Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-01-23

A st. ia.t Ar~ch:eologist's Collection of
Curious Specimens, Gathered During a
Years Tour in the Northwest and South
west.
Mr.. T. II. Lewis, a st. Paul arcbnol-
ogist, has lately returned from Il tour
OF exploration of almost q year, and
he brings with him some rare and valu-
able specimens obtained from the an
Client mounds that are scattered about
in almost every section of the South
west and Northwest. Undoubtedly he
has now the largest and most valu-
able private archaeological collection
in the Northwest, and the reports of
his seasons work are regarded as
most valuable contributions to scien-
tic records and history. Mr.. Lewis
has surveyed l,25O mounds during the
past ycar-l25 of which were et1igies
and eight or nine fortified points and
forts. His travels embraced cNplora-
lions in Minnesota, Dakota. Iowa, Wis
consin, Illinois and Arkansas. He
brings back with him, rs the result
OF his tour, a large collection of draw
lngS Of el1igies and curious relics of
the days of the mound builders. In
The line of ciligies he discovered q
mound in Southeastern Minnesota, the
outlines representing the form OF Il fish.
lnetew fish etligies that have been de-
serl6ed by explorers heretofore have
never shown the Tins; burt Mr.. Lewis
discovery has the fins very accurately
marked, being the first ever noted by
arcl"ologlsts. Its extreme length is
wv - feet. the greatest width SO feet,
from end to end OF fins. Mr.. Lewis
considers this n of the most interest
lig and valuable ciligics ever discov-
tret' Another one represents a frog
'iie only perfect specimen eve de-
Scfloed, 1t is IS feet in length, "a feet
~ width between the tips Of the fore
l.@s and u feet between the tips of the
l'm!' LEGS. The body of xhe largest bird
eiligy is IS feet from beak to the end of
me IIll, and 121 feet from tip TO tip of
lle wings. Another of u bird is the
most Symmetrical OF any surveyed, the
lS19fA from the tail to the tips OF the
"inSs beng exactly the same. A draw
t.so arattlesnake et1igy, foundonLakc
=. ILolS' IN Minnesota, shows a length
VI 40 1ect. the section of the mound
,vPtGSeLt!ng the head swelling out to a
rum OF iifty-three feet. Three mounds
d me rear end denote that number of
,"t,.e>' The et1igy is very well de-
,'V''pcl to show the natural proper
o"ll> OF a snake. Another interesting
S a; striking ctligv was found q short
u,>lahee west OF st. Paul. 1t is a group
:, I'VE mounds, bearing the appear
N" OF large birds in notion in the afr,
"'n Wings extended and necks
STGc'ched forward. Three of them are
EE,,,IIcliY IN line--as geese tiy-one a
'tt 10 the left, and the other a little
A. ".Tance, bearing off to the right.
's, Lewis says that it is one of the
e wsa ana most natural ef1igics he has
w. discovered or seen described. The
"ape OF the mounds is different from
Guy mat have eve before been dis
bbHj,rreo IN the way of bird effigps. The
nnSleSt point is near the upper portion
1lie wing, the slope of the wings
us'lS proportional SO as to show which
a"A tne long feathers run. These de-
Of f',Itd are only the more striking ones
me l23 ehgies surveyed.
me matter of archaeological relics
e ~"s rom the mounds mostly by Mr..
AVIS hlmself-there is a collection
rn"r 10 enumerate each object would
o ,io're a column of space. The Curl
of speclmens embrace a wide variety
Ma, uiihking vessels, bowls, dishes,
mrn,s' alppers, agricultural imple-
A.nass' pipes, shell beads, axes, arrow
os n chisels. made Of different