THE INDIAN'S HEAD

HENRY BANNON

The white man, when he first crossed the Allegheny Mountains and entered the Ohio Valley, found many crude drawings of the figures of men and beasts on the rocks, along the Guyandotte and Ohio rivers. Of course it is not positively known whether these pictures were the work of Indians or of some tribes that preceded the Indians. On the Kentucky shore, about opposite the foot of Bond Street, Portsmouth, Ohio, there still stands one of these inscribed rocks, known as the "Indian's head." A hundred years ago, this rock, and the Indian head cut in it, could be seen when the river was low. But, owing to changes in the channel of the river, the rock is now visible only when the river is exceedingly low. And the face, carved on the rock, is beneath the water, even at its lowest stages. On September 9, 1894, the Ohio River was so low that about two feet of the rock was above the surface of the water; and the Indian head was about ten inches below the surface of the water. The head could be easily traced with the hand; and, in the morning, when the rising sun shone fairly on the water, above the sculpture, the Indian head was plainly visible, beneath the waters. Doubt has been expressed as to this figure's being the work of ancient tribes. There is a tradition that stone was quarried from the hill above it, during pioneer days, and that a quarryman carved the Indian face. Squier and Davis in "Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley" (1847) thus described it:

"It consists of a colossal human head cut in outline, upon the vertical face of a large rock extending into the river. It is always under water, except when the river is at its very lowest stages, and is not exposed oftener than once in four or five years.

It is familiarly known as the 'Indian's head,' and is regarded as a sort of river gauge or meter. When the water line is at the top of the head, the river is considered very low."

In those days there was the familiar frontier tendency to magnify the proportions of natural objects which tendency is now observed only by fishermen. Hence, Squier and Davis's description of the Indian head as "colossal". Neither saw it so they adopted as

a fact the impression of some one possessing a rather elastic imagination.

The rock, upon which the "Indian's head" is cut, was exposed during a period of low water in October, 1920. A short time prior to that low water stage some wickets of a dam in the Ohio river, a few miles west of Portsmouth, were broken by a steamer; otherwise water would have remained over the rock, because the dam when in repair creates a deep pool extending some distance beyond the location of the rock. As no picture or accurate description of the Indian's head was in ex

istence, my brother, Arthur H. Bannon, determined to secure a photograph of it, if possible. On October 22, 1920, the top of the sculpture was about six inches beneath the surface of the river so a plan to bring it into view for a photograph had to be devised. This was accomplished by running a motor boat past the rock at very fast speed. As the boat drew the water away from the rock, a photograph was obtained of the sculpture.

The difficulties in the way of a clear photograph were many, for the photographer was obliged to stand in the water and take the picture instantaneously, when the wave was at its lowest ebb, and while water was still running down the side of the rock. The work had to be done in the morning, while the sun was back of the camera, and at an hour when the atmosphere was still a little hazy and the light not good. The wickets had just been repaired and the river was slowly rising, so it

was then or never. Had there been sufficient time to do so, a cofferdam would have been built around the rock that it might be thoroughly examined. After several attempts to take a photograph of the sculpture, one was successful and we now have an exact reproduction of the image that has for many years been a mystery. The initials E. D. C., never noticed before, were discovered at the right and near the bottom of the sculpture, as one faces it, and a date, the month of which (September) only could be made out. The initials were neatly carved, evidently by one quite adept in stone carving. Such was the only time, within the memory of any living man, that the Indian's head has been seen, except when covered with water. In all probability neither the Indian's head, nor the rock upon which it is cut, will ever be seen again, as it is hardly within the realms of chance that the dam will be broken at such an opportune time.

Unquestionably the Indians head was not the work of a quarryman. It bears strong resemblance to other Indian carvings and impresses the mind with the fact that it is thoroughly Indian in its execution. The outline is cut in the southeast corner of the rock and faces east.

There is another rock, about one hundred yards upstream from the Indian rock, upon which some one in recent years carved an Indian profile with feathered head-dress, but this one is not the genuine Indian head, though frequently taken for it.

OHIO STATE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL

SOCIETY

REVIEWS, NOTES AND COMMENTS

JAMES R. MORRIS

James R. Morris was born at Rogersville, Green County, Pennsylvania, January 10, 1820. He died at Woodsfield, Ohio, December 24, 1899.

His father, Joseph Morris, was elected to Congress in 1843 and re-elected two years later.

Joseph Morris moved with his family to Waynesburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1828, in the following year to Antioch, Ohio, and two years later to Woodsfield, Ohio.

James R. Morris received his education in the common schools and the printing office. He studied law in Woodsfield and was admitted to the bar October 25, 1843. In this year his father, who was county treasurer, was elected to Congress and the son was appointed to fill the unexpired term. In 1844 he founded the Spirit of Democracy, which is still published. In 1857 he was nominated for the office of state treasurer but was defeated with the state ticket of his party.

In 1860 Judge Morris was elected to Congress as a Democrat and re-elected in 1862. He supported the war measures of President Lincoln, whom he greatly admired. In 1872 he was elected probate judge of Monroe County and re-elected in 1875. He served as postmaster at Woodsfield, from January 1, 1886, to July 1, 1889.

His description of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln is published for the first time in this issue.

JUDGE JOHN CLEVES SYMMES

On page 15 of this issue of the QUARTERLY is published a portrait of Judge John Cleves Symmes. This is from an engraving which in 1902 was in the possession of his great-granddaughter, Mrs. Betty Harrison Eaton of North Bend, Ohio. The Judge had a nephew who bore the same name, John Cleves Symmes, and whose portrait in public prints has been confused