XXII INTRODUCTION. 
Owing to disintegration of the sandstone rocks, the painted 
outlines of animals and other figures are becoming slowly 
obliterated, though sufficient remained to show their similarity 
to others in various portions of the region which it is believed 
was occupied by the Cherokee Indians. Similar outlines were 
reported to have been formerly visible on the same river, as 
well as on the Tennessee, near Knoxville, Tennessee, though 
no traces of them were found. j 
The next place visited was a few miles distant from and 
northwest of Liberty, Tazewell County, Virginia, where 
some painted characters still remain in a good state of preser- 
vation. They are on the sandstone cliffs near the summit of 
the mountains and consist of human figures, birds, and other 
forms, appearing to resemble artistically those of North Caro- 
lina. Five miles eastward, on the same range, is a single 
diamond-shaped cluster of red and black marks, no other forms 
being visible. This rock is known in the surrounding coun- 
try as the ‘‘Handkerchief Rock,” because of its resemblance to 
an outspread colored handkerchief. He then proceeded to 
Charleston, West Virginia, obtaining copies of petroglyphs on 
Big Horse Creek, 12 miles southwest of that place, and at 
several points along the Kanawha River. It was learned that 
20 miles south of Charleston, on the reputed trail leading from 
the Kanawha Valley into Kentucky, “painted trees” formerly 
marked the direction of the trails leading into the Cherokee 
country, and into Kentucky. These trees bore various marks 
in red, but no accurate information pertaining to the precise 
form of the characters could be ascertained. At the other 
points mentioned characters were noticed resembling in gen- 
eral those found in other portions of the Eastern and Middle 
States known to have been occupied by tribes of the Algon- 
quian linguistic family. 
The “Indian God-Rock,” 115 miles north of Pittsburg, 
Pennsylvania, on the Alleghany River, was next examined 
and sketches were made of the figures. This rock is an 
immense bowlder, the sculptured face of which is about 15 
feet high and from 8 to 10 feet broad, and lies at the water’s 
edge. The figures upon the lower surface are being gradually 
