In the county of Kenhaway [Kanawha] about 4 miles below the Burning spring, and near the mouth of Campbell’s creek, in the state of Virginia, is a rock of great size, on which, in ancient times, the natives engraved many representations. There is the figure of almost every indigenous animal—the buffalo, the bear, the deer, the fox, the hare, and other quadrupeds of various kinds; fish of the various productions of the western waters, fowls of different descriptions, infants scalped, scalps alone, and men as large as life. The rock is in the river Kenhaway, near its northern shore, accessible only at low water unless by the aid of water craft.
The following notice of the same locality, but perhaps not of the same rock, was published by James Madison (a), bishop of Virginia, in 1804:
I cannot conclude this letter without mentioning another curious specimen of Indian labour, and of their progress in one of the arts. This specimen is found within 4 miles of the place whose latitude I endeavoured to take, and within 2 of what are improperly called Burning springs, upon a rock of hard freestone, which sloping to the south, touching the margin of the river, presents a flat surface of above 12 feet in length and 9 in breadth, with a plane side to the east of 8 or 9 feet in thickness.
Upon the upper surface of this rock, and also upon the side, we see the outlines of several figures, cut without relief, except in one instance, and somewhat larger than the life. The depth of the outline may be half an inch; its width three-quarters, nearly, in some places. In one line ascending from the part of the rock nearest the river there is a tortoise; a spread eagle, executed with great expression, particularly the head, to which is given a shallow relief, and a child, the outline of which is very well drawn. In a parallel line there are other figures, but among them that of a woman only can be traced. These are very indistinct. Upon the side of the rock there are two awkward figures which particularly caught my attention. One is that of a man with his arms uplifted, and hands spread out as if engaged in prayer. His head is made to terminate in a point, or rather, he has the appearance of something upon the head of a triangular or conical form; near to him is another similar figure suspended by a cord fastened to his heels. I recollected the story which Father Hennepin relates of one of the missionaries from Canada who was treated in a somewhat similar manner, but whether this piece of seemingly historical sculpture has reference to such an event can be only a matter of conjecture. A turkey, badly executed, with a few other figures may also be seen. The labour and the perseverance requisite to cut those rude figures in a rock so hard that steel appeared to make but little impression upon it, must have been great; much more so than making of enclosures in a loose and fertile soil.
Another petroglyph, a copy of which is presented in Fig. 1088, is thus described in a letter from Morgantown, West Virginia:
The famous pictured rocks on the Evansville pike, about 4 miles from this place, have been a source of wonder and speculation for more than a century, and have attracted much attention among the learned men of this country and Europe. The cliff upon which these drawings exist is of considerable size and within a short distance of the highway above mentioned. The rock is a white sandstone, which wears little from exposure to the weather, and upon its smooth surface are delineated the outlines of at least fifty [?] species of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, embracing in the number panthers, deer, buffalo, otters, beavers, wildcats, foxes, wolves, raccoons, opossums, bears, elk, crows, eagles, turkeys, eels, various sorts of fish, large and small, snakes, etc. In the midst of this silent menagerie of specimens of the animal kingdom is the full length outline of a female form, beautiful and perfect in every respect. Interspersed among the drawings of animals, etc., are imitations of the footprints of each sort, the whole space occupied being 150 feet long by 50 feet wide. To what race the artist belonged or what his purpose was in making these rude portraits must ever remain a mystery, but the work was evidently done ages ago.
The late P. W. Norris, of the Bureau of Ethnology, reported that he found petroglyphs in many localities along the Kanawha river, West Virginia. Engravings are numerous upon smooth rocks, covered during high water, at the prominent fords in the river, as well as in the niches or long shallow caves high in the rocky cliffs of this region. Rude representations of men, animals, and some characters deemed symbolic were found, but none were observed superior to, or essentially differing from those of modern Indians.
On the rocky walls of Little Coal river, near the mouth of Big Horse creek, are cliffs which display many carvings. One of the rocks upon which a mass of characters appear, is 8 feet in length and 5 feet in height.
About 2 miles above Mount Pleasant, Mason county, on the north side of the Kanawha river, are numbers of characters, apparently totemic. These are at the foot of the hills flanking the river.
On the cliffs near the mouth of the Kanawha river, opposite Mount Carbon, Nicholas county, are numerous pictographs. These appear to be cut into the sandstone rock.