Newport daily independent., 1905-02-25
HUNTSHUMAN SKULLS
Peculiar Hobby Which oeetpies
 Leisure Time of . Texan
Has Visited Many Lands ana c0nA- tries in Search of the odd CurSos and He Has an Interest-
 ing Collection.

The following advertisement appeared in the newspapers of St Joseph. Mo-. rs- csntly:
 "Wanted-Human skulls! must be iA good condition; will pay literally for nne 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 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 hsen unearthed in the sx- eavations 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 34a perfect specimens of human skulls. says Mir. Jenkins. "They represent tho hu- man of many ages, and nnd them an interesting study indeed. How did ! como to indulge in such . strange fada Well, In my youth made . study ef anatomy, and became intensely intsr. sstsd ih the construction of the human frame. I gradually acquired taste for this form of brio-a-brac.
 T got my real start n collector ol skulls in 1887. During excavations h gt Joseph on property in the possession c my father several specimens of an ancient race were exhumed, and straightway found . resting place upon shelf In . cabinet in my homo. vte' 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 I drifted to tho lands of the Ptolemies of Egypt. Hsrs como valuable acquisi- tons wefs made. 1 have tramped over the Pampas of South America. the noun tains of Peru and Chili, and even psne- trated into the wildernesses of the AmA- ron. where, in deposits of earth and stone, I have brought to light perfect spseimens q humaE skulls. rspresent- lng periods which History 6oss not ehyonicle.
 "In my experiments have found tAal some skulls tafs on vsry beautiful polish, and I must say that, under tho hand of skilled artisan. they arc made magnificent. Those 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 otheS continents. Five victims of the Mont Pelee disaster arc represented in my collection. This business of collecting ikulls is . great aid in the study and rs- tention of important facts in history. ! have in my possession the skulls of men 1t times prominent in the history of this nation. How came to have them [ do not care to say. However. money ; . means of gratifying tho tastes of anyone who cares to make collection of this kind. Because have acquired liking for this work, spend much time during tho winter months wandering about between rows of grihning headA philisophizing. after tho fashion of tho grave digger in Hamlet; upon the 1rev. .ty of human life.S