Strange Ancient Picture Rocks Described in West Virginia

The location of this stone is in the heart of the Adena mound builders.  The Native Americans were terrified of this region because they thought it was infested by evil spirits. Is this a depiction of what they encountered?

History of Kanawha County, W.V. 1876

   SCULPTURED STONES. About two and a half miles below the mouth of Paint creek, and twenty miles above Charleston, at the edge of the river, was a large flat stone, perhaps twenty feet square, called by the old settlers the "picture rock." It was embedded in the river, near the shore, and was not visible except during low water. It was literally covered with pictures of different animals, including turkeys, bears, deer, elk, fish, etc. ; and across the center of it was a large buffalo track cut deep in the stone. On the perpendicular face of the stone was the image of a man from the waist upwards; a little above, and to one side of the man, was a large bear — natural size — with his mouth wide open, in close proximity to the man's head. Two miles above this large sculptured stone was a smaller one, in which were engraved seven or eight tracks of a baby's foot, which were intended to represent the child as walking across the stone. A short distance above the village of Clifton, in the bed of the river, was still another stone, on which was neatly carved a large fish. Some person undertook to carry this stone away for the purpose of making a hearth, and broke it in twain; one piece, however, still remains in the river. These stones resembled the one that laid in the bottom of the river near the mouth of Campbell's creek, which will be described in another chapter. They were undoubtedly engraved by the same race of men, that unquestionably understood the art of sculpturing to a very considerable extent. The ruthless hand of the destroyer has relentlessly fallen upon all of these historic stones, and they have been quarried and removed for building purposes. It seems strange that men of intelligence would destroy such interesting relics of an ancient habitancy and civilization of the land in which they live

   About two and a half miles below the mouth of Paint creek, and twenty miles above Charleston, at the edge of the river, was a large flat stone, perhaps twenty feet square, called by the old settlers the "picture rock." It was embedded in the river, near the shore, and was not visible except during low water. It was literally covered with pictures of different animals, including turkeys, bears, deer, elk, fish, etc. ; and across the center of it was a large buffalo track cut deep in the stone. On the perpendicular face of the stone was the image of a man from the waist upwards; a little above, and to one side of the man, was a large bear — natural size — with his mouth wide open, in close proximity to the man's head. Two miles above this large sculptured stone was a smaller one, on