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

nnar clay, mussel she'll, stone and
copper having been principally used.
Inc Minnesota collection was secnred
principally in the southeastern mart Of
the State. There is a large drjnkino
vessel, basket-shaped. the handle sef7
ting OIL from the vessel four or five
inches. The only opening is a small
aperture on the top of the handle
Another drinking vessel * n,intnd .
deep, glossy red, the color being well
preserved, except on the handle, where
~ was evidently Worn off by usage.
ms Is polished very nicely, and evil
aehtiv belonged to a nabob's outfit, 1t
stands upright, the handle being much
smaller than the bowl. Another vessel.
similarly constructed, is painted in two
colors' red and yellow, there being ten
stripes OF each color on the bowl and
tour OF each on the neck. IRREGULAR.
wavy lines of color ornament another,
Stlll another drinking vessel has ten
double circles painted on the bowl.
with crosses in the center, and three
double circles, with crosses in the CEN
Ter on the upright neck. Evidently
these We're intended as evidences of ex-
t~raordlnary artistic talent. A round,
o~pen-topped vessel has handles mod
elcd to represent a woman's face and
head; inside the hollow head are sub
stances OF some character which rattle
when the vessel is shaken. There is a
large circular dish, with a grooved top,
fashioned something after our modern
models; several forms of plates. also of
modern design; several oval-shaped,
open top cooking vessels in which to
heat water, the handles being repre-
sensations of beaver, duck and owl
heads. One cooking vessel has three
short legs attached to its bottoms: a
dipper has a handle modelled after a
beavers tail; another a long, strong,
thick handle; there are no two
dippers that arc similar in de-
sign, showing a rage for something
new and novel among the people OF
that time. One water vessel and a Gun
show evidences of modern construction
the former having Il perforated base
and the latter having a regular climb
around the bottom. A hood-top drink
ing vessel-the neck running up and
being fashioned after the head of a
hooded woman-is Il curiosity. The
only opening is under the front of the
hood, where the face should be. All
these described are made from clay and
%pulverized mussel shells. There are
also specimens of agricultural nipple
mcn;s-hoes, spades, etc.-somc made
OF ebert Ga species of tlint), others OF
the shoulder blade Of the butfalo; the
latter are highly polished. There are
also anumber of discoidal stones Ground
stones, having the form of a disk), celt>
shaped like small tomahawks, and
supposed to havebeen used forskinnine
animals); clay pots, nicely ornamcntcG
with lines and dots; copper axes Gone
weighing n and ahalf pounds), arrow
and spear heads, stone axes, lead orc
and she'll beads. A stone paddle, four.
teen inches long, Mr.. Lewis says is the
largest ever found in the United
States, the greatest length heretofore
noted being six and a half inches. Mr.
Lewis also has four two-handled clay
pots, there having been only one more
found in Minnesota of which a RECORD
is known. Copper chisels, ceremonial
pipes, pestles, stone hammers and doz
ems Of other relics 90 to complete thu
collection. One large two-handlec
cooking pot-madc of clay and musse
shells-deserves special mention. l
was found in Northeastern Iowa, whicl
is considered pretty far north for sucl
q specimen. Its symmetry is perfect
the sides being tluted and ornamentet
with diagonal lines. The diamete
across the top is ID 1-2 inches; acros
the center, IS inches; depth, Is inches
This was probably used as q wash tut
or punch bowl-or likely both. Mr.
Lewis starts out again in a short tim,
for another southern tour. If Mime
sofa should ever construct q suitable
tire-proot building, it is the intention o
the gentleman to present the State witt
a magnificent archaeological collection
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