Newberry Tablet & Statues
In
1896 a tremendous wind storm swept across the upper peninsula. One
of the trees the storm blew over was on the farm of John McGuer.
According to the Soo Evening News several mysterious objects were
stuck in the root system of an enormous old hemlock felled by that
storm. The items included 3 statues and a large stone tablet. The
tablet was engraved with strange inscriptions.
The largest statue was nearly life size and seems to depict a man
sitting on a sort of pedestal. The second appeared to be a woman and
is a bit smaller. The third and smallest statue seems to be the
image of a child. All three are of sandstone and had the appearance
of great age. The tablet, found nearby, was about 18” by 25”. One
side was covered with 140 inscriptions engraved in rows. Each row
was made up of squares about 1 ½ inches in size.
The statues and tablet are on display but not in Newberry. Photos, reprints and attempted translations await anyone who is curious and can be seen at the Fort de Buade Indian Museum in St. Ignace. The museum is operated by the local historical society and has over 6000 square feet on exhibits.
There is a translation of the Newberry Stone Tablet by Barry Fell. His position is that the tablet depicts a magic quadrangle and should be read both vertically and horizontally in alternate directions. He further purported that these magical charms were probably copies of something from the eastern Mediterranean I am not aware of any explanation for how they got here. The translation is a bit cryptic as one would expect and is on display at the museum as well.