Beneath the Cliff of the Spirits

These are Shoshone Indians in a mountain drainage running out of the Wind Rivers at their highest point. Some petroglyphs looked like birds or insects in addition to those in the more usual hominid form. They are considerably different from the ones portrayed in "By the Ancient Trails They Passed," although that took place only thirty miles away from this location. The Shoshone have no idea who created these; the petroglyphs were there before the Shoshone began to record their history. One of their elders was quoted as saying that they find new ones every spring when the snow melts. They think that the spirits carve their own images in the rocks.