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Transcriber Notes:
Obvious misspellings and omissions were corrected.
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[Illustration: FIG. 1.--The Lenape Stone--(actual size)--Aboriginal
picture representing Indians fighting the Hairy Mammoth--discovered in
Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 1872 and 1881.]
THE LENAPE STONE
OR
THE INDIAN AND THE MAMMOTH
BY
H. C. MERCER
NEW YORK & LONDON
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
The Knickerbocker Press
1885
COPYRIGHT BY
H. C. MERCER
1885
Press of
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
New York
PREFACE.
In claiming an impartial examination of so extraordinary a carving as
the "Lenape Stone" at the hands of archæologists, the writer has had
several difficulties to contend with.
_First_, The fact that the carving is quite unique, it being the first
aboriginal _carving_ of the mammoth thus far claimed to have been
discovered in North America.
_Second_, That no "scientific observer" was present at the discovery.
_Third_, That since its discovery the Stone has been several times
cleaned, and that thereby many geological tests of its authenticity
have been rendered impossible.
_Fourth_, That within the last few years, and particularly in
Philadelphia, serious frauds have been perpetrated upon lovers of
Indian relics.
These considerations may well have been sufficient to prejudice the
mind of a stranger against the alleged wonderful Indian relic, yet they
should in no case suffice to prevent, on the part of the archæologists,
a thorough and impartial examination of all the evidence pertaining to
its discovery.
In presenting this and other evidence, the writer has wished only
to be impartial, and to be led by the facts as they have presented
themselves, and for the examination of which his opportunities have
been peculiarly favorable.
In his knowledge of the neighborhood and its people (his home), an
acquaintance with all the persons concerned, and very frequent visits
to the Hansell Farm, nothing has yet occurred to shake his faith in the
unimpeachable evidence of an honest discovery. Yet should any fresh
light be brought to bear upon the subject, however at variance with
this opinion, it will be welcomed.
The appearance in America of a carving of the hairy mammoth,
presumably the work of our aborigines, if not a surprise to students
of archæology, would certainly be no less interesting than the French
discoveries of some twenty years ago; while the ready connection of the
work with the Indian of comparatively recent times, the appearance of
human figures in the carving, and of many symbols which seem related to
highly important branches of archæological study, would awaken a more
general and enthusiastic interest in the Stone, than has been felt for
any other prehistoric representation of the great elephant.
A disbelief in its authenticity would leave us with an interest, not
inconsiderable, in the unknown person who, after months of careful
study and preparation, could have conceived and executed so remarkable
a fraud.