The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-11-28
By LILLIAN FINNELL

By LILLIAN FINNELL
 The origin of the American Indians has never been solved It is therefore interesting when any similarity between those Indians and other peoples of the earth is noted.
 It has been found that at least three or the Texas coastal tribe of Indians [ the Karankawai. the Koasoti and the heechie-used in their religious cere- roniels, on their pottery, etc, the same emDlems that entered into the religious mysticism and social organizations of the peoples of ancient Egypt of China, of ancient Hindu religious architecture and later adopted by the Hebrews.
 The Karankawai tribe used the triangle inscribed in disk exactly as did the ancient peoples above mentioned Any rude or primitive artist might have chanced upon either of the emblems sing ly; child tracing in the mud could have formed the triangle or by a circu- lar movement of the wrist produced the circle; but when these two emblems were found used in conjunction by those In- oians precisely as those most civilized peoples of the past used them, the con clusion is that chance did not enter into such combination. It precluded def- nite design deliberated upon for spe- clfic purpose.
 
 had been captives of the Karankawai, the disks were often obtained by trephining the skulls of their captves Those who had seen specimens of this surgical operation of the Karankawai attest that 1t was not performed in any crude man. ner, but very skillfuly, the disk being neatly, laboriously though, of course removed from the skull by means of a sharp flint. These bone disks have not Withstood the ravages of time, but many made of sun-burned clay have been found preserved in the earth on the site or the Karankawai summer camps on Galveston Island. The shaman and his assistants of the Karankawai wore the disks. upon each of which was inscribed the triangle, in their sun dances. The disk represented to them the sun which never dies; while the triangle, in some obscure manner, was connected in their minds with immortality. An initiate during the sun dance wore a triangular shaped shark skin apron-the point downward-as his only garment. Also this skin triangle was all the clothing that was placed upon the body when it began its~long last journey toward the sum-
 So potent was the charm of the emblem or the circle and the triangle that the karankawai did not dare put water upon wound until it had first been made pure by placing it in a sun-dried vessel, which bore the two-fold emblem 1 The Nonly claim, however, that the karankawai priest would ever admit to outsiders for the double symbol of the disk and the triangle was that it repre- sented tent placed in the sun--the fu- ture abode of every tribesman. When any member of the Karankawai tribe or clan was asked the significance of a rite he would seem perplexed, finally re- plying, Tt was a custom of our an- cestors."
 While each of these south Texas h. dian tribes, the Keechie, the Koasoti and the Karankawai-some 10 congener clans of this latter tribe being in existence a century ago-had it's peculiar passwords signs, etc, member of any one of these tribes or clans readily dstin- guished a member of the other tribes by the triangular mark common to all- this triangular piece often exhibited by a skin or cloth attached to a club, gun or the person. Although the Koasoti and the Keechie tribes recognized the disk as brotherhood badge, with them only the triangle appeared as a symbol in their rituals, or upon their pottery
 Does the use by the American Indians of the same geometrical figures which, united with mystical beliefs, entered deeply into the life of the peoples of Egypt. China, India and Chaldea, denote that probably some one of these nations of the past were progenitors of these In- dans? ~@
 Anent the lost ancestry of the Ameri- ran Indians there arises the thought of the origin of the oldest fratenal order of which the world has any knowledge Masonry
 The source whence first sprang the in sttution of Freemansory has given rise to vast differences of opinion and dis cussion. Writers of the history of this order have put forth numberless dit- ferent theories regarding it's origin. Prob ably the most ancient race is the ono which claims that Masonic emblems were found beneath the foundation of the original site. in Egypt. of Cleopatra's needle, the dieply incised hieroglyphics of this monolth dating, according to sa- wants from 1,4o0 to 1900 centuries B. c. An event conceded by more persons, possibly, than that of any other with which the founding of the order of Free N Masonry is connected is that of the building of Solomon's temple. Whether or not Masonry was organized at this time, true it is that so great considera- tion has this temple ever received that anything in regard to it is given earnest attention. It may not be irept at this time therefore to submit the following ancient legend from an old Persian manuscript which is given in the New Age:
 .The sides of it were of pure gold, the feet of emerald and rubies, inter- mixed with pearls, each of which was a. large as an ostrich's egg. The throne had seven steps, on each side were delineated orchards full of trees, the branches of which were of prec- ious stones, representing fruit. ripe and unripe; on the tops of the trees were to be seen figures of plumage birds, particularly the peacock. the estaub and the kurges. All these birds were hollowed within artifically so as oc- casionally to utter a thousand me- tedious sounds such as the ears of niortals never before heard. On the first step were delineated wine branches having punches of grapes, composed of various colors of purple, violet, green and red. so as to render the appearance of real fruit. On the second step, on each side of the throne. were two lions of terrible aspect. large as life and formed of cast gold
 '~The nature of this remarkable throne was such that. when Solomon rlaced his foot on the first step, the birds spread forth their wings and
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