The Detroit times., 1914-10-03

Moreover. the pottery dug up on
this mound has another and stranger
Characteristic. II you will look at
the vases and idols. the burial urns
and bowls. you viii fnd all feminine
symbols. The absence OF male hgurar
tion Is striking. and there are other
evidences In the mounds to indicate
that on this fiat island more than q
thousand years ago there existed q
lciyilization dominated by the women.
Whether or not all OF the bones
found IN the mound are those OF fe-
males will be determined by local
anthropologists TO whom shall sub
NIT various skeletons brought along
for the purpose"
This funeral mound, according to
the explorer rose. island-like from q
tropical swamp In the center Of the
great island or Marajo. II was about
16 TO 20 yards wide and 100 yards
long. The swamp is locally called
Lake Arary, A few trees. bananas.
oranges, calabashes, the poisonous
assocu and the tapereba rise on the
mound. some OF them standing at Its
edges in the swamp water. Other.
wise the island" appears to be one
mass Of ancient pottery. much Of II
In fragments and some reduced to
powder, but quantities still In good
preservation.
On This mound Mr.. LAnge estab-
lished Camp Discomfort" and went
to work. The heat was oppressive
and the insects mtolerable. but eth
biological research cannot stop at
such things. The explorations dis
closed twelve holes In the ground.
and these on investigation proved
to be the mouths OF Is many great
funeral urns. Each was four TO ave
feet high and globe or pear.shaped.
filled with the bones OF the dead ANA
IONS, with pottery Of many kinds and
with the bones of the sea COW. Evi-
IDENTIFY this primitive race had hunted
these big animals and used them as
food leaving quantities OF the fesh
in the funeral urns to feed the awak-
ening dead.
In these urns too DR.. Lange discov-
cred the original ng-leaf made Of
hard-baked and marveiously engraved
pottery. called the tanga. He brought
home with him large number Of
samples. ">s.
Think of the patience and skill Of
these people," DR.. Lange said In show.
ing the tangas. Vases. platters, basins.
cups, urns, ornaments and kitchen
utensils, all maryelously wrought In
clay and burned to fine pottsry. Il
made a number Of attempts to repro
duce this clay and succeeded In max.
ing Just as many failures. The en-
craving OF these pieces must have
taken an enormous time. Most Of the
forms are geometricai. All are Of the
most intricate character. and I believe
/ see Asiatic symbolism looking from
all OF the decorations"
But digging up the pottery Of an
ancient people or rediscovering the
Amazons who attacked Sir Walter
Raleigh constituted only the less
thrilling part Of the explorers ad-
ventures, There were still the alliga-
tors and piranyas.
"The alligator. said DR.. Lange. -is
so abundant all through the Amazon-
ian waters that there is bounty on
Its head. But II helps very little. The
price OF cartridges has gone up and
the cost Of transporting head to .
center To claim the bounty II too
great. In the dry season great herds
OF cattle are driven through the shal-
low water TO Marajo Island 20 feed
on the water grasses. have besn
told that ar many a. 10 Per cent Of
these vast herds are lost 70 aliigAtors
and piranyas In season. ,
"But. the alligator ia rank coward.
took few chances with him myself.
but my old Indian guide told me he
wouldn't be afraid to swim the river
as long az he splashed loudly enough.
Often when went into the shallow
water to gather pottery the guides
kept beating the surface TO keep on
the ailigators. They never came near.
"But piranyas are different These
fish are only about eight or ten inches
long, but they are ferocious. They at
tack In shoals and bite chunks the
sire Of dollar out Of the victim No
spIashing and noise scares them on.
Once saw a water hog start 70 swim
one OF the narrower Amazon contribu-
taries. He got about half way when
the piranyas got to him. In min
ute II was over He was drowned and
the voracious ash were eating him.
"The big 16-foot ailigators are about
ss-cowardly a. anything In the world
OF their size. They never really at-
tackled our little canoes, Dut they oio
get under them and Try 90 lift them
out Of the water and upset thenh The \
thing got cn my nerves for while.
but one gets used 70 such things - .
jungle. :.
-We- had one really rood hunt o.
the beasts. IN the middle Of q broad
prairie ON Marajo We found . big
pool. left by the wet season. and ft
was full OF gators. Ten Of No killed
1,0I6 In q three days hunt. That
soundsl almost unbelisvable. but H.
true .--- We counted the bodies that.
rose 10 the surfAce. Did We skin them
or keep thu. leatherf No. We didn't
We were too far from any market Or
means or trsnsporfafion.'
Busasess-IGke Pri.taas. NO .fuss an4
no fsAtherk The plain, peat kind thaeI