New-York tribune., 1909-04-30
GET INDIAN COLLECTION
Objects from Patagonia for Museum
-White Bear Skins.

DR. Hermon c. Bumpus, director of the American
Museum of Natural History, ANNOUNCED yesterday
noteworthy additions to the museums collections
The museum has just obtained by purchase a
collection of three hundred objects from the Indi-
ans of Patagonia. who lead wandering life ana
subsist principally on the flesh of wild quadrupeds
DR.. Bumpus considers this collection OF great
chronological interest and value, as il comes from
the remnants of people who are fast disappear
ing.
expedition in charge of Charles ". Furions artist
and explorer. of Watertown. Mass, through parts
OF Terra del Fuego and Patagonia.
DR. Charles W. Mead. Of the department Of an
thropoiogy. said yesterday that it had been diff
cult heretofore to obtain any considerable collec-
tion OF objects from the natives.
Among the rarest things in the collection, said
DIR. Mead. "is tent made from the skin OF a
guanaco. The natives loath TO part with these
tents for any consideration, they are their
homes We have also six guanaco skin capas, or
shawl-like garments, which are worn by the tribe
of Tehuelches Indians the southern end of the
continent with the fur side in toward the body.
and by the Onas Indians. the Islands Of Terra
del Fuego, where there is much greater rainfall
with the fleece out. which readily sheds the water
The collection contains a number OF skulls and
skeletons and curious implements for fishing and
hunting The harpoons made with detachable
points. and OF the tipped with
stone and others with glass. There also
bolas used for capturing the guanaco. consisting
of three heavy stones attached many leather
thongs
"A novelty Is an arrowmaker's outfit. which
comprises a guanaco skin bag. containing pieces
of flint and common glass, bone implements TO
flake Off the edges Of the arrows pieces OF steel
and glass for scraping the wooden parts and a
grooved stone for Strengthening the arrow shafts
There also punches of animal sinews for
feathering the In the collection is skin
scraper, or 'fesher' OF caliphate wood and stone,
used for preparing hides for tanning
Although the climate of Patagonia is exceed
ingly raw and violent winds prevail there. these
Indians wear little clothing. their principal gar
ment being the guanaco skin robe
This collection is exceedingly valuable addi-
ton to the excellent collection made by Barnum
Brown six years ago
DIR. Bumpus also announced that the museum
had made an acquisition OF exceptional importance
In the purchase Of two fine specimens Of the white
bear of Southwestern British Columbia Ihey
were killed on Gribbel Island. between October l
and 10 1905 and are thus in excellent fall peiage
DR. J. A. Allen. curator of the department OF
mammalogy and ornithology. said that this species
of white bear was not closely related TO the white
polar bear and was not known to naturalists until
five years ago. Specimens were exceedingly dlfn-
cult to obtain. Those acquired by the museum
were obtained through F. KermOde, curator OF the
Provincial Museum Victoria, b C.
These skins, IT was said might be looked upon
as aIbinistic examples of a normally DARK cOore''
bear but the skull presents distinctive character
istics of Importance.
The only other specimens of this species OF ~hite
hear known to be IN this country are in the pos
session of the Carnegie Museum of Pittsburg and
DIR. ". T. Hornaday. of New York