The record-union., 1897-07-29
An Indians Head.

The mystery of an extraordinary ap-
partition that Is puzzling Belfast, Me,
BIDS fair to remain a mystery for some
time, as all attempts that have been
made to solve il during the last week
have been fruitiess.
a few evenings ago pedestrians on
Main street who happened to look aloft
at the brick end wall of Odd Fellows
block noticed a peculiar spectacle. On
the end of the block W. S. Tuttle, a
photographer, has painted with white
a considerable area in order to improve
his studio light. At night the electric
arc lamps in the neighborhO0d throw
a strong light on this white area. One
evening last week a person who was
passing down the street was ast0nished
TO observe the outlines of a gigantic
human head squarely in the center of
the white area on the wall. In a short
time Il large throng had collected to
view the apparition. The outlines We're
strongly marked, limned as with lam
bent flame, and the wavering of the
electric light gave the features con-
stantly varying expressions. Now the
lines We're dark, now light on them, as
though 4 wizard We're at work with
magic brush: out would flash a yet
more vivid portraiture of a mighty face
The features We're markedly those of
an Indian. So plainly is the face shown
that the strong aboriginal lneaments
can be distinctly traced. There are the
high cheek bones, the broad, straight
mouth and the square chin of the Mic
mac or Penobscot tribe. Moreover, up
on the head is shown the representa-
ton of a feather dress, such as local
antiQuarians declare the old-time chiefs
of ancient Pentagoet wore into bat
tle
Especially Fascinating is it to watch
the varying expressions that pass over
these strangely pictured features on the
dead wall. Now the huge Indian face
smiles blandly, now scoWls with a
shuddering ferocity that slowly trans
forms itself to frOWn, menacing yet
dignified These are all human express
sions that fiittingly come and go on the
weirdly limned face far above the heads
of the awed beholders. Night after
night the people collect on the street
and gaze upward for hours at a time.
The lights go out at midnight, and
Immediately the wall becomes dull and
vacant, only the faint whiteness Of the
painted surface showing through the
night. In the daylight also is the wall
simply a blank, white area. The man
who painted the bricks for Mr. Tuttle
says that there was no popularity of
the surface that could in any way ac-
count for the apparition that now glow
ers forth each night. Men who have
been up on ladders and examined the
surface within a few days state that
they can discover no discOloration of
the paint or any cracks in the bricks.
Therefore no one up to date is ready
with any explanation. The face ap-
pears to avoid the camera, for numer-
Gus attempts to make flashlight photo
graphs have failed.
Joseph Sokkatean of Northport, an
Indian whose family has perpetuated
for many centuries in war club carvings
the faces of the old chiefs, says that
the pictured face on the Belfast block
closely resembles the visage of the fa-
nous warrior chief of the lower Penob-
scot, Passag sagasewanxeag The features
show no signs of fading, but appear
each night with unvarying vividness.
Just when the face appeared no one
seems to know, but 1t was not noticed
by any person until about ten days
ago.-New York Herald.