The sun., 1890-04-23
ARROWHEADS ARROWHEADS
THBK sAT THERE ARE INsCRIPzToNS
NOW BIZ THE INDEIN GRATka
An ArehRoloEieai DRUGGIST Detects the
Aryau AIphA nnd other IAteresttnG
ThIpGs an d sorts the Prehistoric Skulls
L. .nhIntnrin T.nnnI

EXPLORATION OF the little hillock in the meadow
opposito his house at the corner OF lnwood
street aud KinRsbridge road. joan II. Davis,
n New York druggist who says he has devoted
Ali his available time for tho last twenty years
TO the study OF prehistoric inscriptions and
archaeological research. passed the afternoon
examining the bonos and stones that Mr..
Chenowcth had removed from the mound and
the contour OF the land around the spot where
they were found. He WAS convinced by the
results oIhIs investigation that Mr.. Chenoweth
has discovered mos: valuable relics OF pre-
historic man. and that tho meadows In the
neighborhood between KinRsbridge road and
the Harlem River are full OF archaeological
treasures. 1t took Mr.. Davis about two min
utes to run his eyes over the shelves full OF
relies in Mr.. Chenoweth's barn. Then he picked
mp a skull with a low, re;reating. rounded fore
head and remark able protru berances over the
eyes. passed his hand over 1t delioately. and
said:
"Oh, yes. any one can see In q second that
this is no white mans skull. 1t has all the
characteristics OF the Indian, cruelty, cunning.
meanness. 1t is Of a low grade. Here is an
other OF much higher grade. The develop
ment at the top shows a comprehensive grasp
OF general facts. but not OF details. Hero Is
another which may or may not have belonged
TO q white man. Those others, however were
over had such heads. The pottery is, OF course,
the usual Indian work. The little dots there
Tin the moro primitive pieces were made with
thorns or pointed sticks. Tho lines lin the pot
terry OF the later periodsl wero probably drawn
with sticks, too. The round stone with
groove around 1t was an Indian weapon
something like q slungshot 1t was attached
to twig or root. and was used to strike a
blow with. The Patagonisns have the same
z.It trio ,Ior
and about an inch thick was buried with the
dead because 1t was supposed TO secure the
bearer passage into the happy hunting
grounds The claw found by Mr.. Chenoweth
with the broken bones Of deer and human
rib on q hearth foot under ground) Is tho
claw OF a good sized wildcat The turtle shell
there may have some Significance. The turtle
was the totem OF the Delawares. the most In
telliRent OF American Indians, and the high
grade OF the skulls shows that they belonged
TO some such Indian nation. This stone was
cut; that was not" Mr.. Davis reiterated as he
separated the wheat from the chafr In Mr..
Chenoweth's lot OF stones taken from the
mound
After brief examination OF Mr.. Chenoweth's
barn shelves. Mr.. Davis took a look over the
hillock. He stopped short beforo the broad
slopng face Of a rock at the base OF the north
side Of the mound, scanned 1t closely, and
formed depressions iq the rock, and scraped
came upon figure which somewhat resembled
an arrowhead 1t consisted OF three we'll de-
Inei line vs SstE inches long, tho Other two siantnS
lines about an inch and half long, almost
at eas o. sas t6s,
or pick might have left this impression by
Tha. would be impossible. A pick or blast
could never mark out figure with those lines.
If the rain had not worn away the rock 80
you plenty OF other figures here. The whole
Inscription was put there probably by the
commemorate some event, or to give them
some kind of Instructions. Inscriptions OF this
with a broad. slantine iace. The arrowhead
mark was the aloha. the creative letter OF the
omos the ni Of ya
ITeree were stmp!y variations OF the form or lines OF
Alter some searching MI: Davis found on the
no less perfect II s
he said; that al the marks had been made on |
the Gck By other hHn Sn ada Mr.
top on the hilloek; indicates o that it has has |
sand underneath was brought here. think, by |
the Indians to cover up their dead My dea s is
to to- cover cover thom With. The sand is silieate
the aRs peone 81 that time here
know this is ns IN ,bars ~Hes Eesw t9s iis
fG sPShgs QUALITIES @ o ago The
lion may have come from Europe. for. you
know Columbus didn't discover oyer br,d AmerdlcS; a.
clothes and collins by white persons OF the last
two or three centuries. Tor this sand would
lively intact. The oyster shells here as we'll |
as the contour OF the country. show that the |
lev and emptied into tho Hudson. and that the |
Indians could sail up here. take their oysters. |
the RearIhs Mr. Chenoweth has found. There |
has been many an Indian clambake on this
Or 3Rt
this is regular mound. In the usual acceDta-
tion OF the torm." Al.
tho Ginty sides OF several big rocks which pro-
truded about a foot from tho surface OF the |
eaGeriy into the dirt in an, ordinary looking |
curved crease in tho stone. In q minute or two !
the shape OF an arrow head and eighteen inches |
deeE by ten wide was revealed.
where they wore the rock in sharpening their |
spears and arrow heads. Any one can see that |
that hole was pade, hy tho rubbing Of stones
have been made by water"
A little search resulted in the discovery of a |
dozen more similar holes, in the rocks Some |
were only nine or ten inches deep Others were |
cut iully two feet into tho hard rock. All were |
smooth and even and showed unmistakuble |
evidences OF having been done by the friction |
OF stone or metal In human hands
Mr.. Davis is the most comforting archpolo- |
gst Mr. Chenoweth has yet communicated |
will. A dozen or more persons Of some |
archaeological knowledge have visited him. |
however: since the account OF his remarkable |
discoveries WAS first published in IHE SUN. |
Every sunday brings n crowd Of relic hunters |
10 lnwood. and few, II any OF Inwood's 100 in |
habitants fail to take a look at tho half-eX- |
Rlored hiIlock at Ioasl every two OF, three days.
Mr.. CheEoweth, however, has decided to make |
10 moro explorations until after tho arrival Of |
Prof. Putnam Of Harvard. whom he expects at
1nwood about May |.
The popular opposition to Mr. Chenowe:h's |
excavations is reaching iever heat on Wash |
ington heights. He is daily accused Of having |
desecrated tho nurying ground Of the first |
families OF Revolutionary days. or Of the me- |
Eroes o! more recent times or OF the Hessians. |
William l.; Calyer, who ivss at l73 East 10Th |
street. and works as machiniSt in tho elevated |
railway shops IN Ninty-ninth street, is the |
most intelligent opponent OF Mr.. Chenowe:h. |
He has been reading archaeological works and |
looking, for relies Of prohistoric man on and |
about Manhattan Island for many years. He |
says Mr. Cheuoweth would never have thought |
ofdigging into the little hil!ock In the meadow. |