MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS RELATING TO ANTHROPOLOGY. G69 



moss, aud that it was not until the removal of the moss that-the true 

 character of the object appeared. Au examination of its surface must, 

 I think, convince the observer that the stone has been subjected to the 

 long-continued action of water, and from its situation it seems fairly 

 certain that the water which has produced the wasted appearance was 

 rain, and rain only. An exi)ert might i)erhaps form a tolerably accu- 

 rate opinion as to the peri»d which would be required for ordinary rain- 

 falls to effect such results as are here plainly visible. For myself, I 

 hesitate to speak of the precise period where the stone showed no 

 marks of rain. I feel, however, that I am safe in expressing the belief 

 that it would require a length of time commencing at a date before a 

 Frenchman is known to have set foot in the country to produce from 

 the action of rain so worn a surface as this stone exhibits. If this 

 ]>roposition is correct, there can be no reasonable ground to doubt that 

 the carving is the work of an Indian. I may refer, but solely for the 

 l)urpose of expressing my disbelief in any such hyjjothesis, to the sug- 

 gestion that art, employed for the purpose of deceiving, and not any 

 force of nature, has produced the worn appearance to which reference 

 has been made. The mossy deposit, and the unfrequented locality in 

 which the curiosity was found, both aid in dispelliug this idea; but even 

 had it been found in au often visited part, and without its mossy cov- 

 ering, I should have no hesitation in affirming that its worn appearance 

 was not due to the hand of man. I may further urge that, had the object 

 of the workman been solely to deceive, he would have scarcely selected 

 a stone whereon to carve of a granite character, and especially a piece of 

 grauulite, one of the hardest of rocks to work, being not only hard in qual- 

 ity but of crystalHne structure, aud ill-adapted for receiving a polish, at 

 least under rough tools. Granting, however, that for the reason stated we 

 are justified in assigning the origin of the carving to the Indian period, 

 there still remain many diflticulties in the way of determining its object 

 or meaning. There are at the present time several Indians in the 

 neighborhood of St. George, but half a century ago there were many 

 more in that locality, and i:)revious to the commencement of that period 

 ♦ the vicinity of the canal, about one and one-half miles from the bluff 

 mentioned before, was continuously a favorite camping ground for these 

 people. The Magaguadavic Lakes abound in fish, even at the present 

 day, aud the surrounding woods, formerly well stocked with all kiuds 

 of game, would prove a great attraction to the savage hunters, and the 

 proximity of the sea would also add to the attractions. The Magagua- 

 davic Indians speak the Milicete lang,uage, and are, I believe, members 

 of that tribe, and are, of course, descended from the Algonquins. I speak 

 with some hesitation of their being Milicetes, because I understand that 

 the Passamaquods claim to be distinct from the Milicetes, aud there 

 may be some question whether Magaguadavic Indians were not a por- 

 tion of the former tribe. A very obvious question iireseuts itself to the 

 mind of the investigator, which may here very i>roperly be considered. 

 What purpose would an Indian have in view in producing this curious 



