Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-07-20

made from time to time that this feature Of
our exhibit would partake somewhat Of the
character OF what has come to be known as
| q wild west show. am very sorry that any
| such impression has gone abroad, for 1t is
far from our intention to permit anything
Of the sort. These Indians and other native
people will simply carry on their native
industries and continue their home customA
They may participate in various ceremonies
peculiar to each tribe, but We shall sternly
repress anything that savors Of the savagery
of wild west performance. Our purpose
is to. show these people in thoroughly
scientific way and in manner that will not
degrade them.
What viii Be Shown Indoors.
"Now this is merely the out-of-door
feature of our exhibit. We have, as you
know, been given the entire north half of
the gallery of the great manufacturers
building. It contains, believe, something
like 16, 900 square feet or more. In this we
shall show objects of mans handiwork from
the earliest days down to the present time.
These exhibits will be arranged geologic
ally, the object being to show the gradual
evolution of the industrial arts We have
sent expeditions to'open mounds and burial
places and ancient village sites and she'll
and old pueblos al over the Western Hem
isphere. From these different sources and
from ancient ruins in Central and South
America we have secured objects illustrate
ing the mode of life centuries ago. We
have dug up mummies and unearthed
skeletons and with them objects that were
buried at the same time. These are now
packed ready for shipment to Chicago. In
order to show the phases of prehistoric life
on the continent, models of the most dis
tinctive earthworks and mounds will be
prepared from carefully made plans and
sketches. The great earthworks of Ohio,
in which are combined squares, octagons,
circles and other figures, often of large size,
will be represented in this way as we'll Is
the different kinds of mounds such as the
great mound at Cahokia, ILL.,, nearly 100
feet high, and the famous serpent mound of
Ohio, an earth structure, 1,40O feet long.
The largest ancient fortihcxtion in this
country will be represented in the same
manner, as will also the Turner and Hope
well groups, both illustrating the sacred
structures Of an extinct people.
Harvard Will Help the Exhibit.
1--WE have been largely assisted in this
boards and historical societies, which have
worked in conjunction with our expedi-
tions All the material collected this year
by the expeditions sent to Honduras by the
Peabody Museum of Harvard College will
be lent to the Worlds Fair. This material
is of great historic value. Models are being
made of the immense monoliths and altars
existing among the ancient ruins of Copan,
and many interesting specimens haye
already been obtained to illustrate the arts
and customs Of the unknown but once pow
erful people who designed and erected these
massive stone structures, literally orna-
mented with figures in high relief and
strange hieroglypbs By comparing casts,
models, photographs and objects from dit
ferent localities the customs and habits of
the prehistoric peoples of the continent can
be compared with one another and with
those of later times, and the distribution,
migration and connection of the various
peoples can be traced.
1--WE have now in the field securing these
collections about 100 men. Most of them
are graduate students who are pursuing
studies in different universities in kindred
departments to ours These students make
the investigations for us for their essential
expenses George A. Dorsey, who has rep
resented the department in Peru, South
America, for over year, has just forwarded
to us number of fine collections embraced
In 70 large cases. These specimens illus
trate the ancient civilization of that coun-
try. Now, Of course, you know that all of
these collections are to become the property
of the city Of Chicago after the Exposition
and to serve as the nucleus of the great
of natural history that is to be es-
tablished in this city. The collections
which we have secured are of great value
They exceed bv far the cost of their collec-
tion and will give Chicago the foundation
for one of the greatest museums in the
-