Newport daily independent., 1906-02-28
HUNTS HUMAN SKULLS
Peculiar Hobby Which Occupies
 Leisure Time If a Texan.
Has visited Many Lands and Csu&- tries Ira Search of the odd Curios aud He Mas an intersas-
 ing Collection.

! The following advertisement appeared
 in the newspapers of St Joseph, Mo-. rs. gently:
 'Wanted-Human skulls! must be h good condition; will pay literally for ane 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 sny collector of curios who has ever been resident of that city. MY. 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 tsen unearthed in the ex- eavations 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 Mfr. Jenkins. "They represent the hu- man of many ages, and l find them an interesting study indeed. How did come to indulge in such strange fadF We'll, in my youth I made study ot anatomy, and became intensely inter- ested in the construction of the human ,rame. gradually acquired taste for this form of bric-a-brac.
 T got my real start as a collector of skulls in 1887. During excavations in St. Joseph on property In the possession of my father several specimens of an ancient race were exhumed. and straightway found resting place upon | shelf in a cabinet in my home. wis., fled 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 tn search of specimens. From there drifted to tho lands of the Ptolemies of Egypt. Here some valuable acquisi- tions were made. have tramped over the Pampas of South America, the noun tains of Peru and Chill, and even pene- trated into the wildernesses of the Anna 1on, where, in deposits of earth and .tone, I have brought to light perfect specimens of human skulls. represent ing periods whick History does not chronicle.
 "In my experiments have found tha. some skulls take Qn very beautiful polish, and I must say that, under the hand of skilled artisan. they are made magnificent. These specimens occupy cabinet by themselves. I have number of skulls taken from the wreck of the Galveston storm. I 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. have ip my possession the skulls of men It times prominent in the history of this nation. How came to have them do not care to say. However. money !s means of gratifying the tastes of anyone who cares to make collection of this kind. Because have acquired a liking for this work, I spend much time during the winter months wandering about between rows of grinning heads philisophizing, after the fashion Of ths grave digger in Hamlet. upon the brev- .ty of human life"