Picture Rocks

Located along rivers, at the edges of lakes, on mountain boulders, in rock shelters, on rock ledges where the continent meets the ocean, and tucked into parks and public places, American Indian rock art offers tantilizing glimpses of the signs and symbols of a Native American culture. Picture Rocks documents all known permanent petroglyph and pictograph sites from the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, the six New England states, New York, and New Jersey. Some sites are subject to disputes over their origins—Indian or Portuguese? Some are ancient, and others, such as the work of the Mi’kmaq, were executed in the past 200 years. Many of these sites are little known; others, like those at Bellows Falls, Vermont, are sources of great local pride and appear on city walking tours. Interspersing his own interpretations with comments from scholars and Native American storytellers, Edward J. Lenik provides a definitive look at an extraordinary art form. Two hundred illustrations include historic sketches by early Euro-American colonists, nineteenth-century photographs, and recent photographs and drawings of the current conditions of many sites.

When the Sprout and Burrows families purchased what became Picture Rocks for $2,500 in October 1848, the land was considered worthless. The town consisted of a single house and a sawmill that sat at the bend of Muncy Creek. The mill produced window sashes and doors that were in demand for new homes being built in the West Branch Valley. In 1856, S. H. Burrows began manufacturing furniture. Then in the early 1850s, a chapel was built in eight days so that the Baptist community had a place to worship. Around Picture Rocks documents the evolution of this section of Lycoming County. Among the many original structures featured in the book is part of the old Handle and Excelsior building that still greets visitors as they cross the Muncy Creek.

Centuries ago the Picture Rocks were painted by a tribe of Arizona Indians that since have vanished, leaving behind the powerful figures on the virtually inaccessible cliff walls. For many years the Picture Rocks basin has sheltered the Jore family from the law. The basin also shelters a fabulous palomino stallion called Black Wing. The Jores have left him to run free with the wild herd, but Race Coulter has a different plan. He has convinced a young kid named Rene Rand to help him steal Black Wing. But when Rand is befriended by the Jores after a serious illness, he learns lessons that will change the direction of his life.

Considers legislation to establish the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Mich. Hearing was held in Escanaba, Mich.

Committee Serial No. 89-21. Considers H.R. 8678, identical H.R. 8819 and companion S. 2057, to establish the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan. Hearing was held in Marquette, Mich