak. It appears from their description that a
Blackfoot had attacked the habitation of some of his own people. The
right-hand upper figure represents his horse, with the lance suspended
from the side. The lower figure illustrates the log house built against
a stream. The dots are the prints of the horse’s hoofs, while the two
lines running outward from the upper inclosure show that two thrusts
of the lance were made over the wall of the house, thus killing the
occupant and securing two bows and five arrows, as represented in the
left-hand group. The right-hand figure of that group shows the hand
raised in the attitude of making the gesture for kill.
[Illustration: FIG. 95.--Petroglyphs in Wind river valley, Wyoming.]
The Blackfeet, according to the interpreters, were the only Indians in
the locality mentioned who constructed log houses, and therefore the
drawing becomes additionally interesting, as an attempt appears to have
been made to illustrate the crossing of the logs at the corners, the
gesture for which (log house) is as follows:
Both hands are held edgewise before the body, palms facing, spread the
fingers, and place those of one hand into the spaces between those of
the other, so that the tips of each protrude about an inch beyond.
Another and more important petroglyph was discovered on Little
Popo-Agie, northwestern Wyoming, by members of Capt. Jones’s party in
1873. The glyphs are upon a nearly vertical wall of the yellow sandstone
in the rear of Murphy’s ranch, and appear to be of some antiquity.
Further remarks, with specimens of the characters, are presented below
in this paper. (See Fig. 1091.)
Dr. William H. Corbusier, U. S. Army, in a letter to the writer,
mentions the discovery of drawings on a sandstone rock near the
headwaters of Sage creek, in the vicinity of Fort Washakie, Wyoming, and
gives a copy which is presented as Fig. 96. Dr. Corbusier remarks that
neither the Shoshoni nor the Arapaho Indians know who made the drawings.
The two chief figures appear to be those of the human form, with the
hands and arms partly uplifted the whole being inclosed above and on
either side by an irregular line.
[Illustration: FIG. 96.--Petroglyph near Sage creek, Wyoming.]
The method of grouping, together with various accompanying appendages,
as irregular lines, spirals, etc., observed in Dr. Corbusier’s drawing,
show great similarity to the Algonquian type, and resemble some
engravings found near the Wind river mountains, which were the work
of Blackfeet (Satsika) Indians, who, in comparatively recent times,
occupied portions of the country in question, and probably also sketched
the designs near Fort Washakie.
Fig. 97 is also reported from the same locality.
[Illustration: FIG. 97.--Petroglyph near Sage creek, Wyoming.]
SECTION 3.
MEXICO.
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