Richard Howe, founder of the Grand Lake Stream Historical Society, points out a petroglyph found in the area. The carvings had been partially hidden by vegetation.

''I saw this strange shape in the rocks,'' Elliott recalls. ''It looked like a deer.''

Elliott, a local historian and amateur archaeologist, knew he had found something important. A team of state researchers later confirmed that sense: The antlered deer and several other carvings in the soft rock are the work of Indian spiritual leaders, dating from around the 1860s.

The rock carvings here, known as petroglyphs, represent Maine's last known example of this native artwork. They are also a reminder of how Grand Lake Stream served for thousands of years as a waterway corridor for people traveling between coastal and inland Maine.

The Elliott site, as it has become known, is one of nine petroglyph locations discovered in Maine. The earliest carvings, at Machias Bay, date back 3,000 years.

The Elliott site is located near a section of Grand Lake Stream that features a wide bend and swift waterfall. Any canoe traveler headed upstream must portage his boat over the ledge, which forms a convenient ramp to slide the boat back into the water. To native people, it must have seemed like a perfect spot for rock carving. It became an ancient billboard of sorts, easily seen along the journey.

The imagery found in the rock carvings here is that of Indian shamanism, a religion based on the belief in good and evil spirits found in nature. There's plenty of dispute over exactly what all the rock carvings here mean and when they were made.

But by studying the style and content of other petroglyphs, some experts believe these carvings were made by a secretive society of shamans, who were powerful leaders among the ancestors of the present-day Passamaquoddy tribe. The shamans, it is thought, may have been trying to discourage their fellow Passamaquoddies from being converted to Christianity by French settlers.

Closeup of an ancient petroglyph near Grand Lake Stream. Photo by Jack Amrock

Elliott's chance discovery took place where weather had eroded away a mossy mantle that had covered the ledge. Only the head and forequarters of the deer were showing through the moss. But Elliott removed more vegetation and was pleased to find the rest of the body. The carving features a slash line through the neck, which archaeologists say marks the deer as a spirit.

Several other carvings scattered across the ledges depict animal and human-like figures. One appears to be an otter or beaver entering a lodge. Another carving that includes native symbolic writing shows an egg-shaped picture with many short lines radiating from the edges. It may be a message about the sun or perhaps a representation of energy and life.

Across the stream, Elliott has made another discovery - a grave site with rock artifacts that seem to bear Celtic markings. It's possible, Elliott says, that a European traveled this route 500 years ago.

Now 70 years old and in failing health, Elliott isn't able to roam the woods like he used to. And in some ways, his discoveries have raised more questions than answers about early man's journeys along the waterways of eastern Maine.

''Everybody has their own philosophy,'' Elliott says. ''It's a mystery, and it never ends. It makes life interesting.''

Petroglyph links

Images and background on some southwestern petroglyphs.

A close-up of a petroglyph found in Minnesota, plus how and why petroglyphs were left there.

A description of the petroglyphs found in Utah, and their historical importance.

The Computational Science Education Project has a page of colorful petroglyphs, where they were found, and their likely meanings. Links lots of information about "Rock Art", otherwise known as petroglyphs, and U.S.-specific links, mostly from the southwest. A petroglyph photo gallery