Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1899-09-20
INDIAN RELIC -.
Interesting Finds at Tories and Camp
bells Islands, near Brookliu.


Campbell's islands in Eggemoggin
reach, by the government experts from
the national museum. A reporter of
THE ELLSWORTH AMERICAN, always on
hand, hired a sail boat and started out
last week to interview the relic diggers.
Professor Eaton, OF Brooklin, in charge
OF a company of Indian grave diggers, was
found on the south shore of Campbells
Island. The professor kindly showed us
some OF the most wonderful and valuable
relics that were ever discovered on the
coast of Maine, and explained their uses
and probable age.
Those found on Tories island, where
the shell mounds are deep, have laid
there for period OF five hundred years,
and some found at depth of three or
four feet are Mt least thousand years old
On Tories island all the implements
are OF stone, no metal being found; but
on Campbeil's island, the skeleton OF a
Frenchman, wearing an armor Of steel,
was discovered last week. We examined
tie Rrmor and skeleton Of an Indian that
was found buried alongside of the
49, A''+hAit biiAl / EatbiSHS VI tue Ci1lIl-
ion advanced by the many learned pro-
fessors staying at Castle View, Brooklin,
concluded that they died on the field OF
honor; that the Frenchman, msunder-
standing some OF the Indians Lingo"
for AN insult, had challenged him to fight
a duel and they both were slain.
Or perhaps the Frenchman had de-
a ~. &.
hontas, aud was really the chief of
the tribe, which would account for the
Indians burying him with all his armor
on instead Of afpropriating it for their
own use. He lay alongside of one OF
their dead chiefs whose bones were found
buried with great care, sewed up in birch
bark, with all his beads and Wampum
around his neck, tomahawks and war
implements without number scattered
around, and doubtless many feathers and
decorations that have been entirely OBJ
liberated in the past hundreds OF years
that they have lain there.
While We We're there watching the men
digging in the mounds they found
small stone that the Indians mad fashioned
into the shape OF an idol image or god, or
what was more likely doll of the chiefs
little papoose. The body was OF dark
stone and the smooth, round head of pure
white quart, which mingled With the
darker stone at the neck, looking like
string Of beads. One of our purity desired
very much to obtain that FOR Il paper
weight, but nothing would induce Mr.
Eaton to part With it. A spear head was
found, made Of elk horn tipped with
hint, which being found in the clam
shells, looked as new and bright as when
first left there, perhaps thousand years
ago,
Further up the Reach, near the Oakland
hotel, was found a tomahaWk imbedded
in the centre of a dceayed oak stump.
This find was purely accidental, rs one Of
the men tell down over the steep bank
and to save himself caught hold of an old
stump which broke and the tomubsWk
WAS discovered imbedded III the wood.
Both part OF the stump and tomahawk
have been preserved intact.
The professor explained that that was
doubtless lost in 4 battle with the French;
that the Indian threw it at The enemy and
retreated, it having stuck in tree and
nature had covered it and preserved it
for two or three hundred years.
Thousands of valuable relics have been
found in BROOKLYN and on the neghbo
ing islands by Maj. Powell and Prof.
Gushing to enrich the collection in the
national museum in Washington.
Prot Cushing is doubtless he best in
formed man in the world to- day on In
dams and their habits. He has spent his
whole lite in the study Of ethnology, has
lived years with the Indians, learned
their language, habits and their art by
practical labor, and in fact became chief
Of tribe.
Major Powell is chief Of the bureau OF
ethnology under the government. His
books on ethnology are considerd author
ity in this country and in Europe. The
amount Of data he has collected for the
government and actual material, Indian
implements, etc, is something wonderful,
While he has travelled all over the country
in his search for information, the past
five years, he has spent at least three
months each year at Castle View, Brook
lin, where he is now having plans made
for a stone cottage to be erected on the
sitelof an old Indian village, overlooking
Tories island, where the great tribes of
Indians held high carnival thousand
years ago, and where on the treeless is
land the soil and general formation OF the
land have changed but little since the days
Of he aborigines.