Newport daily independent., 1905-06-12
TSHUMAN SKULLS
Peculiar Hobby Which Occupies
 Leisure Time of a Texan.
Has Visited Many Lands and CsuA- tries in Search of the odd Curi0s and He Has an Interest-
 fng Collection.

The following advertisement appeared In the newspapers of St Joseph. Mo-. fs- centiy:
 "Wanted-Human skulls! must be In good condition: will pay liberally for ine specimens. Appls Hotel M. Charles w. Jenkins"
 Jenkins was . temporary resident of st I d. where he has considerable realty ,ssts, but his real home is in Corpt,,ss ,tristi. Tex. He has probably the oGs GsQct fad of any collector of curios who haJ ever been resident of that city. Mr. 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 hssn unearthed In the ex- cavations for buildings on sites that hundreds of years ago were repositories for the dead of tho ancient red man.
 'T have now in my possession As perfect specimens of human skulls. says Mr. Jenkins. They represent the hu- man of many ages. and nnd them an interesting study indeed. How did ! como to indulge in such strange fad3 We'll, in my youth made study ot anatomy, and became intensely intse- ested in the construction of the human frame. I gradually acquired taste for this form of bric-a-brac.
 T got my real start as a collectoe ol skulls in 1887. During excavations in St. Joseph on property in the possession Of my father several specimens of an ancient raee wore exhumed. and straightway found resting place upon . shelf in . cabinet in my home. I wis., ited the former home of the mound builder in Colorado and New Mexico. where other specimens Of the ancient inhabitants were discovered. They dif- fer materially from the skulls found In St. Joseph. Then visited the holy land in search of specimens. From there drifted to tho lands of the Ptolemfes of Egypt. Here some valuable acquisi- tons were made. I have tramped over the Pampas of South America, the noun tains of Peru and Chill. and even pene- trated into tho wildernesses of the Anna xon, where. in deposits of earth and stone, I have brought to light perfect specimens of humaE 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 tho hand of skilled artisan. they are made magnificent. These specimens occupy . cabinet by themselves. have a number of skulls taken from the wreck of tho Galveston storm. also have specimens from other disasters on this and other continents. Five victims of tho Mont Pelee disaster arc represented in my collection. This business of collecting skulls Is . great aid in the study and re- tention of important facts in history. [ have in my possession the skulls of men 1t times prominent in tho history of this nation. How came to have them do not care to say. However. money 5 means of gratifying the tastes of anyone who cares to make collection of this kind. Because have acquired . liking for this work. spend much time during the winter months wandering about between rows of grinnfng heads philisophizing, after the fashion of tho grave digger in Hamlet. upon the brew ity of human ltfe."