Newport daily independent., 1905-03-20
HUNTSHUMAN SKULLS
Peculiar Hobby Which Occupies
 Leisure Time of a Texan.
Has Visited Many Lands and COuA- 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-. rs. gently:
 "Wanted-Human skulls! must be in good condition; will pay literally for nne specimens. Apply Hotel M. Charles w. Jenkins"
 Jenkins was a 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 a resident of that c1ty. Nr. 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 ksen unearthed in the ex- cavations for buildings on sites that hundreds of years ago were repositories for the dead of the ancient red man.
 'T have now in my possession S4s perfect specimens of human skulls. says Mr. Jenkins. "They represent the hu- man of many ages, and ind them an interesting study indeed. How did ! come to indulge in such . strange fad! Well. in my youth made study ol anatomy, and became intensely inSse- ssted in the construction of the human frame. I gradually acquired taste for this form of bric-a-brac.
 'T got my real start as . collector oa skulls in 1887. During excavations in St. Joseph on property in the possession oe m- father several specimens of an ancient race were exhumed. and straightway found . resting place upon . shelf in a cabinet in my home. vfs. 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 Ptolemies of Egypt. Here some valuable acquisi- tons were made. I 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 son, where, tn deposits of earth and stone, I have brought to light perfect specimens of humak skulls. represent ing periods whick History does not chronicle.
 "In my experiments have found thAs some skulls take on . very beautiful polish. and must say that, under tho hand of skilled artisan, they are mads magnificent. These specimens occupy cabinet by themselves. have number of skulls taken from the wreck of tho Galveston storm. I also have specimens from other disasters on this and other continents. Five victims of the 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 It times prominent in tho history o4 this nation. How came to have them do not care to say. However. money b a means of gratifying the tastes of anyone who cares to make a collection of this kind. Because have acquired liking for this work. spend much tims during tho winter months wandering about between rows of grinning heads philisophizing. after the fashion of tho grave digger in Hamlet. upon the brew Ny of human life."