The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-11-28
a MIGHTY FOSSIL HUNTER
SKETCH OF HOOsIER SCIENTIST,
PROF. GEORGE X. GREENE.
He Has Collected 100000 Fossils, and
His Little Work Room Is Verita-
BILE Old Curiosity shop.

BILE Old Curiosity shop.
In all the length and breadth Of Indiana
there is probably not to be found the equal
of quaint old curiosity shop, which, with
out the vestige of a sign to indicate its
stock in trade does a prosperous and pc
cuIiar business in the city of New Albany.
1t is located in an old rambling sepia-col-
ored frame building, almost as long as
rope walk, on a corner opposite the lower
end of two struggling squares of pictur-
esque old-fashioned market houses, and
from the many small high windows along
it's sides and the small-paned double doors
in it's front no passing glance could deduce
it's interesting interior No show windows
advertise the quality Of the commerce here
transacted, and a casual observer, from his
glimpse of tin pans and buckets which
CLEAN through the dusty glass, might
promptly infer it to be a tinshop or general
household emporium. Not so, however. The
first interior view ignores the shining ar
ray of tinware on a side table, and fastens
at once on the wares of the ancients; the
playthings implements and bric-a-brac OF
primeval man, which are here collected in
vast majority. From door to door, from
wall to wall, in cases and on counters, on
shelves and in cabinets, hung from the cell
ing and massed on the floor, are the curios
with which this odd little shop is crowded.
An expression of what model housewives
call "clutteration" pervades this stock in
trade and yet, to the fond heart of the
curio-lover, this is the profoundest charm OF
the place Assortment is one spice of life,
and orderly arrangement gives the death
blow to artistic effect.
What is not to be found in this mart OF
curiosities is just now beyond the pale OF
imaginings. From high shelves stutfed
birds of all feathers flock together and
look down upon US, while the ends or a
counter near at hand are adorned by an
enormous snowy aux and a coal-black crow.
Under this counter a two-headed calf,
stuffed to market plumpness, gazes inqulr-
ingly at valuable set of revolutionary iron
kettles and bake-ovens. In glass case
over these incongruities shines beautifully
carved chambered nautilus-("b build thee
more stately mansions, my sour)-cheek
by jowl with a lot of Mexican pottery. Ola
books are piled high in the corners and I'M
der the counters; and against the east wall
is a cabinet containing a valuable collection
of historic relics from both sides OF the
civil war-drums, battle flags. guns, swords,
pistols and bowie-knives. Here are guns,
also, carried by soldiers of the Second and
Fourth Indiana regiments in the Mexican
war, and hats worn by Mexican soldiers
In appropriate juxtaposition is what might
be called a wagonload of old ammunition;
shot, shell and cannon balls.
CURIOS FOR WOMEN.
Not far from these warlike barbarisms
are those gentler curios which women love
unset stones in mass, glittering in glass
case; opals, emeralds, pearls, moonstones
garnets, amethysts and agates, tiger-eyes
and chalcedony. In this case, too, is a tray
of Egyptian relics-beads, amulets and
scarabs from the trmbs of earliest civiliza-
ton. Old canoes catch the eye-colonial
in part but in the main Kentucky mon
strosities of TASTE horseshoe canoes,
adorned with horsey scenes and emblems
Among these by some strange chance or
sale or barter, is a cameo head of Governor
Noble, cracked lamentably across the face
Old coins and medals, a large assortment of
"hard-times tokens" a collection of old
paper money United States fractional cur
rency of all issues and Confederate bills of
all denominations are shown; also, a great
case full of old newspapers of remote dates,
old war songs; deeds and letters patent.
original signatu. es of our earliest Preside nts
and autograph letters of various In
diana statesmen. Foreign newspapers,
Turkish and Japanese, are here also, hang
ing next to leather hunting shirts, of In
dian make, under a shelf of gruesome
glass jars containing such unique devia-
tons from natures text as an eight-Iegged
cat, a double-nosed dog, two-tongued puppy
and q double-headed kitten. On the walls
are huge buffalo horns and deer horns,
while from the ceiling depend stuffed alli-
gators of all sizes, and numbers of war
like sword fish. Next to a lady-like mummy
in a case stands a massive suit of Japa-
nese armor, topped by a gigantic helmet
and visor, and various grotesque little stone
gods wink knowingly from a shelfful of old
Britannia candlesticks and sugar bowls.
Navajo Indian wares, with old and new
Mexican pottery, on a background of gayly
dyed yellow and purple angora rugs, are
spread over all available cases and coun-
tiers just now, and by next week, prob
ably, these will have been picked over and
sold away into the obscurity of private
households, while some newer stock of
curio-purchase usurps the field.
Full to overflow, indeed, is this small
shop, but on every bit of surface where
space permits there you will see a fossil.
for despite the large conglomerate deposit
of man-made curios, this is first, foremost,
and all the time, a fossil shop. Fossils are
everywhere; on counters and under coun-
tiers, in cases and on top of cases, stacked
in boxes and in barrels, arranged in rows
and clustered in heaps and piles. Standing
behind a counter in an old felt hat and the
old clothes which are the proper garb of
natures fossil gatherers, with a
sturdy figure and a face full of genial in
terest in whatever his visitor is interested
in-whether it be 4 tin dishpan or a rare
FOSSILS the genius Of the place. George
Kennard Greene, geoloeist and scientist.
With the fossil in the cabinet cleaned, clas-
sifed and correctly labeled, and with tho
college scientist, who can hold that fossil
in his hand and trace it almost from it's
makers touch to the present hour, all are
familiar; but as regards the middleman of
science-the man who intervenes only to
bring the fossil from it's stony bed to the
professor and his well-ordered cabinet or
collection-there is q descriptive gap to be
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