Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1890-03-03
STRANGE PAINTINGS
A Great Indian Battle Scene Depietoo On
Rocks In New Mexico.

A Great Indian Battle Scene Depistea on
Rocks In New Mexico.
There has recently been discovered,
according to the Philadelphia Times,
near Dona Ana, N. NJ, on the banks of
the Rio Grande, a stone bearing the REQ
ord in a series of pictures of an Indian
fight between two tribes. The pictures,
which are painted in bright red ON the
face of tho rock, which is nearly nat,
show them to be the work of a more
skillful hand than was common among
the Indians, and betrays even slight
perception of perspective which is en-
tirely unique. The lasting qualities of
the paint manufactured by the Indians,
the secret of which has never been dis
covered, are we'll known, weather and
time producing no perceptible effect
upon it, but actually seeming to deepen
and intensity it.
The exact date Of the inscription is, of
course, not to be arrived at, but from the
half-buried condition of the stone and
other marks it is safe to suppose that it
is at least three hundred years old, If
not of much moro remote antiquity. Its
great age is proved further by there be-
ing no knowledge of such a tremendous
fight as is here represented since the
coming of the white man to this region.
On being questioned on the subject,
however, an old Indian called Bobby
One-Eye, who is we'll known in these
parts, and who claims to be 10 years
old, declared that he had heard of q
great battle that occurred "longa, Tonga
ago." far to the west. So vague was he,
though, that 1t was easy to see that he
merely repeated an old tradition. The
pictures are eight in number and di-
vided from each other by lines into
chapters Of the history of the event.
Bobby One-Eye seemed perfectly famil-
lar with this style of writing and read
lily translated the inscription.
The first picture represents the figure
of an Indian brave, decorated with
feathers and armed with tomahawk,
bow and culver. Beneath the warrior
are five hundred minute strokes which
tell the number of fighting men in the
| tribe. The second picture is that Of q
bird flying toward the setting sun.
| This, Bobby said, shows that their jour
ney was to the westward. In smaller
| figures are the new moon and q
buck, which gives the time as being in
the first quarter of the buck moon, an
swering to July. The third picture con-
sists of seven suns and as many stars,
which indicates that they were seven
days and nights on the way.
The next picture is that of the sun
rising over number of wigwams and a
hand pointing with three fingers TO a
crouching panther. According to the
Interpretation of the Indian this signi-
fies that they arrived at tho abb
tation of their enemies at sunrise and
then lay in wait three days. The fifth
picture shows where their enemies,
numbering 500, were surprised while
asleep. This is told by the wigwams,
near which lies man sleeping and be-
meath him that number of strokes
They killed with the tomahawk 200 OF
the foe and took fifty prisoners. The
sixth picture shows this by head Glover
with tomahawk with 200 lines be
meath, and man with his hands an6
feet bound and fifty lines. That theil
own loss was 17S is represented II
the seventh picture by head SO mum
bered, and inclosed in a bow, which wa!
the emblem Of honor. Tho eighth
picture shows their triumphal marcel
back toward the rising sun, their enc
mics in full flight, which is represented
by flight of broken arrows in the op
posite direction and the huts of the van
pushed in flames. The stone is a large
upright one, worn smooth by the action
of water in some past age, and is fully
twenty-five feet in height by sixteen
wide. The pictures begin near the top
extending to within four feet of the
base. 1t is a subject for speculation
how the artist suspended or elevated
himself SO as to be able to paint the frs,
n
was nearly buried under the sand and
earth, and its inscription was only acct
dentally discovered by a Mexican ranch.
man of the neighborhood, who, catch
Ing glimpse of the red paint, scraped
away enough of the soil to see that il
was the work of man.