Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1912-05-23
INDIAN RELICS
AT WASHINGTON
News Items In National Museum-
Manufacture of stone Implements
and the Snake Dance shown.

NuhuIdctuTe OF stone implements
and the Snake Dance shown.
Many new and attractive ethnologica al
exhibits have been recently opened for In =
spection by the public in the new national
museum building at Washington. some Of
which are of great educational value. OF
particular interest in connection with
American ethnoogy and the Indian in
general are two recently completed groups
depicting scenes from the daily life Of the
aborigines. These groups form part of
very complete series of exhibits shown
the general character of the various
peoples of the world one known As tho
Quarry group. is particularly interesting
TO Washinstonians on account OF the fact
that 1t represents a scene in the present
District Of Columbia. before the coming
of the white man. 1t shows a group Of
six Indians mining or quarrying rocks for
utensils weapons. etc, and shaping them
for future use.
The Indian tribes Of tho New World
had not advanced beyond the stone age"
Of culture. and the quarrying and shaping
Of stone implements were to them indus
tries of vital importance Suitable stone
was gathered from the surface of the
great labor from the deposits in place
The auarrying of flint and other hadded
minerals was carried on in many sections
OF the country, and the pittngs NAV stu
he seen among the hills. In Ike man.
ner. water-worn stones--bowlders and
pebbles-were aIarricd from tho river
bluffs and ancient bea ches. and extensive
workings of this class are found in the
In cit
Is intended to illustrate the work carried
on In the great quarries on Piney branch
and In the associated workshops not long
before the arrival of the English. some
2ho years ago, near the point wherc T,ish-
tenth street would cross that stream.
The broken powders and hakago left On
the shop-sites are in places 10 feet or
more in depth Tho man at the left is
represented as employing a heavy. wood
en- pike in prying up the larger powders.
while the second breaks them up prcnar-
atory to selecting fragments OF suitable
size and shape for lmplement-makinc
The third man roughs ont the forms of
the implements by means of quick. sharp
blows with a bowlder- hammer. using
either the selected fragments or the small
er powders for the purpose. The fourth
the thin blades with an Implement of hone
or antler set In wooden shaft. Tho
taking is accomplished by setting the
point of this implement against the edge
of the roughed-out blade. and pressing II
downward with quick, strong move
ment, reinforced by the weight Of tho
body. Flakes are thus removed from the
under side. and the folded hucks<in mad
IN
under treatment. This work. however
was not completed at the quarry. the
blades being usually carried away to no
finished as the implements were needed
The finishing touches are given n indi-
Gated by the NTH workman. who chips
ont the notches and shapes the points by
means OF small fiaker of bone or like
material, which Is pressed down on the
sharp edge of the blade until IT takes
hold Then. by quick push. the fake
Is driven on John Smith, of the James
town colony, about 1908. saws. speallinr
OF a Powhatan hunter. that His arrow
head he quickly maketh with a little hone
Whlch ne ever weareth at his brasert
(belO"
The shaping processes here illustrated
We're formerly in general use among tho
the work of transportation and in prepar.
ing FOOD for the quarrymen. The cos
tunes shown are modelled after the gar
ments of the Virginia Indians at the
period of discovery. as illustrated in the
drawings of John Whit, artist of the
Roanoke colony. That the quarries f
the region were worked by the PoWhat-
ans and adjacent tribes. is amply proved
nI-f hn
sites and In their shell heaps throughout
the Potomac Chesapeake region, of count
less numbers of implements. identical
with those produced in the local quarres
This group was designed b" W. H.
Holmes, head curator of anthropology
the figures We're modelled by l.. s J.
Dunbar, sculptor, and the whole was In
stalled by H. W. Heudley, ethnoloxical
preparation. in 1911
Another group recently completed. IS
one representing the snake dance of the
Hopi. or Pueblo Indians. in which they
offer up petition for rain Tho group
was designed by w. n Holmes and ex-
ecuted under his direction. with the as
s'stance of Messrs. Dunbar and Hendley.
This lfe-l,lte group represents Indians
performing the fantastic steps and gro
tesque antics of religious ceremony.
which although appearing eccentric and
absurd 10 the modern observer. was en-,
tered into with sober and devout feelings
by the Indians The Indians OF the prin. |
cipal Iiopi Fueblos Of northeastern Ari- |
IONA, celebrate In the month Of August |
Mt intervals OF two years. n remarkable |
ceremony Of several days duration, !!
whose purpose 10 to beseech the gods to |
grant rain for THAR cropg The culmina
ton Of the ceremony Is an open-air rite
In which live snakes are carried. and the
most striking episode OF this dance Is
presented In this group, which shows a
trio OF snake priests, respectively. tho
carrier" tho "Hustaincr," and tho "ool-
sctes." 4 limo OF priests of tho Antelope