MALLERY. |] GROUPINGS OF PETROGLYPHS. 47 
States. In the wooded region of the Great lakes characters have been 
depicted upon birch bark for at least a century, while in the area be- 
tween the Mississippi river and the Rocky mountains the skins of buf- 
falo and deer have beenused. Large rocks and cliffs favorably situated 
are not common in that country, which to a great extent is prairie. 
In the general area of these typical groups characters are frequently 
found which appear intrusive, i. e., they have a strong resemblance 
not only to those found in other American groups, but are nearly iden- 
tical with characters in other parts of the world. This fact, clearly 
established, prevents the adoption of any theory as to the authorship 
of many of the petroglyphs and thwarts attempts to ascertain their 
signification. 
ALASKA. 
Ensign Albert P. Niblack, U.S. Navy, (a) gives a brief account, with 
sketches, reproduced here as Fig. 4, of petroglyphs in Alaska, which 
were taken from rocks from the ancient village of Stikine, near Fort 
Wrangell. Others were found on rocks just above high-water mark 
around the sites of ruined and abandoned villages. 
FIG. 4.—Petroglyphs in Alaska. 
In the upper character the Alaskan typical style of human faces is 
noticeable. The lower gives a representation of the orca or whale 
killer, which the Haida believe to be a demon called Skana, about 
which there are many mythic tales. Mr. Niblack remarks: 
In their paintings the favorite colors used are black, light green, and dark red. 
Whether produced in painting, tattooing, or relief carving, the designs are some- 
what conventional. However rude the outline, there are for some animals certain 
conventional signs that clearly indicate to the initiated what figure is meant. With 
the brown bear it is the protruding tongue; with the beaver and wolf it is the ehar- 
acter of the teeth; with the orca, the fin; with the raven, the sharp beak; with the 
eagle, the curved beak, ete. 
