Providence, September, 20th 1823.
Prof. Silliman, Sir,
It has given me some satisfaction to become acquainted with
the particulars which Mr. Moore has given us in the last number of your
Journal, respecting the Durham Rocking Stone. It is true, as he intimates, that
there are but few rocks of this kind as yet known in our country; still, as
curiosity is continually increasing, and the votaries of geological science
daily becoming more numerous, it will not be long, it is believed, before they
will be found to exist here in considerable numbers. I have recently visited
one which is found in this State, and from its interesting character, have been
induced to forward to you a description of it, together with a drawing by Mr.
Moses Partridge
It is in the town of Warwick, about two hundred yards
south-west of the village of Apponaug, and twelve miles in the same direction
from Providence. In form, it resembles a turtle, although it is convex on the
bottom and somewhat concave on the top. It is about ten feet in length, six ^
breadth, and two in thickness. It reposes upon another rock, which rises a few
feet above ground, touching it in two points — the one under A, the other under
B. (Fig 1, Plate 1) Upon these points it is so exactly poised, that it moves
with the gentlest touch. A child five years old may set it a rocking, so that
the side C will describe an arc, the chord of which will be fifteen inches. The
easiest method to rock it is by standing upon it, and applying the weight of
one's body alternately from one side to the other.
What renders this rock peculiarly interesting is, that when
the side D descends, it gives four distinct pulsations, hitting first at E,
next at F, then at G, and lastly at H. The sound produced, is much like that of
a drum, excepting that it is louder. In consequence of this sound, it has very
appropriately entailed upon itself the name of "The Drum Rock." It
has been heard in a still evening at the distance of six miles. In the summer
season, it is a place of fashionable resort for the people of Apponaug, and of
the town generally.
The weight of this rock is estimated at four tons — upwards
of a ton heavier than the one at Kirkmichael in Scotland, and almost as heavy
as the famous Logan, in the parish of Sithney, near Helston in England. Its
composition appears to be an indurated ferruginous clay, with here and there
small portions of quartz. Its specific gravity is 2, 5. It has long been a
subject of inquiry with the inhabitants of Warwick, how this rock came here, or
by what means it was placed in its present situation. A little attention will
convince any one who sees it, that it was once united to the rock on which it
rests. Let A be turned round to I, and it will unquestionably be in the spot
where it originally belonged. But by whom it was shifted into the places which
it now occupies, is a matter of uncertainty. It has been attributed to the
Indians. The removal of such a mass seems however, to have required some
mechanical skill, more, perhaps, than many will be willing to allow, that the
savages of this region ever possessed. As we have never had any Druids* amongst
us, we shall probably never know for a certainty upon whom the honour of the
enterprize is to be bestowed.
This rock is surrounded with interesting scenery. South is a
dark and dismal swamp, which comprises from fifteen to twenty acres, containing
the birch, the hemlock, the maple and the alder. West is a side-hill, which
rises at an angle of eighteen or twenty degrees, from the top of which we have
a view of the central part of the Narragansett, with several of its beautiful
islands. East, a plain presents itself, intersected by a ravine, overgrown with
shrubs, along which flows a small stream of water from the swamp. North, the
land rises gently, and for some extent is completely covered with huge,
misshapen rocks, lying wholly above the surface ; gray with moss, and
exhibiting ten thousand fractures.
Very Respectfully yours,
STEUBEN TAYLOR.
Preceptor of the Charlesfield Street Academy.
Excerpt from: The American Journal of Science - v.7 (1824)
p 200:
https://archive.org/details/mobot31753002151881/page/I/mode/2up
(with thanks to Matt Adams)
