Scott Mardis posted this to my facebook wall the other day. He commented:
Kiowa Indian drawing of water monster called Tenocouny (Nebraska?). Thought by some to be representing a mosasaur, but maybe it's meant to possibly be a gar.
Kyle GermannLooks like an alligator gar to me.
Scott MardisMe, too, but I'm not sure the alligator gar is in Nebraska/ Minnesota. Long nosed gar is ,though.
Kyle GermannAnd it doesn't have that big, fleshy sack under it's lower jaw.
Dale DrinnonCould be artistic convention. All of those forks are an artistic convention, they are symbolic and meaningful in Native terms. So are the horns.
[-I'm going to put this down as possibly (A) Alligator gars possibly were more widespread in the past (the fact that Samuel de Champlain seems to describe an Alligator gar rather than a regular gar in Lake Champlain goes along with this), or else (B) the story and the symbol originated further South but was imported into other areas along with the movements of nomadic Native Peoples over time. The Kiowa currently live in Oklahoma.-DD]
