Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-04-01
National Repository Here
Presented With Smoke
Dried Head of Indian.
IS CHASTITY TROPHY OF
THE PARENTINTIN TRIBE
Purchased by DR.. c. H. Merriam, the
Donor, From South American
Explorer, Many Years Ago.

DR.. c. Hart Merriam of this city has
just presented the United States Ma
tional Museum with a smoke-dried
the headwaters of the Tapajos river
in 1877 or 1878. This grewsome object
is one of the few specimens in this
country of these rare human trophies
collected and prepared by the Paren-
tintin tribe of the Tapajos river in
Para. Brazil
1t is the head of another tribesman,
killed and preserved by the Parentin-
tins: the dried skin is yellow and
stretched tightly over the skull, the
black hair hangs loose in bobbed style,
the eyes are covered by wax cones
ornamented by two small rodents
teeth to initiate the pupils of the eyes,
and the ears are still decorated with
the cord insertions and tufts of red
and yellow parrot feathers worn by
the Indian in life. Originally. when
used as a trophy. it was suspended by
cord, which still energies from the
mouth, but now it is arranged on
stand and may be examined In the
museum today.
Unlike the better known Jibaros of
the upper Amazon, who preserve the
heads of their enemies by removing the
skull bones and shrinking and drying
the skin until the head Is much re-
duced in size, the Parentintins leave
the head in it's normal form. They first
remove the brain. then smoke the head
by use of an aromatic wood until 1t IL
thoroughly dried. and hang it up to
decorate their houses.
Explorer Captured by Indians.
DR.. Merriam says that about forty
years ago, while he was in New York
city, Ernest T. Morris. young South
American explorer, came to him with
this head and several others which he
desired to dispose of as soon as posi-
BILE. being badly in need Of funds. In
relating his experiences Mr.. Morris
stated that while he was travelling near
the headwaters of the Tapajos river he
was captured by the Indians and kept
prisoner for several years.
into an Indian like themselves they
tattooed his cheeks and lower jaw with
native pigments, which he found ne
could not remove. For long time he
was in fear for his life, as they threat
ened to kill him for his head, so to
speak, which they would have hung
from the lodge poles as a trophy. But
for some reason he was spared. al
though he mentioned one instance
when an Indian with whom he was
talking was shot by an arrow and
killed-his head going into the collec-
ton. After two or three years of inn
prisonment his captors became little
lax in their watch, and one night in
a small boat. He took eight Of the
trophy heads with him. knowing that
they would be valuable objects to mu-
seums of this country BY travelling
only in the night and hiding in the day,
he succeeded in descending the Tapa-
Jos river and reaching the Amazon, and
finally the city of Para. where he Sc
cured passage to New York.
CHASTITY Heads Only Assets.
Arriving in that great metropolis, he
found himself stranded financially,
with nothing but his CHASTITY heads as
assets. and at the same time much en-
barrassed by the very noticeable tat
tooing with which his Indian captors
had decorated his face. Unfortunately,
he could not raise a beard, and he
would not appear in public as he was
Finding that DR.. Merriam was in the
city. and knowing him to be a scien-
fist. he decided to approach him in an
endeavor to raise some money on the
heads.
DIR. Merriam says that they found no
difficulty in doing so, the American
Museum of Natural History taking
two and himself one. He does not re-
member where the others went, but re-
calls that all of them were sold at SIS
each. netting the explorer about 5000
With the receipt of the money, Nor
ris' spirits rose again. but. having no
place where he could seek seclusion
from the public eye. he Immediately
embarked on another trip to South
America. and as far as Dr. Merriam
knows has never been heard from
since.