Los Angeles herald., 1906-07-15

tion until they are but q mere memory Of
their former greatness.
The real history of these ancient people is
not lolnd in books and records, for they had
none, put in their burial mounds and heaps,
and IN the accumulations about their villages
and camps. The latter are found in great
numbers along the shores Of the Pacific, espe-
cially in the vicinity Of Santa Barbara and on
the islands off shore
In these places vast quantities of implc-
ments have been found and by studying them
some idea can be had of the lives, customs
and habits of the makers.
The articles unearthed are of infinite va
rety.knives. daggers spear-heads, clubs, vcs-
sells OF stone, bone wood and shell, fish-hUuks
OF shell, ornaments of various kinds, all telling
"a curious story of the time when every man
relied upon his own ingenuity for what we
now consider the simple conveniences of life.
AT Catalina some very interesting finds have
been made, and that the early Californians
were fishermen is shown by the, fsh-hooks
taken from the graves and mounds there.
AS might be supposed, these hooks are very
rude, yet quite fanciful in shape. Many, are
made of bone, and, curiously, enough, the barb
bent backward. But barbs and points were
sharp and well formed, and doubtless capable
of some execution. Needles, avis, harpoon
points, knives and swords were also made Of
bone.
Some of the shhooks found on the island
the haliotis, and the very method of manufac
ture is shown in half-6nished specimens found
This seems to have been to take a circular
piece of shell, and by perforating it repeatedly
being cut and polished into the form required
"a long and tedious operation.
The natives were obliged to draw upon the
objects at hand for nearly all their utensils
and whale, judging from the many articles
made from it, was lucky find.
Dhn If tha han inn
converted into cups, and at Santa Barbara
harpoon point nine inches in length, has been
found, made from whales rib.
In this locality some of the most important
discoveries have been made-the reward of a
systematic search organized by the National
Museum.
The remains of five thousand natives were
exposed, and fifteen tons of specimens Sc
cured; and, as this burial site is but of
many, some idea of the numbers of these an
cient shore-dwellers can be gained.
The most valuable specimens from this To-
caity were taken from graves that were mark
ed by the ribs of whales. These were placed
over them originally as protection, but sery-
ed ultimately to attract the attention of the
despoilers.
Human remains were found in many Curl
GUS positions, and in many instances the YES
sells and implements We're grouped about the
head; the supposition being that each natives
possessions were buried with him.
showing that these ancient people had musical
tastes.
These instruments were crude in the ex-
treme. Some were six inches in length, made
of the leg-bone of some animal, and having
a single hole midway between the ends, one
of which was evidently filed with asphatum.
One of the NEST complicated of these instril-
ments was taken from grave on Catalina ISL
and. 1t was double flute, formed froE. the
tbiae of deer, two bones being used in it's
manufacture. These were joined together at
one end by mass of asphaltum, that was
often ornamented with bits of pearly SHE'LL
and SO held by it and thin strips of bark, in
turn covered by a coating of asphaltum.
The instrument was probably used by blow
ing in both the bones at the same time. TIE
sounds produced are matter of conjecture
Whistles were equally popular, if we may
Judge by the numbers found on Santa Cruz
Island. Many were made of the bones of
birds, having asphaltum stops, and ornament
ed with shell beads. Some of the war whis
ties used by the band of Big Dogs, society
of the Sioux, resemble these ancient instri-
ments. indicating that the same general tastes
pervade all native tribes.
In the National Museum a remarkable col.
lection of the implements of the ancient Cali
fornians can be seen; and glance at some of
the pipes, axes and other forms will show
that the makers often evinced wonderful taste
and constructive ability.