l68 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 



by Indians seems plausible from the pile of ashes and refuse under 

 the shelter, in which potsherds, flints, and bone fragments were found. 



In the other direction from Snowball, on the farm of Mr. Burns, 

 some curious rocks bearing petroglyphs were found in a field on a 

 little knoll not far from Calf Creek. These rocks, 33 in number, lay 

 with only their flat surfaces exposed at the level of the ground ; on 

 these surfaces geometric figures — circles, combinations of circles, and 

 dots within circles — were inscribed. Time and weather had so nearly 

 obliterated these carvings that it was necessary to brush the rocks 

 clean, dampen them with water, and then dust fine sand into the de- 

 pressions in order to bring them out at all clearly. In addition to the 

 purely geometric designs there were realistic representations of hu- 

 man hand and foot prints and of tracks of other animals. The nature 

 and location of these rock carvings suggest they were made with a 

 ceremonial purpose, possibly the records of clan or tribal gatherings. 



Petroglyphs were also found in a cave known as the " Indian 

 Grotto," near Edgemont. This was a great recess 122 feet wide and 

 80 feet deep carved out of a perpendicular wall of sandstone. The 

 eastern side was filled with an extensive deposit of camp refuse, ashes, 

 and charcoal, above which on the wall within reach of a person stand- 

 ing on the floor were the petroglyphs, carved into the soft rock as 

 deep as half an inch in some places. Here naturalistic figures pre- 

 dominated. There were realistic figures of men, turtles, birds, and 

 other animals, and some geometric figures of diamonds, straight bars, 

 and disks, but most interesting of all were the numerous representa- 

 tions of conventionalized human beings, and an animal strongly sug- 

 gesting a horse. It is this group of figures that has given rise to the 

 popular tradition that this cave was visited by the Spaniards, who 

 of course must have buried some of their gold there and left the 

 carvings as a record of the event! Naturally this has led to consider- 

 able digging in the floor of the cavern, and the petroglyphs have been 

 very nearly obliterated. 



The most surprising thing about these sites is that although they 

 are within a hundred miles of one another no two of them exhibit the 

 same type of figures, some being geometric, others naturalistic, and 

 others conventionalized realistic types. The inference is that each 

 type has been made by a different tribe, perhaps for a different pur- 

 pose. The Osage and Cherokee are known to have lived in this region 

 and careful investigation as to whether or not they made rock pictures, 

 and if so what forms, may throw some light on this problem. 



