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Petroglyphs of Saline River Valley, Kansas |
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by Nova Wells Circle Rock Site
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| Circle Rock, the local name for an outcrop on the old Ruppenthal Ranch, is the most beautiful location of the five. It is now a part of the south shore of the lake, with water lapping at the cliff base, and can be visited only by boat during normal water levels. In addition to being an obvious favorite of Indians, it was the favorite picnic place for Sunday School and School classes in the area from the turn of the century until the 1940's. The site is listed in the Smithsonian National Register. | ||
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J.R. Mead, an early resident of the Saline River Valley, visited the site and recorded a number of the petroglyphs in 1892, noticing that already several of the glyphs had been defaced by cowboys and other visitors. Mead's notes indicate that some of the petroglyphs had been painted and faint traces still showed (Blakeslee, Blasing, and Garcia 1986:171). There was no indication of paint in 1963. |
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The cliff is about nine meters high and curves in an arc, producing exposures facing the northwest, in a natural amphitheater approximately 61 meters long. Mead recorded that "a fine spring" came from the center base of the cliff. In 1963, seepage and a water-filled depression several feet from the cliff were there to water the cattle. No archeological digs have been done in the terrace, even though it was once recommended. Shovel tests did not produce evidence of occupation. |
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Circle Rock is concave from top to bottom and gives the appearance of being shaped by flowing water, providing the smoothest carving surfaces of all the sites in this collection in spite of a series of bedding planes. There are a number of parallel, horizontal fractures that produce lines on the rubbings from natural flaws. |
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Near the north end of the rock formation is an area identified here as CR1 "The Ruppenthal Panel," a group of petroglyphs including Lloyd Ruppenthal's name. This recorded section is 148 cm by 62 cm. |
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Karl Ruppenthal carved his name on the cliff, farther to the west. With it is the date 8/21/32. Karl first scarped the surface to make it smooth and remove any other carvings before incising his name. |
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The beauty of the horses shows the native's love of the animal. There is a quotation saying that the Comanche "loved his horse more than his wife," claimed Post Oak Jim, a Comanche from New Mexico (Wallace and Hoebel 1976:36). Comanches, who claimed the territory as their own during the 1800's, preferred pinto horses and kept only pinto stallions. All other male ponies were gelded (Wallace and Hoebel 1976:36,46). There is nothing in any of the Saline River Valley petroglyph depictions of horses that would give any indication of color markings. However, it is possible that was where Mead noticed some of the paint previously mentioned. |
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