Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1906-05-03
MUSEUMS RARELY DECEIVED
Imitation Fossils Are Quickly, De-
tectAd by Experts Of the In
stitutis ms.

According to DR.. w. d. Matthew, as
sistant Curator of the American Mu-
scum of Natural History, there is little
forgery of fossils and such things. For
one reason the prices pail for articles
in this city are not high enough to
tempt forgers or ven to repay the
work necessary to produce a success
full imitation.
Yet some limitations are put on the
market. There was, for instance, the
fraud of which Prof. Cope was for a
time the victim.
Prof. Cope made a specially of fos.
sils and in one of his treaties an
nounced the discovery OF the Coeno-
tasileus tremontigerus, a new variety
of mastodon. In a note in a subsequent
edition he acknowledged he was mis-
taken and that no such animal ever
existed.
He was led into error by purchasing
what was represented to be a tooth OF
a hitherto unknown herd. Prot. Cope
set out to discover the animal to
which it had belonged, and classified
it among the mastodons. 1t was moi
until after his publication of the TACT
that he discovered the fraud that had
been practised on him.
Three teeth of a familiar variety had
been glued together in a way that
could not be detected except by micro
scopic examination. Prof. Cope worked
out his animal, and it RAJ something
even larger than a common or garden
mastodon before he took to the mi
croscope.
In the same way a noted Engl1sf
naturalist was several years ago mad
a victim of a similar deception. 4
curious and unprecedented tooth wa
sold to him by a man who declared
that he had found it in a part o
France especially rich in fossils.
The scientist had made extinct yer
tebrates his special study. He wa
working hard over this tooth, and wa
prepared to produce almost any kin
of exotic and extinct animal when hi
suspicious were awakened as to II
authenticity.
1t was then discovered that 1t cor
sisted of three teeth taken from tn
remains OF prehistoric fish and glue
together. The teeth of the fish wer
common enough and singly could hav
been recognized Immediately. 1t Wa
only the appearance of the three tt
gether and attributed to a mamm'
that mystiied the learned doctor.
The Indian relics that are now DIT
up in the southwest are not believe
to be forged to any considerable e:
tent. Every piece that is bought II
a museum Of any pretensions must
properly accredited, and if its pedigr'
contains the name of no reputab
scientist there is little chance that
will be accepted. In case it has SUI
authorization the testimony OF tn
expert will be sought.
;, There have undoubtedly been cas-
In which articles dug up at the hor
of former cliff jewellers were depos
;, ed there in advance, but such frau
!, have been detected and the mon
= brought by these objects is not sui
~ cient to make imposture on any exte
= sive scale worth while.
Indian dress, arrows, househc
goods and similar relics are manuft
"a tured by the Indians for sale just
they always have been, and they g
: not sold as antiques by any but t
small dealers. The same holds tr
:, of the Alaskan relics that are begi
ming to have an interest for Americ
collectors.
- They are made now in. larger qus
- titles than ever, and r always WI
the shopkeepers represent them to
-, They are too crude and too easily i
~ itated for the temptation to be resi-
ed, but there is no trouble in ind1
the genuine relics in sufficient 81
plies for the museums. Even they
: not sold at very high prices.
"It is the cheapness of most OF
articles that helps to prevent imi
tion," DR.. Matthew told the Sun
porter, land the money paid for tn
is not enough to make the indus
profitable on any large scale.
"If anybody should send to the I
'aI scum here the teeth that deceived p
Cope we should not pay more than
~. dollars for them. So you see it is
worth while to make a very elabor
fraud for that"