Stones and such

[TKlein28@aol.com]

DAN & BJORN-ARE:

Actually, indian mounds are not the focus of what I was talking about. I
haven't looked at them in years, but I just pulled out the three books I own
on the subject of Pre-Columbian stone artifacts in America. They are:
"The Search For Lost America" by Salvatore Michael Trento
"America B.C." by Barry Fell
and "The Mystery Hill Story" by Mark Feldman
   As I recall, and think now, the best of these is the Trento book which
documents several hundred sites, most in New England, consisting of perched
rocks, stone piles, standing stones (menhirs), slab-roofed chambers, stone
wall complexes, and various kinds of artifacts. He then compares them to
similar sites and artifacts in Europe. He begins, "Are all these rocks
monuments to acts of nature? Who left them and why? How old are they? How
many times has America really been settled?" Those are the questions he
addresses. A thought-provoking read. The Fell book is, as I recall, filled
with much of the same material, but some of the connections and conclusions
drawn would have to fall into the category, "crack-pot theory". The Mystery
Hill book documents one of the larger sites that is open to the public as a
tourist attraction in New Hampshire. I visited it in the late 1970's.
Unfortunately, it has been messed around with a lot since it's discovery by
previous owners, so the true origins can only be guessed at. Sorry for all
this, Disney fans -- just wanted to state my sources.

DON: Hope they ask me to letter the Columbus story -- sounds like fun. Sorry
 to hear about lettering problems in some of your other stories -- are you
sure the letterer had the correct script? Don't recall who did the work, but
thought I'd put in a "benefit of the doubt" there for letterers everywhere
:-)

MATTIAS: I was going to comment that the "phonograph needle" gag, which I
also remembered as being from a Marx Bros. film, sounded like an old
vaudeville line to me, but your song reference ties it down nicely. Good
work!

DAVID: Let's hope that Disney does renew Gladstone's license, and that Brucde
Hamilton continues to publish the characters in this uncertain market. The
alternatives are bleak...