93 



diameter and measuring three and seven-eighths inches 

 in length by two and five-eighths in thickness. The 

 material is a silicions sandstone, of a drab color and fine 

 grain, and the sculptures are of a much higher grade of 

 art than any of a similar class extant. The surface of the 

 stone is smooth, and as perfect in contour as if turned in 

 a lathe. The carvings are in bas-relief, on a ground sunk 

 in this surface. 



On one side of the stone is a face in relief, similar in 

 its general features to the Mexican and Indian "Masks." 

 On the opposite side is a representation of arrows in 

 various positions, a new moon, and a convolute, or coil, 

 which may represent a serpent. On the third side is a 

 wigwam and a circle supposed to represent the full moon, 

 and on the fourth an ear of corn and a depressed circle 

 containing pictures of the head( ?) of some animal, a deer's 

 leg, and a crown (?). 



The stone was found by Mr. Seneca Ladd of Meredith 

 Village at the bottom of a post hole which some of his 

 workmen were excavating. As Mr. L. is quite a naturalist, 

 the discovery was hailed by him with enthusiasm, and the 

 relic will be preserved with the greatest care. The dis- 

 covery is regarded as one of great importance in its 

 archaeological bearings. 



Mr. F. W. PUTNAM remarked that the description of 

 the carved stone given by Mr. Tapley had greatly inter- 

 ested him, especially as the carving was shown by Mr. 

 Tapley's drawings to be far more elaborate than anything 

 he had known as the work of the earlier inhabitants of 

 New England. The Mound Builders of the South and 

 West were good workers in stone, and often made quite 

 elaborate carvings, but the later race of Indians were not 

 much skilled in the art, and but few relics of their work 



