The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1911-03-31
Curious and Valuable Cane Collection.

Curious and Valuable Cane Collection.
Arthur Z. Roberts of Brattleboro
recently received from the estate of his
uncle, DIR. o. S. Roberts Of Pittsfeld,
/ Mass, a collection Of canes, numbering
I 100 DR.. Roberts for many years
picked up canes from various parts of
the world and his friends contributed
to his collection with scores Of valua-
| bic specimens. The sticks came from
all parts Of the world and are from
trees but little known to people Of this
country. There are canes of wood,
iron, brass, copper, steel, ivory, glass,
snake-slin, garnled roots, rough bark
land whalebone. Some of the sticks
are fashioned in grotesque forms and
some are ingeniously contrived as re-
eeptaces. Some contain swords, others
| daggers, while there are some that are
made in the form Of a pen and pen
! ell and can be used as such.
Many Of the sticks are headed with
gold, silver, ivory, bone and other met
ais, while number are ferruled with
silver or gold and bear inscriptions
from the donor or explanations as to
where the stick was cut or what the
historical interest is. There are canes
composed Of closely wound linen thread
upon a slender steel core, others made
of leather rings strung upon a metal
lie core and afterward turned down
on a lathe and polished To attempt I
to say what are the most valuable
pieces In the collection would be i'm
possible as no one knew the value Of
each stick except Dr. Roberts and he
never catalogued the collection. Among
the more interesting specimens may be
mentioned a cane turned from a plank I
taken from the deck Of the British fri I
gate, Somerset. which was lost off Cape
Cod, Nov 2, l77s. A silver band bears .
this information Another equally in I
teresting cane is light stick made \
from spar Of the Spanish warship
Don Antonio de UIloa, which was sunk .
BY Admirable Deweys fleet in Manila .
Bay. May /, 1898.
One Of the oddities OF the collection I
which to the original owner, doubtless
possessed more than passing interest, I
is a square stick of Georgia pine up
on which has been burned the story /
OF trip through the southland which .
included stops at many points fire.
quented by tourists. The cane also I
bears many illusions to other cities, I
including reference to a trip through f.
the Hoosac tunnel on a hot day Many /
Of the sights which were probably wit (
messed BY DR.. Roberts on the trip south .
are depicted on the four sides OF the !
cane,
Probably one Of the handsomest pieces \
in the collection is a cane OF Mexican I
coffee wood upon which are many elab- /
crate designs, evidently the work Of 4
native carvers. The natural coloTing +
of the wood is of the kind that at. I
tracts the eye. There are a number
of sticks over which have been drawn (
rattlesnakes and water moceasin I
snakeskins. A carved cane represent /
ing moving snake is a decidedly clever I
bit of work and one is inclined to hook \
twice to be certain it is artificial. I
There is a cane made from a stick cut .
in Sitka, Alaska. One of the really /
valuable sticks is polished specimen I
of that wood of antiquity-acaca The I
stick was obtained from Central Asia.
There are many specimens Of black 4
thorns. and pieces Of oak and hickory (
that have been fashioned into fanci-
full heads. There is a cane of light 1
wood fashioned to represent a stalk of
some tropical plant with the dark green
leaves lying along the stalk. This is
one of the most lifelke representa-
tions of foliage TO be found in the col
lection.
The collection contains one cane made
from piece of wood taken from the
First Parish church of Concord, Mass,
which stood near the historic old North
bridge There are a number OF canes
made from pieces OF thorn bushes, evil
IDENTIFY the products Of foreign coun
tries In the matter of polishes the \
collection is a revelation. There are
canes in the collection of doubtful age
but the finish is as perfect as the day \
it was done There are two glass
canes. One of Bohemian glass is a
work of art and illustrative of the cum
ming of the workers in this material n
There are a number Of hollow canes
into which have been fitted receptacles
for holding small Objects One Of these
hollow affairs contains a thin glass tube
about a half inch in diameter and about
10 inches in length. Il is closed with
q silver screw top and is designed to
carry bmndy or some similar remedy
for snake bites or malaria. An adder
eoiled about one of the canes is a elev-
err bit Of carving. There are a number
OF foils or swords hidden within canes
and some Of these hollow sticks are
constructed in such a manner that il
is puzzle TO open them if one has
not been instructed in the trick A
solid ivory cane weighing perhaps two
pounds or more and deliberately carved
is striking specimen Of the collec-
ton While but few Of the canes are
labeled it IS known that there are
sticks from India, Japan, ireland, Eng I
mad. the Orient, Alaska and many parts
nj Hht6 fTssmkr-r~