The otter was a common resident of all the region occupied by the
Mound-Builders, and must certainly have been well known to them.
Moreover, the otter is one of the animals which figures largely in the
mythology and folk-lore of the natives of America, and has been adopted
in many tribes as their totem. Hence, this animal would seem to be a
peculiarly apt subject for embodiment in sculptured form. It matters
very little, however, whether these sculptures were intended as otters
or not, the main point in the present connection being that they cannot
have been intended as manatees.

Before leaving the subject of the manatee, attention may be called to a
curious fact in connection with the Cincinnati Tablet, "of which a
wood-cut is given in The Ancient Monuments" (p. 275, Fig. 195). If the
reverse side as there shown be compared with the same view as presented
by Short in The North Americans of Antiquity, p. 45, or in MacLean's
Mound-Builders, p. 107, a remarkable discrepancy between the two will be
observed.

[Illustration: Fig. 12.--Cincinnati Tablet. (Back.) From Squire
and Davis.]

In the former, near the top, is indicated what appears to be a shapeless
depression, formless and unmeaning so far as its resemblance to any
special object is concerned. The authors remark of this side of the
tablet, "The back of the stone has three deep longitudinal grooves, and
several depressions, evidently caused by rubbing,--probably produced in
sharpening the instrument used, in the sculpture." This explanation of
the depressions would seem to be reasonable, although it has been
disputed, and a "peculiar significance" (Short) attached to this side of