Albuquerque weekly citizen. (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1891-19??, 1903-11-28

Interesting Developments Among
the Aboriginss Of the Great West.
THEIR HAkDlCRAfTs IN MUSEUMS

The Harvey museum and the Har-
vey lnoian building. In connection
with the Alvarado. this city. are
known to the well informed to be one
OF the largest and most complete col
lections of Indian curios to be ivund
anywhere. In Iact. probable pre-emi-
hence in this particular may Justly be
claimed for Il.
Pottery, basket work. blankets, sill
yer smithery, bows, arrows, nets,
boats. shields. stone utensils, idols,
shell work. bead work. wood work,
ard thousands of other things devel.
oped in Indian life, rich rare, costly
and numerous. have here been collect
ed for the qualification of the public,
advancement of science in the de-
partments OF ethnology and aniqui.
ties. and as n fitting tribune to those
races whose Inheritance of homes
and lands become ours. Most OF
these things could not be purchased
Mt any price, the design being to keep
them in perpetuity as mementos OF
persisted past, which can never be
restored again and OF which these
relics supply our only gimpses OF
knowledge.
priceless collection liz that new fea-
lures and new specimens are con-
stantly being gathered A notable in
stance occurred only this week. in the
reception and installation of four totem
poles, the like OF which cannot be
found In any other museum.
II may be stated IN passing that
totem pole is piece of wood cary.
ed into faces and other objects, sym
bolical generally. representing the leg
ends held by the tribes concerning
their origin and their early mythical
achievements. These poles are quite
numerous among the tribes OF Alaska.
but are OF difficult acquisition. each
owner holding them as religious as
wen as tribal hoirlooms. Some OF
the tall kind, reaching TO a length OF
sixty feet, have been procured by the
Field Columbian museum OF Chicago,
and the American Museum OF Natural
History, New York. The Harvey mu-
scum itself posseJsed n number r
the smaller sorts from three TO Ave
feet In height. But all these are
exterior poles used on the outside OF
the houses
Those received this week are pc.
cullar in that they come from the
interior OF houses and as already stat.
ed cannot be duplicated by any other
museum.
They are c-dar slabs over ten feet
high. more than yard wide and four
or five Inches thick. In the top OF each
a half circle has been hcwn out, and
In this rested the main pole OF the
roof one at either end, the pair form
ing the supply of one house. The four
received here came from the Thin.
quet tribe, the most northernly race OF
Indians in Alaska. and had been upon
the way since last February. Two OF
t.Iem are comparatively fresh IN
paint, while the paint has entirely
worn away from the other They are
doubtless many hundred years old
and were obtained with great diff
cuty. One interesting feature connect
ed with these relies Is that their sym.
bolsm Is almost identical with that
woven into blanket. obtained by the
museum nom Queen Charlottes is
land. The Citizen Is indebted TO Man
ager Switzer for much OF the informa-
ton here presented. The question OF
music must oe postponed till tomor-
row