Rock Carvings in Iowa
Mr. P. W. Norris found numerous caves on the banks of the Mississippi River, in Northeastern Iowa, 4 miles south of New Albion, containing incised pictographs. Fifteen miles south of this locality paintings occur on the cliffs.
Rock Carvings in Minnesota
Mr. P. W. Norris has discovered large numbers of pecked totemic characters on the horizontal face of the ledges of rock at Pipe Stone Quarry, Minnesota, of which he has presented copies. The custom prevailed, it is stated, for each Indian who gathered stone (Catlinite) for pipes to inscribe his totem upon the rock before venturing to quarry upon this ground. Some of the cliffs in the immediate vicinity were of too hard a nature to admit of pecking or scratching, and upon these the characters were placed in colors.
Rock Carvings in Wyoming and in Idaho
A number of pictographs in Wyoming are described in the report on Northwestern Wyoming, including Yellowstone National Park, by Capt. William A. Jones, U. S. A., Washington, 1875, p. 268 et seq., Figures 50 to 53 in that work. The last three in order of these figures are reproduced in Sign Language among North American Indians, in the First Annual Report, Bureau of Ethnology, pages 378 and 379, to show their connection with gesture signs. The most important one was discovered on Little Popo-Agie, Northwestern Wyoming, by members of Captain Jones’s party in 1873. The etchings 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 figures, are presented in this paper as Figure 150, on page 227.
Dr. William H. Corbusier, U. S. Army, in a letter to the writer, mentions the discovery of rock etchings on a sandstone rock near the headwaters of Sage Creek, in the vicinity of Fort Washakie, Wyoming. Dr. Corbusier remarks that neither the Shoshoni nor the Arapaho Indians know who made the etchings. The two chief figures appear to be those of the human form, with the hands and arms partly uplifted, the whole being surrounded above and on either side by an irregular line.
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 Algonkin type, and resemble some etchings 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 etched the designs near Fort Washakie.
A number of examples from Idaho appear infra, pages 228 and 229.
Rock Carvings in Nevada
At the lower extremity of Pyramid Lake, Nevada, pictographs have been found by members of the United States Geological Survey, though no accurate reproductions are available. These characters are mentioned as incised upon the surface of basalt rocks.
On the western slope of Lone Butte, in the Carson Desert, Nevada, pictographs occur in considerable numbers. All of these appear to have been produced, on the faces of bowlders and rocks, by pecking and scratching with some hard mineral material like quartz. No copies have been obtained as yet.
Great numbers of incised characters of various kinds are found on the walls of rock flanking Walker River, near Walker Lake, Nevada. Waving lines, rings, and what appear to be vegetable forms are of frequent occurrence. The human form and footprints are also depicted.
Among the copies of pictographs obtained in various portions of the Northwestern States and Territories, by Mr. G. K. Gilbert, is one referred as to as being on a block of basalt at Reveillé, Nevada, and is mentioned as being Shinumo or Moki. This suggestion is evidently based upon the general resemblance to drawings found in Arizona, and known to have been made by the Moki Indians. The locality is within the territory of the Shoshonian linguistic division, and the etchings are in all probability the work of one or more of the numerous tribes comprised within that division.
Rock Carvings in Oregon and in Washington
Numerous bowlders and rock escarpments at and near the Dalles of the Columbia River, Oregon, are covered with incised or pecked pictographs. Human figures occur, though characters of other forms predominate.
Mr. Albert S. Gatschet reports the discovery of rock etchings near Gaston, Oregon, in 1878, which are said to be near the ancient settlement of the Tuálati (or Atfálati) Indians, according to the statement of these people. These etchings are about 100 feet above the valley bottom, and occur 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. The distance from Gaston is about 4 miles; from the old Tuálati settlement probably not more than 2½ miles in an air-line.
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 cañon, 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 bearing indications of eyes and mouth, long vertical lines running downward as if to represent the body, and terminating in a bifurcation, 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, vertical lines having short oblique lines attached thereto.
Mr. Gatschet, furthermore, remarks that the Tuálati attach a trivial story to the origin of these pictures, the substance of which is as follows: The Tillamuk warriors living on the Pacific coast were often at variance with the several Kalapuya tribes. One day, passing through Patten’s Valley to invade the country of the Tuálati, they inquired of a passing woman how far they were from their camp. The woman, desirous not to betray her own countrymen, said that they were yet at a distance of one (or two?) days’ travel. This made them reflect over the intended invasion, and holding a council they preferred to retire. In commemoration of this the inscription with its numeration marks, was incised by the Tuálati.
Capt. Charles Bendire, U. S. Army, states in a letter that Col. Henry C. Merriam, U. S. Army, discovered pictographs on a perpendicular cliff of granite at the lower end of Lake Chelan, lat. 48° N., near old Fort O’Kinakane, on the upper Columbia River. The etchings appear to have been made at widely different periods, and are evidently quite old. Those which appeared the earliest were from twenty-five to thirty feet above the present water level. Those appearing more recent are about ten feet above water level. The figures are in black and red colors, representing Indians with bows and arrows, elk, deer, bear, beaver, and fish. There are four or five rows of these figures, and