Pueblo chieftain., 1921-09-25
By FREDERIC ]. HAsKIN

Springfield, ILL.,, Sept. 22.-What Is
said to be one of the finest collections
of aboriginal American relics and
weapons in the world is the work of
| Edward W. Payne, banker of this
city.
Not only is the collection a most un-
usual one, but the making of it is a
most unusual avocation for an Ameri-
can business man. 1t is true that
some wealthy mon in this country col
lect pictures, prints or rare books.
often employing experts to do most
of the work of selection and buying.
But these men enter well known fields,
| and for the most part obtain treasures
which would otherwise be more avail
able to the public in other places.
course, the majority of business men
devote all of their leisure to amuse-
ment.
| Mr.. Payne is the rare example OF a
man who has devoted his leisure for
| 30 years to collecting material of high
| scientific value, much of which would
! never have otherwise been brought. to
| light. He contemplates eventually
} presenting his cole ction to some pub
| lie institution, perhaps together with
a building to house it. At present, less
| than one-tenth of it is in cases which
| fill four rooms of Mr.. Payne's dwell
ing. The rest Of it is stored away.
! five vaults being filled with the more
| valuable objects.
Most of the objects in the Payne col
lection come from the great central re-
| gion of the continent in which he lives.
This region, as you may know. is
dotted with artificial mounds. varying
| from relatively small ones to some
that rival the pWamids in bulk. It Is
! from these mounds that a large part
of the Payne collection has come.
Includes innumerable arrowheads.
] yIaaI do npl dc at,l 10
| pecially notable for the beautiful
carved tobacco pipes. and the stone
| butterflies and crescents which were
evidently religious symbols to tho an
/ cient men who made them.
| THEORY OF A VANISHED RACE
These articles deeply impress one
| with the artistic skill of their makers,
and seem at first to indicate that they
are the product of a race far more
| cultured than the Indians as they
| have been known in historic times. In
addition TO this. the enormous auanti-
| ties OF such articles that have been
| found, and tho great number Of
mounds would seem to prove that the
people who made these things were
| more humorous than the Indians whom
Columbus found here. Tho occurrence
OF Lake Superior copper far to the
souta and other like facts show that
| commerce existed among them.
These mounds and the men who
built them have engaged the American
Imagination for a hundred years, since
frs tthoy were noticed. Tho Wow long
accepted, and still held by many per
sons, is that outlined above-that the
mounds were built by racc far more
numerous and more advanced in cul-
turc than the Indians rs wo know
| ther- This Wow seems to be shared
by Mr.. Payne. who. however. frankly
approaches the matter as n collector
rather than as student
Science no longer accepts this view
OF n vanished race. Extensive study
American Ethnology has convinced
tho world of science that thcse mounds
and all OF their strange and beautiful
contents were tho work OF the anccs-
tors OF the Indians whom Columbus
found here In fact, 1t was established
| that some OF the moro western mounds
| wcre built after tho white men came
as shown by tho finding in them of
steel knives. European glass beads and
other articles which tho Indians had
obtained from the white mon In trade
| Moreover. the nd-building habit.
/ though largely abandoned. still as
sorts itself occasionally. American
cthnologists have witnessed the build
ing OF several mounds by modern In
dinns.
Tho Ercat number OF tho mounds
which seems at first TO prove a num-
"rous people, is explained by tho fact
| that war. pcstilcnco and famine at
waST cause primitive men to change
thcir habits at frequent intervals
II Is probable that only a small per-
c'ntaEc OF the mounds were occupied
at any one time. The same phenomc-
non is observed in tho southwest.