The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1889-11-23
The Nampa Image.

cClSIitlIiS
In lecture before the Brooklyn
Institute October 81, by Prof. G.
Frederick Wright, of Oberlin, Ohio,
upon "The Ice Age in North
America, and its Relation to the
Antiquity Of Man." brief account
was given at the close of a very re-
markable discovery recently made
in Idaho. Prof. Wright's atten-
ton was called to it in letter
from Charles Francis Adams, presi-
dent of the Union Pacific Railroad
written the 10Th of September last.
The letter related to an image
found about the LIST of August, by
Mr.. M. A. Kurtz, of Nampa, Idaho,
who was engaged in boring an ar
tesian well at that place. This re-
gion, like much in the vicinity, is
covered by extensive lava deposits
Of post-tertiary or quaternary date.
The image in question was de-
scribed by Mr.. Adams cas- APP
parently the figure Of a female, one
leg and one arm being missing,
made of baked clay. 1t is just
such a production as an ingenious
boy, with a taste that way, might
now produce"
The image is about one inch and
half in length, and came up in
the sand pump in the ordinary way
from a depth of about 800 feet be-
low the surface.
Mr.. Kurtz was on the ground
watching the progress of the work
with much solicitude, and as the
sand pump came up, ran the con-
tents through his hand as it was
dumped out, and. so had the image
in his hand before knowing what it
was, supposing it was a twig; but
on dipping it into barrel of water
and washing it, saw its character.
The only other persons present at
the time were Mr.. DUTIES, a promi-
nent citizen of the town, and the
driller and helper. The drill was
not used after passing through the
lava deposits, and the sand pump
was of ample size for bringing up
the image. the valve being three
and one-half inches on the inside.
The following are the different
strata bored through asreported by
the driller: 60 feet of soil, II to Is
feet of lave rock. 100 feet of quick
sand, 6 inches Of, clay, 40 feet of
quicksand, 6 feet of clay, 30 feet of
quicksand, II to Is feet of clay,
then clay balls mixed with sand,
then coarse sand in which the image
came up, then vegetable soil, then
the original sandstone.
On subjecting the image to the
scrutiny of Professor Putnam, of
Cambridge, and Professor Haynes,
of Boston, it became evident that
it was not clay image, but had
been carved from a light pumice
stone, and that the coating of red
material enveloping it was a ce-
ment of oxide of iron that must
slowly have collected upon its sur
face.
An evidence of its genuineness
exists in some particles of sand ce-
mented into the crease between the
arm and the body, which can be
seen in the left-hand side of the
front view of the accompanying cut.
These could not have been where
they are if it had been recently
manufactured.
The subsequent questions to be
determined relate to its age. A
communication to Professor Wright
from Mr.. S. F. Emmons, of the
United States Geological Survey,
expresses it as his opinion that the
beds from which the image is sup
posed to have been derived are
probably of far greater antiquity
than any deposits in which human
implements have heretofore been
discovered. The occurrence of the
beds is readily accounted for by
inspection of the region. Through
Instructions in the lower part of
the valley of Snake river, probably
caused by lava overfows, the water
was damned up and lake formed.