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Little-Indian-Rock-Labels.
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Little Indian Rock
Comparative Interpretations of Symbols
| 1. | Human figure with right arm raised.Among certain Algonkian groups, the raising of the right hand was the sign for peace. The left hand indicated treachery.Supplication to the Great Spirit.Indicates a beggar.Indicates a hermit. |  |
| 2. | A concentric circle within which several indeterminate figures are depicted.Double lines indicate supernatural.An enclosure.Symbolical of a great feast.A feast dish.A hole in the ground or a cache. |  |
| 3. | Thunderbird.Described as a supernatural being, the enormous bird was a symbol of power and strength that protected humans from evil spirits. It was called the Thunderbird because the flapping of its powerful wings sounded like thunder, and lightning would shoot out of its eyes. The Thunderbirds brought rain and storms, which could be good or bad. Good – when the rain was needed or bad when the rain came with destructive strong winds, floods, and fires caused by lightning. |  |
| 4. | Turkey tracks. |  |
| 5. | Bear tracks.Bear tracks are indicated by pronounced big toes and a short foot. |  |
| 6. | Turkeys.These may be totemic, but probably indicate that this bird can be found to the eastward. Most Algonkian tribes associated themselves with certain animals and the custom still survives among living groups. Among the Lenape there was one powerful group called the Unalâchtigo, meaning “the turkey.” |  |
| 7. | Individual animals of various kinds.Two long-tailed animals and two short-tailed ones. The upper figure may indicate a fox or a skunk, and the one just below either an otter or a panther. |  |
| 8. | A human face upon with two ears or horns. This shows superiority in rank, as a chief or a shaman who is the meditator between the world of spirits and men. This particular figure is probably a shaman as it has what appears to be an arrow or spear projecting from the left side of the face indicative of supernatural power. |  |
| 9. | This is a composite group partly obliterated, destroying the possible meaning of the whole. The animal, probably a wolf, standing upon the head of a human with a bow in his left hand might represent a proper name. It may also show that this hunter, identified by the destroyed part of the figure, is a member of the Wolf Clan. |  |
| 10. | The head of a human who has supernatural power, the latter being indicated by the double line around the head and the circle a short distance to the right of the face. |  |
| 11. | A group consisting of a human figure with a bow in its left hand and half the body of a wolf as its right hand. At the left is a dog and at its right is a wolf with its head turned to face the figure.The interpretation of this group of symbols means:This man belongs to the Wolf Clan; he can change himself into a wolf as his arm transforming into the head of a wolf. He is a mighty hunter and is protected at all times by the great ruler of the wolves shown at his left. |  |
| 12. | Figure 12 represents the form of a horned being and could be interpreted in several ways. The large object near the right hand might show that this chief or shaman was well supplied with worldly goods, or it might mean that he kept his medicine in a large bag. The large short-tailed, long-eared animal, together with buffalo, turkey, and bear tracks closely associated with this figure, however, suggests that whoever it is, is supposed to be a mighty hunter. |  |
| 13. | A thunderbird or eagle upon a pedestal. This might commemorate some unusual occurrence. What appears to be a pedestal may be intended to represent a tail. The Ojibway occasionally depicts a thunderbird or an eagle perched upon a medicine pole near a shaman’s structure. This is supposed to show that the shaman professes to have the power of flight equal to that of the bird. |  |
| 14. | Manitou. The spiritual and fundamental life force among Algonquian groups in the Native American theology. It is omnipresent and manifests everywhere: organisms, the environment, events, etc. A comet. |  |
| 15. | Human tracks. |  |
| 16. | Indicates the banks of a river or snakes.This carving lines up with the equinox sunrise.The snake appears in Algonkian mythology as an evil spirit. It symbolizes stealth, but when a feather is attached, it represents bravery.A powerful evil spirit that was supposed to live under the water is often represented with the body of a snake. |  |
| 17. | Represents four panthers or otters facing a short-tailed animal which is either a wolf or a dog. |  |
| 18. | A hunter with a bow in his left hand. |  |
| 19. | Underwater. Group 19 has one large, long-nosed, short-tailed animal with a similar but smaller figure in front of it and another in the back. Among the Bungi Indians, this figure is used to indicate the brown bear who leveled the earth at the beginning of life so that it could be lived upon by the Indians, and it also represents the earth mother who taught the Indians how to use roots for food and medicine. |  |
| 20. | Underwater. A human head with horns and shows superiority in rank as a chief. The double line around the head indicates supernatural power. |  |
| 21. | Deer tracks. |  |
| 22. | A human figure with unusually large hands.A human figure carrying two packages. |  |
| 23. | A snake within an enclosure.A turtle that has conquered a snake. |  |
| 24. | Underwater. Indeterminate and partially destroyed figures. |  |
| 25. | Bear tracks.Bear tracks are indicated by pronounced big toes and a short foot. |  |
| 26. | Represents four panthers or otters facing a short-tailed animal which is either a wolf or a dog. |   |
| 27. | A long-legged, long-tailed animal and may belong with group 7. If it does, the circle below the nose indicates that it has certain magical powers that the other animals do not possess. |  |
| 28. | Indeterminate and partially destroyed figures. |  |
| 29. | May indicate a fox or a skunk. |  |
| 30 | Thunderbird.Described as a supernatural being, the enormous bird was a symbol of power and strength that protected humans from evil spirits. It was called the Thunderbird because the flapping of its powerful wings sounded like thunder, and lightning would shoot out of its eyes. The Thunderbirds brought rain and storms, which could be good or bad. Good – when the rain was needed or bad when the rain came with destructive strong winds, floods, and fires caused by lightning. |  |
| 31. | Thunderbird. Described as a supernatural being, the enormous bird was a symbol of power and strength that protected humans from evil spirits. It was called the Thunderbird because the flapping of its powerful wings sounded like thunder, and lightning would shoot out of its eyes. The Thunderbirds brought rain and storms, which could be good or bad. Good – when the rain was needed or bad when the rain came with destructive strong winds, floods, and fires caused by lightning. |  |
| 32. | Thunderbird.Described as a supernatural being, the enormous bird was a symbol of power and strength that protected humans from evil spirits. It was called the Thunderbird because the flapping of its powerful wings sounded like thunder, and lightning would shoot out of its eyes. The Thunderbirds brought rain and storms, which could be good or bad. Good – when the rain was needed or bad when the rain came with destructive strong winds, floods, and fires caused by lightning. |  |
| 33. | Indeterminate and partially destroyed figures. |  |
| 34. | Indeterminate and partially destroyed figures. |  |
| 35. | Turkey tracks. |  |
| 36. | Indeterminate and partially destroyed figures. |  |
| 37. | Indeterminate and partially destroyed figures. |  |
| 38. | Thunderbird.Described as a supernatural being, the enormous bird was a symbol of power and strength that protected humans from evil spirits. It was called the Thunderbird because the flapping of its powerful wings sounded like thunder, and lightning would shoot out of its eyes. The Thunderbirds brought rain and storms, which could be good or bad. Good – when the rain was needed or bad when the rain came with destructive strong winds, floods, and fires caused by lightning. |  |
| 39. | Underwater. Indeterminate and partially destroyed figures. |  |
| 40. | Otter tracks.It is impossible to determine whether these ideaographs are supposed to represent the animal as a totem, a track, or a personal name. They do not indicate any particular direction and may be interpreted as symbols of hunting feats. At one time, some of them were combined with other figures that had been destroyed. |  |
| 41. | Elk track |  |
| 42. | Indicating the banks of a river or snakes.These carvings line up with the winter solstice sunrise and the summer solstice sunset. |  |
Big Indian Rock
Comparative Interpretations of Symbols
The figures upon this rock probably are contemporaneous with those upon Little Indian. Many of the symbols were completely destroyed by vandals. Others have eroded to such an extent that it was impossible to trace the complete figure.
| 1. | Human footprint |  |
| 2. | Indeterminate. |  |
| 3. | Fox? |  |
| 4. | Woman giving birthPerson in a canoe? |  |
| 5. | Wendigo?According to Native American legends, the wendigo haunts the forests looking for people to eat. According to legend, the wendigo was once a lost hunter. During a brutally cold winter, the man’s intense hunger drove him to cannibalism. After feasting on another man’s flesh, he transformed into a crazed man-beast, roaming the forest in search of more people to eat.It is said that the wendigo is always hungry and never satisfied with his cannibalistic urges. Obsessed with hunting for new victims, he is forever hungry until he’s eating another person.Details vary depending on who you ask. Some people who have encountered the beast say it’s a relative of Bigfoot. Others compare the wendigo to a werewolf sometimes with deer antlers. Regardless, everyone agrees that his body is gaunt to the point of emaciation with its skin pulled tightly over its bones.The wendigo’s complexion is said to be an ash gray with its eyes pushed back deep into the sockets. Those who encounter the wendigo often report smelling it before seeing it, saying it gave off a strange and eerie odor of decay and decomposition.The Algonquian also blame many unsolved disappearances of people on wendigo attacks. |    |
| 6. | Thunderbird. Crawling or swimming gods brought evil. Thunder and lightning were supposed to be produced by birds of enormous size. These beings created thunder by flapping their wings and lightning by opening and closing their eyes. The downpour which generally accompanies thunder was accounted for by a lake of freshwater the bird carried upon its back and shook out when it flapped its wings. Some Algonkian tribes had only one thunderbird. Among others, there was a family of them represented in various sizes and colors. |   |
| 7. | Ax.Likely a newer carving. |  |
| 8. | Long-legged, long-tailed animal. |  |
| 9. | Four-legged animalOtter? |  |
| 10. | Four legged, long-tailed animal. |  |
| 11. | Indeterminate. |  |
| 12. | Indeterminate. |  |
| 13. | Four legged animal. |  |
| 14. | The spot marked “fire pit” on the drawing showed that many fires had been made there. Whether they were ceremonial fires of the Native Americans or built by shad fishermen is questionable. |  |
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