Indian Pictographs in Pate Valley. 259 



[The modest notes by the discoverers of these inter- 

 esting ethnological records hardly indicate the impor- 

 tance of the find. None has heretofore been found in 

 either the Tuolumne or Merced drainage areas; so that 

 this discovery establishes a new northern limit for these 

 pictorial writings. An authority on anthropology, who 

 has seen these photographs, writes concerning them as 

 follows : 



Nothing can be told you of the significance of the 

 characters contained. Such markings are found pretty 

 well over the southern part of the State. In no case 

 do the present Indians know their origin or meaning. 

 In some cases at least they have myths about them, — 

 that they were made by supernatural beings. Fog- 

 maiden was thought to have made one such set of marks. 

 The Indians of this region do not make representations 

 of natural objects as do the Indians of the Plains. In 

 my opinion, the explanation of them, if they are in any 

 way significant, is likely to be connected with some im- 

 portant enumeration or calendar-keeping. Some attempts 

 have been made to explain them as the results of imple- 

 ment-making. The easy way out is to call such things 

 ceremonial, but the chances are that the ceremonial use 

 is secondary, resulting from a loss of practical use or 

 significance." — Editor.] 



