In June, 1892, Mr. W. H. Holmes, of the Bureau of Ethnology, visited the Pipestone quarry and took a number of tracings of the petroglyphs, which unfortunately were received too late for insertion in the present work. Some of his remarks are as follows:
The trouble with the figures copied and published by Prof. Winchell is that they are not arranged in the original order. It will now be impossible to correct this entirely, as most of the stones have been taken up and removed. * * * The Winchell drawings were evidently drawn by eye and have a very large personal equation; besides, they are mixed up while appearing to be in some order. The few groups that I was able to get are, it seems to me, of more interest than all the single figures you could put in a book. There can be little doubt that in the main this great group of pictures was arranged in definite order, agreeing with the arrangements of mythical personages and positions usual in the aboriginal ceremonials of the region. It is a great pity that the original order has been destroyed, but the inroads of relic hunters and inscription cranks made it necessary to take up the stones. One large stone was taken to Minneapolis by Prof. Winchell. There are a few pieces still in place. All were near the base of one of the great granite bowlders, and it is said here that formerly, within the memory of the living, the place was visited by Indians who wished to consult the gods.
The following description is extracted from the account of Mr. James W. Lynd (b):
Numerous high bluffs and cliffs surround it; the Pipestone quarry and the alluvial flat below these, in which the quarry is situated, contains a huge bowlder that rests upon a flat rock of glistening, smooth appearance, the level of which is but a few inches above the surface of the ground. Upon the portions of this rock not covered by the bowlder above and upon bowlder itself are carved sundry wonderful figures—lizards, snakes, otters, Indian gods, rabbits with cloven feet, muskrats with human feet, and other strange and incomprehensible things—all cut into the solid granite, and not without a great deal of time and labor expended in the performance. * * *
A large party of Ehanktonwanna and Teetonwan Dakotas, says the legend, had gathered together at the quarry to dig the stone. Upon a sultry evening, just before sunset, the heavens suddenly became overclouded by a heavy rumbling thunder and every sign of an approaching storm, such as frequently arises on the prairie without much warning. Each one hurried to his lodge, expecting a storm, when a vivid flash of lightning, followed immediately by a crashing peal of thunder, broke over them, and, looking towards the huge bowlder beyond their camp, they saw a pillar or column of smoke standing upon it, which moved to and fro, and gradually settled down into the outline of a huge giant, seated upon the bowlder, with one long arm extended to heaven and the other pointing down to his feet. Peal after peal of thunder, and flashes of lightning in quick succession followed, and this figure then suddenly disappeared. The next morning the Sioux went to this bowlder and found these figures and images upon it, where before there had been nothing, and ever since that the place has been regarded as wakan or sacred.
Mr. T. H. Lewis (b) gives a description of Fig. 51.
Fig. 51.—Petroglyphs in Brown’s valley, Minnesota.
This bowlder is in the edge of the public park, on the north end of the plateau at Brown’s valley, Minnesota. The bowlder has a flat surface with a western exposure, is irregular in outline, and is about 5 feet 8 inches in diameter, and firmly imbedded in the terrace.
The central figure, a, undoubtedly represents a man, although the form is somewhat conventional; b represents a bird; c represents a tortoise; d is a cross and circle combined, but the circle has a groove extending from it; e, f, and g, although somewhat in the shape of crosses, probably represent bird tracks; h and i are nondescript in character, although there must be some meaning attached to them; k and l are small dots or cups cut into the bowlder.