The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1900-03-30
Joseph williamson Gives Some In.
tereSting Historical Data
Concerning the Old Ken.
nebec River.
Other Papers by Rev. DIR. Bur-
rage and Maj. Thaxter.

The spripg meeting Of the Maine His-
torlcsl society occurred. yesterday. Hon.
James y. Baxter, the president Of the So
eiety. was present and presided. After
the report Of Mr. II. W. Bryant. the libra
rian end cabinet keeper, who reported
the receipt OF a large number OF inter-
esting and valuable documents and arti-
cIss Of historical interest the papers Of
the afternoon were read.
Hon. Joseph Williamson, the historian,
sent the following papers, which were
read to the society:
THE SKELETON IN ARMOR FOUND
ON CAMPBELL'S ISLAND.
The recent exhums.ion ty Mr.. Frank
Hamilton Oushing, the learned ethnolo-
gis OF the Smithsonian Institute, OF an
armored skeleton, In the town Of Brook
lin, has excited not only deep interest,"
but much speculative conjecture. Many
are suppositious and sensational. One OF
thsss asserted that the remains were those
of n NorEeman who accompanied Lief
Ericsson, In bis assumed Voy age to New
England five hundred years before Column
bus. Another claimed that they afforded
6SIOonCo Vi ~ QtnprI0tc btfukkAC botWuCa
an Indian and q Frenchman; while q
third went still farther In giving pic
torial sketch ON the conflict. which the
writer considered tolsrably accurate In
reproduce the scene which ended the
laiter's career The Kew. Edward
Evsrett Hale. In lecture delivered last
October before the Lowell Institute,
declared that pair OF scissors and also
Indian needles were found, indicating
the turial of the knights wife with him.
Ibis perv ersion 10 only equalied by state
msnts In the same lecture that the island
OF Mount Desert was named for DE
Mounts, the companion Of Champlain In
his voyage along our coast In 1906,
...ThAt the correct facts Of the discovery
might be known, / addressed note OF
inquiry to MIR. Gushing, whose courteous
and comprehensive reply IL herewith sub
mitted. His theory that the largest
skeleton was that Of Frenchman OF tae
early PAL of the seventeenth cent1Ty, Is
indou bitable. Probably the Int Tmsr
T. ok plaos near 1913, when tae Jesuit set
tlemer at Saint Saviour was broken up
BY Argall.
Bureau of American kthnology.
Washing IN,
Haven, Hancock Co., Maine.
lth Oct ober, 1899.
To Mr.. Joseph Williamson, Correspond.
ing Score i ary OF the Maine Hist orical
Society. Belfast. Maine.
Dear Sir:-
The find t, which the newspaper
clipping you enclose refsrs, was actually
made here on Cau pbell's Island, ACROSS
tas Reach from this place The cores
ponder t, howev6r, was somewhat indin-
erer rs ID d. t ils. and was apparer thy
bert mainly on making q popular ttory
out OF the facts evidently communiost I'd
to him by my Superint sndeIt OF work
men, Mr.. Eaton. The skeleton WITH
which the armor was found was very
fragmentlry The armor itself had
nearly disappeared, although the neck
piece and brea st plate were suificien t'y
iItIct { be recognizable as such. and
rust e1 5nded down ID tae hips. At the
side OF he Eksl, ton We als) found pike
or tae poin and a POI on OF the blade
Of a halberd, and near at hand four
sided spiks-like object which may have
been a poignsrd- hlade, and the muzzle
of blunderbuss, which lsttsr had been
purposely dstt .oyed by hattsning by
blows vita heavy rocks.
.Almost by the side OF this skelt ton was
Rnc Their accompanied by abundant beads.
the hilt and insertion Of an iron knife,
and several implements OF stone and
bone knives CT tlint and beaver teeth.
This skeleton. too. was frasmentary al
though better preserved than the one
with the armor. Both had bsen buried
prone, Swhilst an almost perfect skele-
ton Inferred within three feet Of them
had been buI led Enthusiastically within
a circle of stones, and trussed up, or In
s,tting posture. The presence OF mineral
paint and black war medicine with these
remains proclaimed them to be those OF a
warrior; but thsrs is no warrant that he
was q chief, although unquestionably
man OF rank in his little tribe. Traces OF
Europsan articles with him indicated his
oontempers nifty with the others. The