Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1893-05-15


passed on had not the native called me
| back and insisted there was something ex-
| traordinary buried underneath. We re-
moved the surface sand and came upon a
bed of hard clay; then we knew we had
| found something worth our attention, for
| there Is no clay within 200 miles of the
Ancon Under the bed of clay we found q
| roof that had been made of bamboo spIints
| dashed together with willow withes. I'm
| der this was the grave proper 1t was a
| circular hole ten feet deep and in the CEN
| ter of 1t, sitting ON his launches, was He
From two stakes, one on his right and the
other on his left, hung two gonfalons, the
one at his right being red flag and hav-
ing embroidered upon it a perfect Greek
sigma.
''All around - continued Professor Dor
sey, "were scattered articles of the finest
pottery. Examine them carefully and you
will see that they arc of superior design
and workmanship. AS we found them
they contained grain and vegetables, some
what shrivelled, of course, but in re-
markable state of preservation. 1t was
easy to determine the contents of the jars
to be corn, beans, potatoes, dried she'll
fish and other articles of food. One jar
had evidently contained u fluid, put there
to quench the thirst of the mummy 1t
seemed almost pity to disturb such an
august parsonage after a thousand years
fair and here he isl
1t would take pages instead of columns
even to mention the interesting exhibits
in this building which reach out into the
dark past and throw light upon the con-
dition and the development of mankind
through the ages. In fact, one may trace
the growth of his race from the rudest
savagery to its present high state of civili-
cation. 1t is a wonderful object lesson in
the history of mankind. Here the eve of
the visitor is carried back to the days of
the Assyrians, the Greeks, the Romans,
the Egyptians. Their tombs, their ruins
have been ransacked that we may have
the object lessons of what they We're and
of how they lived, their religion, their
sports, their battles, their agriculture,
their domestic establishments, their arts
and their industries. 1t would be difficult
to ina CINE anything more interesting and
predict that this building, small beside
its mammoth neighbors but mighty III
the ages of time and periods of human
change and progress which it covers, will
soon be crowded from early morning till
late at night.
The outdoor exhibit is quite as fascinat-
ing as that within the building. 1t is a
sort of supplement to the interior display
Here are not only the tents, boats,
weapons, clothing and utensils of print
tive peoples, but the people themselves.
On the shores of the pond near the Anthro-
biological building are grouped representa-
tiveS of various tribes of Indians from
North America. They live in their primi-
tive habitations, row their rude boats or
canoes and engage in their customary oc-
equations, such weaving, pottery, chip
ping flint, building canoes, dressing skins
and grinding corn. If one is interested in
the American Indian-and who is not?-
he may pass many an interested and we'll
spent hour in the Indian school which will
be in operation near by.
New York contributes to this ethno-
graphical display n council house and long
bark lodge of the famous Iroquois. and q
number of typical houses used by the va
rious tribes which formed the powerful
Iroquois confederation. The Indians are
here, too, living in the houses, reproducing
their ceremonies and padding about in
their canoes. Never before was such n
good opportunity afforded for the study of
the habits of the aboriginal jewellers in
our own land. If one wishes to see the
more modern Indian in his war paint, rid
ing his pony in battle or chase, he has but
to visit Buffalo Bits show without the ex-
position grounds.
One of the most picturesque displays
here is that of the ruins of Gucatan. The
structure which seems to show the queer
architecture and decorations of these an
Gent people was skillfully built, and its
facades and carvings are made
from plaster casts taken by Consul
Thompson amid the ruins of Labna
| and UXmal. The structures rep
resented are the Serpent house, the House
of Nuns, and the so-called Governors
house There are also moulds, columns
and monoliths from the prehistoric city of
Capan. Tropical plants from Central
America have been brought here and clev-
serly arranged over and about the ruins All
that is needed to complete the illusion is
the presence of few snakes basking in
the sun or running to hide themselves in
the grass.
A few rods from the Yucatan ruins are
the picturesque homes of the cliff-dwellers.
With consummate art the builders imi-
tated rocks with a framework covered DER
with sheet iron, tin and paper-mache, with
just enough natural rock scattered about
to perfect the illusion. There are habita-
tons within the mass of rock, and Speci-
mems of the ancient Pueblos or Aztecs to
live in them. There are also mountain
sheep and the little burroS used by the
cliff-dwellerS as beasts of burden. From
the ruins of Yucatan and the cliff-dwell-
ings of Mexico and our own southwestern
borders to the ice-bound ha citations of the
Esquimaux is n long way, but they are all
here on the shores of the pond. A sort of
halfway house is afforded by the village
of Vancouver islanders, with their boats
made by following out logs with fire and
| primitive tools, and their hideous wooden
| idols or totem poles, standing thirty or
forty feet high on the banks of the lagoon.
| Two hundred yards away, on the other
| side of the pond, are the headquarters of
| the gondoliers; and the Venetians in their
| gay costumes of two or three centuries ago
| add q dashing bit of color to the strange
! scene
| In this extraordinary commingling of
tribes and races historic and prehistoric