Newport daily independent., 1905-01-31
HUNTS HUMAN SKULLS
Peculiar Hobby Which 0ccupies
 Leisure Time of a Texan.
Has Visited Many Lands and CsaH- tries in Search of the odd Curfos and He Has an Interest.
 ing Collection.

The fOllOWIng advertisement appe3red in the newspapers of St. Joseph, Mo-. fs- gently:
 "Wanted-Human skulls! must be in good condition; will pay liberally for fine specimens. Apply Hotel M. Charles w. Jenkins"
 Jenkins was temporary resident of St Joseph, where he has considerable realty interests. but his real home Is in Corpus Christi, Tex. He has probably the oldest fad of any collector of curios who has ever been resident of that city. Mr. Jenkins is very anxious to iAcreass his collection Of skulls, and in the pos session of medical students. physicians and colleges of St. Joseph ars specimens taken from various burying grounds that have bssn unsartheA In the sx- savations for buildings oa sites that hundreds of years ago were repositories for the dead of the ancient rod man.
 'T have now in my possession S4s perfect specimens of human skulls. says Mr. Jenkins. 'Thsy represent the hu- man of many ages. and I hnd them an interesting study indeed. How did ! como to indulge in such . strange fadt Well, in my youth made study of anatomy, and became intensely inter- ested in the construction of the human ffams. I gradually acquired taste for this form of bric-a-brac.
 "I got my real start as . collector ee skulls in 1887. During excavations iA St. Joseph on property in the possession Of my father several specimens q an ancient race were exhumed. and straightway found . resting place upon . shelf in . cabinet in my home. I vfs- tied the former home of tho mound builder in Colorado and New Mexico. whore other specimens of tho ancient inhabitants were discovered. They diff" fer materially from the skulls found in St. Joseph. Then visited the holy land in search of specimens. From there I drifted to the lands of the Ptolemies of Egypt. Here some valuable acquisi- tions were made. have tramped over the Pampas of South America, the noun sains of Peru and Chilli, and even pene- trated into the wildernesses of the Amaf zon, where, in deposits of earth and stone, have brought to light perfect specimens of humaE skulls, represent ing periods whicL 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 made magnificent. These specimens occupy . cabinet by themselves. have . 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 the Mont Pelee disaster are represented in my collection. This business of collecting skulls is a great aid in the study and re- tention of important facts in history. l have in my possession the skulls of men 1t times prominent in the history of his nation. How came to havs them 1 do not care to say. However. money . means Of gratifying tho tastes of anyone who cares to make collection ,f this kind. Because havs acquired . liking for this work, spend much time turing the winter months wandering about between row. of grinning hsadA ohilisophizing. after the fashion of the grave digger in Hamlet. upon the brev. ity of human life"