panther intaglio

The Native Americans of the Mound Culture excavated these inverted mounds perhaps for ceremonial purposes regarding water spirits. These were always pretty rare; at least nine others were destroyed and parts of the panther are also missing.The intaglio lies across Route 106 from the Rock River; it reminded me to reflect on Chief Black Hawks words on why he and his people fought to keep out European settlers in the area:In a speech in the year of his death (1838) he said:"It has pleased the Great Spirit that I am here today— I have eaten with my white friends. The earth is our mother— we are now on it, with the Great spirit above us; it is good. I hope we are all friends here. A few winters ago I was fighting against you. I did wrong, perhaps, but that is past—it is buried—let it be forgotten."Rock River was a beautiful country. I liked my towns, my cornfields and the home of my people. I fought for it. It is now yours. Keep it as we did— it will produce you good crops."I thank the Great Spirit that I am now friendly with my white brethren. We are here together, we have eaten together; we are friends; it is his wish and mine. I thank you for your friendship."

It's a challenge to see and even to find, but worth it for the curious. The Wisconsin State Historical Society has a brown marker at the site along Riverside Drive. The inverted mound is on the north side of the road, just east of Rock River Park. If you are at all fascinated with Native American sites, check this out. We recently created a Fort Atkinson day trip by visiting the panther, the Hoard Museum (which is extraordinary for a small city), a couple of rustic roads and ending with dinner at Paddy Coughlin's. If you are in the area, all of these were interesting finds.

The Panther Intaglio is a quite rare example of a figure etched in to (rather than built up from) earth. As such, it is a crucial piece of North American native American history.

Whenever friends or family visit us, I always bring them by the Panther Intaglio. Most of them respond with "Uh, ok" because they don't appreciate the significance of the intaglio. According to various sources, this is the only intaglio remaining in the state or the world. The Wisconsin State Historical Society states that there used to be ten in the state of Wisconsin, but all others have been destroyed. The Native Americans of the effigy mound culture excavated these inverted mounds most likely for ceremonial purposes regarding water spirits. To me, this is just as exciting in a historical sense as having a pyramid in my backyard. To think that there is a direct historical link with a people that were here over a thousand years ago is mind boggling. Keep an eye out for the intaglio when driving down Riverside Drive/State Highway 106 because it is easy to miss. Find a place to park or pull over and try to imagine that you're looking at something that was created over 1,000 years ago.