Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-08-24


the best thing there is in the way of
a record of the Virginia Indians.
There is one other group of eastern
Indians which is but recently COM
pleted. IL Is known "a the arrow head
makers and is illustrative of the man
ner in which this important aboriginal
industry was carried on. ON the out
skirts of the city of Washington is a
quarry that was used by the Indians
of the east for centuries I'm the getting
out Of arrow heads. The material used
is very hard and fiinty boulder and
the grade OF these found in this par
ticular quarry was better than that to
he found elsewhere. II is "A well es-
tableshed fact that the Indians for
hundreds OF miles in all directions
came here for their arrow heads. The
deposits of the clippings of these
boulders incident TO this work are ten
and fifteen feet deep and cover many
acres. From the tools that have been
found. from later information with re-
gard to arrow making and from the
John White records OF clothing worn
by these Indians. a group has been
constructed that the scientists regard
as showing the industry IT actually
existed for centuries where are now
being erected the homes OF the resi-
dents of the Capital city.
When DIR. Holmes came to make UP q
family group of Eskimo he determined To
do what he could toward overcoming
the idea that is thoroughly implanted In
the public mind that these people OF the
north are morose and melancholy. The
Eskimo. as a matter of fact. is merry
individual. ever ready TO laugh. The
Eskimo group in the museum shows a
young man of the tribe who has been
fishing through hole in the Ice and
who has caught a small seal In his
H. Co..
sled to haul home his prize. and the dog
sled is brought forth and the family
comes along to view the catch. When
they arrive the seal is so small that
they all laugh heartily at the young
fisherman for ordering the sled instead
OF carrying the seal home on his back.
The sculptor has caught most exactly
the facial expression of the different
members of the party.
The group of north California Indians
is represented as performing those things
that are peculiar to the tribe. The sQuaw
has just arrived with basket of acorns
These a second woman is pounding into
a flour. \ third Is leeching the bitter
out of them in basin of sand, while the
huntsman has just come in from the
hills and is starting fire by twisting
one stick into another.
The ethnologists have taken a great
deal of pains to record the life in the
Philippines as 1t existed at the time the
Americans took over those Islands. with
the introduction of the American Ian
guage and American customs IL is prob
able that changes will be fast in that
region and ii was regarded as important
that the old life be put into permanent
record With this idea in mind several
groups have been made. One portrays
family scene in household of the more
civilized natives. The women OF the
household are shown in the process of
making cloth on the native looms. The
fruit vender calls Every detail is as II
has been happening every day for
century. 1t may not be happening this
way much longer The scene of the
Negritos in the bush Is quite different
and is also worthy of being put on rec
ord, for Uncle Sam is dressing these lit
tie men up and sending them to school,
One of the most dramatic chapters
in the lives and customs of the Ameri-
can Indian is that of the snake dance
among the Hopis in Arizona. The mu-
scum attempts to select vital features
for its groups, and this dance, caught
at the very time when the Indians have
the snakes in their hands and mouths
is one of the most terrorizing specta-
cles to be seen anywhere. With the
! passing of these indian customs all
G such performances as this will become
e less and less believed until the public
y will come to hold that they never ac-
| with a great institution vouching for
: it establishes the authenticity of tho
dance.
r The museum intends to make groups
, of the important South American
tribes So far but one such group has
, been made, but it is one of the hand
soonest in the museum. 1t is of the
, Patagonian Indians and shows the
v family in readiness to move The hunt
4 er in his skunk skin cloak. the mother
, on horseback accommodating the family
: belongings, the child playing with the
$ pet guanaco. or American ostrich. all
f are distinctive and all throw strong
: light on the exact manner of people
e who inhabit the other end of the
: Americas
n The curators of the museum believe
q that these groups convey an under
standing of the nature of given peoples
g to the beholders more quickly than any
e other form of teaching ever devised.
e They have made these groups in such
ii d way that they should last for CEN
: turtles before falling into decay and
e can be copied when that time comes.
n So will these lifelike reproductions of
q the peoples of today and yesterday
: be handed down to the end of time to
e those that worry along after we, and
: the tribes modelled have gone on to
; the happy hunting ground
t Copyright, 1918. 10y ". A. Du Puyo