Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1933-11-26

at the Smithsonian. The polished gorgets.
which are round or elongated stones, have
holes bored through them SO the warriors could
wear them on their arms or legs as decorauons.
The bannerstones, which were symbols OF su-
thority. are shaped something like butterflies
and were also bored with holes so that long
handles could be put through them when they
were carried as banners IN ceremonias Inc
highly polished slate knives which the Plymouth
Indians used for cutting the skins Of animals
and the large round stones used for net unk-
ers and the small conical stones used for line
sinkers by the Massachusetts, Indians, are also
ON display. DR.. Walter Hough, head curator
of anthropology at the National Museum, at
tributes the scarcity Of New England Indian
relics partly to the fact that those Indians did
not preserve their treasures in burial mounds.
Though but few relics Of the Pilgrims have
survived through the years the Colonial Danes
of America have a section Of quilt from old
Plymouth on exhibition at the old Dumbarton
House.
The Society of Mayflower descendants a the
District of Columbia perpetuates the memory
of the Pilgrim Fathers. 1t publishes ise OF
Mayhower passengers from whom descent may
be proved If it had quoted from the last re-
port Of the General Society Of the Maylover
it would have named Elder Brewster as having
had 2,48o descendants filed with the society.
which is the greatest number tracing their
ancestry back to any one Mayfower passenger
Washington's most valuable and most his
toric memento Of the Pilgrims Is true relic
found in the rare book division Of the Library
of Congress. The seriously minded student of
Pilgrim history experiences a real thrill when he
Is handed one Of the few original copies left
in the world Of Mounts Relations" ". valta
Parma, in charge of that division, keeps the
book under lock and key for he guards against
81 he ol,Iynn ruyt,f hoc
survived three centuries of real usefulness.
Mounts Relations" has nothing to do with
kinfolks, as its name might imply, but it is a
relation or a narration "of the beginning and
proceeding of the English Plantation settled
at Plymouth in New England and certain
English Adventures both merchant and others
The small volume Of 72 pages printed in Lon.
don in 1922 was written by George Morton,
whose wife was the sister Of Gov. Bradfords
wife Of Plymouth As a source book Of Pilgrim
history it is priceless, though its sale value
has been reckoned as over $4,000. Goodspeed's
catalogue Of rare American books declares that
it is "the chief corner stone Of the library Of
Americana" Among other questions which
the book has settled is the date Of Forefathers'
day. November IL. Fer over 100 years the
wrong date was celebrated because the readers
of the book did not notice that comma vas
misplaced in the account of the Pilgrim
landing.
Another rare Pilgrim book at the Library a
Congress has also furnished historians witt
their authority for facts written about the
Pilgrims during the last $50 years. When the
researcher uses New England's Memorial" writ.
ten by Nathaniel Morton, he feels especially ia.
vored. He realizes that he reads from an original
copy of the first strictly historical work printed
in New England. Though it published in
Cambridge US late as 1869. its facts are prac-
tcally first hand for they were obtained in
Plymouth from fellow townsmen. Morton was
enabled to write more complete account Of
the Pilgrim settlement than any other author
because he had access to the historical data
compiled by his father, the author Of Mounts
Relations" and the writings of his uncle, Gov.
Bradford, who gave the history Of the Plymouth
Plantation to America. One of the most i'm
portant disclosures of this book is the mention
for the first time in print of the Speedwe1 md
Mayfower.