The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1904-09-13
SEEING THE FAIR
IN DETAIL

! Visitors to Ask ouestions--Many OBJ
iects Three to Six Thousand Years
Old In the Egyptian Section Of An
thropology = How the Human Race
Acquired the Habit Of smoking--At-
tributed to a Small Boy--OeveIop-
ment Of the chisei, Ak and Hatehst.
A Cane Seat Chair 1890 Years Old,
subtractins the seat-pissertation on
Furniture Lees--Ths Archaeological.
Mound Builders Relics.
| ESPECIAL CORRESPONDENTS BY
MARK BENNITT.l
1t was 4 case Of .Let the women do
the work do the work do the work
lin Egypt some thousands Of years
ago. When a man died and was buried
his friends probably bis men friends
placed beside him a faience image a
few inches long This was his ushabtiu
or answerer. Having managed to
avoid contact with work in life this
precaution was taken against the ne
cessity for it after he had passed to the
unknown. Here are the "answerers"
by the dozens, dug up from Egyptian
tombs and ranged in rows like so many
dolls in doll store. None OF them
show wear and tear even after six
thousand years Of existence. Their
blue mineral coloring is as fresh as
yesterdays brush work, with the sign
fresh paint still on it. These an
swerers have never answered except
to the sound Of the pickax and shovel
Of the Psychologist and his gang. Our
conclusion must be that the buried
Egyptian never did any work AS
further proof we have here in the an
thropological exhibit OF the Egyptian
government a mummy Of the period
500 years before Christ
To find out how the human race got
into the smoking habit Is sufficient re-
ward for deyoting a part Of ones day
to the Anthropology building This is
one Of those solid stone structures in
the western part Of the worlds fair
grounds, built to stand thousand
years or SO.
When we put this and that together
and come to a conclusion we call 1t
tie exercise Of common sense. The
anthropologist calls it synthetic reason
ing. So we have here the synthetic
section. where the prehistoric relics Of
primitive man. gathered from widely
separated localities, have been brought
together to show the various steps IN
the development Of custom and the
implements Of that custom.
Reading the lines Of this kindergar-
ten lesson we ind that stones or pieces
Of wood We're followed out to make lit
tie vessels In which to carry fire from
one place to another. 1t was found
that the fire needed little draft from
the bottom and So d smaller hole was
continued through the wood or stone.
That in itself was an invention worthy
OF a Franklin, an Edison or a Da Ninci.
considering the slim foundation for
philosophy IN those days, which may
have been In the antideluvian period.
1t was probably the boy Of the fam
ily--for 1t Is the boy who learns to
smoke who put his breath to the small
hole In the fire carrier to prevent the
glow Of coal from going out Perhaps
he crowded a little dried clover BIOS
som or the dead lear 81 an aromatic
plant Into the hollow place to feed the
little fire and blew or drew his breath
through It again and agaIn-and thus
new habit was forever fastened on
the human race.
Gleefully he went out behind the
woodshed, ont Of mothers sight, TO
practice his new art. We love to see
the restless ocean lap the shore, the
rain to fall, the fire to dance and die
and leap to life again. we like the spell
Of curling smoke before the eyes-ah.
there's the kernel Of the habit-the
blind man does not smoke.
In time. the straight pipe was given
turn SO that 1t might hold the con-
tents the more securely. The quality
that fire has Of seeming to restore IT.
self when given a new supply Of oxy-
gen gave to it mystical power in the
mind of primitive man. Hence the
pipes were carved in various effigies
and smoking became a ceremony. The
calumet Of the American Indian, pipe
with tobacco bowl on one side and a
tomahawk blade on the other, the
handle a pipestem. was the highest
development Of the pipe among the
aborigines. In the council OF tribes
the stranger had his choice, the pipe Of
peace or the implement Of war
The shining beveled chisel OF the
hardware store ana the valued tool Of
the carpenter and cabinet maker was
in prehistoric times a sharpeaed stone
Here we have the Development all
pointed cut to as as plain as a, =, G,
In the synthetic section Of Anthropol
ogy first a thin edged stone as nature
made It, then Clipped flint or
ground or rubbed edge Of hematite 4
wooden handle with socket In the
end to hold the stone served for
small chisel. Civilization added the
bevel. The stone ak, fastened to han
die with thongs, developed in the same
way. The drilling of hole through
the stone head for the handle was
distinct step The elimination, SO far
as prehistoric relics indicate, was In the