Newport daily independent., 1904-03-12
HUNTS HUMAN SKULLS
Peculiar Hobby Which Occupies
 Leisure Time of a Texan.
Has visited Many Lands and Coun- tries in Search of the odd Curios and He Has an Interest-
 ing Collection.


 The following advertisement appeared in the newspapers of St. Joseph, Mo-. re- gently:
 "Wanted-Human skulls! must be in good condition; will pay literally for fine specimens. Apply Hotel M. Charles i w. Jenkins"
 Jenkins was a temporary resident or St. Joseph, where he has considerable realty interests, but his real home is in 1 Corpus Christi, Tex. He has probably the oldest fad of any collector of curios who has ever been resident of that city. MT. Jenkins is very anxious to increase his collection of skulls, and in the pos session of medical students, physicians and colleges of St. Joseph are specimens taken from various burying grounds that have cen unearthed in the ex- cavations for buildings on sites that hundreds of years ago were repositories for the dead of the ancient red man.
 'I have now in my possession 34S perfect specimens ofEuman skulls" says MT. Jenkins. They represent the hu- man Of many ages, ard l find them an interesting stEGy indeed. How did come to indulge in such strange fad! We'll, in my youth made study of anatomy, and became intensely inter ested in the construction of the human frame gradually acquired taste for this form of bric-a-brac.
 'T got my real start as collector of skulls in 1887 During excavations in l St. Joseph on property in the possession of my father several specimens of an ancient race were exhumed, and straightway found resting place upon shelf in cabinet in my home. vis- ited the former home of the mound builder in Colorado and New Mexico. where other specimens of the ancient inhabitants were discovered. They diff fer materially from the skulls found in St. Joseph Then visited the holy land fin search of specimens. From there drifted to the lands of the PtOlemies of Egypt Here some valuable acquisi- l tions were made. have tramped over the Pampas of South America, the noun tains of Peru and Chilli, and even pene- trated into the wildernesses of the Anna zon. where, in deposits of earth and -l SLOU6, u6vC UIOuBAt ~ A6AS ROAASSs specimens Of human skulls, represent ! ing periods which history does not ! chronicle.
 \ "In my experiments have found that \ some skulls tAke on very beautiful polish, and must say that, under the hand Of skilled artisan. they are mode \ magnificent. These specimens occupy . cabinet by themselves. have number \ of skulls taken from the wreck Of the \ Galveston storm. also have specimens \ from other disasters on this and other continents. Five victims of the Mont Pelee disaster are represented fn my collection. This business of collecting skulls h a great aid in the study and re- tention of important facts in history. l have in my possession the skulls of men at times prominent in the history of this nation. How came to have them do not cars to say. However. money , . means of gratifying the tastes oe anyone who cares to make a collection of this kind. Because have acquired . liking for this work. ! spend much tanne during the winter months wandering about between rows of grinning heads. philisophising. after the fashion Of the grave digger In Hamlet, upon ths bssv- lty of human Afe.".