of 1754 to the fall of 1758, and roamed at will wherever they wished, being on friendly terms with all or nearly all the Indians. They were accustomed to adopt means to show that they had taken possession of territory in the name of their sovereign, as is known from Celoron's expeditions down the Allegheny and Ohio rivers in the summer of 1749, during which they buried leaden plates, with inscriptions at various points, and near them attached iron plates stamped with the arms of the king to a tree I am convinced that this stone was one of those means of signifying that possession had been taken, and that a plate bearing an inscription was placed in the cavity cut in the stone at the foot of the crosses. Had we that plate, which is unfortunately lost, I am confident it would bear me out in the view that I maintain. The cross is a well-known religious symbol of the Catholic Church, to which the French soldiers belonged; and while I do not think it was intended to bear any religious significance here, it was still natural for them to engrave it as a means of more surely calling attention to the cavity and its contents. The location, too, of the stone is deserving of attention. I believe that an Indian trail or path extended from the Monongehela, at the mouth of Peters' Creek, across the country to the Ohio, and that it followed the Creek to the point where this stone lay, where the stream turns to the left. Here the trail took up a ravine, which extends much in the direction of the Creek to this point. This would, for that reason, be an appropriate place for setting a mark attesting the taking of possession, as it would attract the attention both of those who followed the trail and of those who ascended the stream in canoes in its higher stages. And the stone lay facing the stream and inviting attention."

Mr. Thomas Harper, of Allegheny City, is doubtless known to readers of the ARCHEOLOGIST as an antiquary of ability. His remarks upon the stone are of interest.

After setting forth the facts of the discovery, Mr. Harper says:

"That the first explorers (the French 1673 and 1683) followed these Indian trails, needs no argument to prove, and history informs us their mission was to take possession of the territory, which they afterwards claimed from the Alleghenies to the Mississippi River. This was secured by burying leaden plates having described thereon the dates and signatures of the claimants. Some of these plates have been found and the location of others are known. (See Father Lambing's "French Possession in America.") We believe therefore that all the circumstances point to the box or receptacle so artistically sunk or cut in this Peters' Creek stone to have undoubtedly contained one of those leaden plates. It will be found, upon a critical examination, that the mitering or cutting-under of the walls of this box at the bottom was to prevent the removal of the plate, and this alone is almost conclusive evidence that it was intended for the above purpose; the shape of the receptacle will also admit of the insertion of a lid or cover to protect the inserted plate. "This box or receptacle 'upon my theory,' must be considered the dominant feature of the stone; the cross, in my opinion, served two purposes; first, we take possession of the country by the authority of his Catholic Majesty, etc., Witness our hand and seal in the receptacle underneath.' Second, the Indians were taught by the priests (who invariably accompanied all the French and Spanish explorers) to reverence the symbol of the cross, and marking as it invariably did the graves of the white man, its presence secured protection to the contents of the box."

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Prof. Robert Hay, the State Geologist of Kansas, recently found near the National Military Home in Leavenworth County, Kans., a rude stone hatchet of very ancient design. The formation in which the implement was embedded would indicate that it belonged to the paleolithic period,

INFORMATION FOR COLLECTORS.

(Continued.)

Those

There are very few collectors who have enriched their cabinets by explorations Usually, the time spent in digging, by the average collector, results in but little good. This is not so much due to the spot selected by the investigator as to the superficial examination which he conducts. Most of the mounds and village sites are extensive, and one cannot hope to gain good results from their exploration unless that exploration is carried on on a large scale. collectors residing in the Southwest can obtain specimens quite easily. Many of the ruins, as well as the graves, are exposed by the strong desert winds. The soil is largely sand, the interments near the surface, and in many instances burials are actually exposed by the elements. Moreover, the ruins and the graves are much more numerous than in any other section of the United States. Collectors residing in the stone grave regions of Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, or Missouri, can obtain such objects as accompany skeletons with hut little labor and small expense. Other portions of the United States are not so favorable for collecting. The student of Archæology must either do an immense amount of work himself, or spend a considerable sum of money if he desires to obtain a collection illustrating in a comprehensive manner the arts, customs and daily life of the aborigines.

In no section of the United States is the despoilation of aboriginal monuments carried on to greater extent than in the Southwest. Fortunately for science, the territory is so extensive that the collectors can destroy only a small portion of the remains. Every ranchman living in the San Juan country has a collection. The same can be affirmed of many citizens of Durango, Bluff, Santa Fe, Taos, Joseph, etc. quests made by the Smithsonian Institution, by scientific men of prominence, and by those interested in the preservation of

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American antiquities are of no avail. I do not know of more than a few gentlemen of the region who are interested purely from a love of science and not account of greed of gain. It is lamentable that the Laws of the United States permit Tom, Dick and Harry to steal from Government Reservations material which properly belongs to the United States Appropos of this, it might be said that several persons in the San Juan country had the consummate nerve to offer for sale to the United States Government specimens found upon Government land, and which were and are the property of the Nation. One cannot speak in too strong terms of the wholesale destruction of valuable scientific testimony in this region.

Throughout the Mississippi Valley the collectors have confined their cabinets largely to surface finds and to purchases from farmers. Many mounds have been opened by them. Taken as a whole, not more than twenty per cent. of the mounds of the Mississippi Valley have been explored. Of the larger mounds, those in which a small excavation has been sunk from the summit downward, can be classed as unexamined, and recent researches have conclusively shown that mounds opened in this manner are quite as rich as those which have never suffered even a superficial examination. Although, I should like to speak further of the character of the work done in the Southwest, I will refrain, and take up instead the exploration of monuments in the valley named above.

to expend in explorations. He should select three or four mounds from three to seven feet in height and from twenty-five to forty feet in diameter at the base. If he could secure no co-operation on the part of others in his neighborhood interested in Archæology, he should hire three or four laborers, and open two or three of these mounds The mounds should be selected upon low ground near large streams.

He should begin upon the original surface and carry a trench three-fourths the diameter of the structure through to within four feet of the opposite edge. If he does not do this the chances are extremely probable that he will not secure all the interments and relics placed in the structure by its builders. If he be of scientific turn of mind, he should lay off the mound in squares of five feet each and keep a record of the contents of each square. By such means a value will be given to his collection which otherwise it would not possess. A few stakes, and an hour's labor will suffice to lay off the average mound. A mound of the dimensions mentioned can be thoroughly explored by three laborers and the collector in three days. If he pays his men a dollar and a quarter a day, his total expenses will not amount to fifteen dollars. All collectors should do work after this manner. The Science demands it. If they ever sell collections they can obtain more money for the contents of a mound accompanied by drawings (even though they be crude) and photographs. Museums and large private cabinets are full of specimens labelled "From a mound." Such exhibits are of no value whatever. From them the students can get no reliable information.

Village sites are rather difficult of exploration. Usually the broken pottery, bones, implements, shells, etc, marking the site, are scattered through the soil to a depth of three or four feet. Often large ash heaps (or pits) exist which occasionally reach a depth of six feet. The collector can scarcely determine the period at which

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such a site was occupied, and the length of occupation. The relics which he would find upon a village site would scarcely repay him for the expense necessary to make a complete examination. The character of village sites varies according to the locality in which they are found. Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana the interments of the inhabitants of a village were usually made within the space occupied by the village itself. South, West and North this custom varies. While fine relics are found upon the surface in larger numbers than in the mounds or in the graves, but few of such objects as would he valued by the average collector occur two or three feet below the surface is ash pits or among village debris. Village sites can only be explored by means of broad trenches. I know of one site, explored for the World's Fair, which cost nearly $700 For that amount of money three acres were carefully dug over. The finds could not be sold to any dealer for $50.00 yet they possessed the greatest scientific importance, and are of interest to all intelligent and cultured persons. Collectors would do well to let village sites alone. They cannot hope to explore one even superficially for less than one hundred or two hundred dollars, and the average collector can ill afford to expend that sum.

The large mounds, running from 20 feet high and 120 feet base to 30 by 200 feet are beyond the exploration powers of collectors; therefore, I will say nothing concerning them.

In exploring a small mound, a collector may find three or four skeletons which are fairly well preserved. He should exercise great care in taking out the crania. These are important and valuable and should be preserved if possible. Many skulls are soft, upon being first exposed, but become harder when exposed to the air and the sunshine. The newspapers persist in stating that skeletons crumble upon being exposed to the air. This opinion prevails largely, and has no foundation whatever in

fact. Skulls should be uncovered very carefully. Dig all about them until the top and sides are free of earth. Leave a strong base or neck of earth underneath to support them. Do not try to remove a skull until it has been exposed four or five hours. If it is very soft, coat it well with a thin solution of glue or shallac. If a skeleton be decayed, preserve such portions as can be removed after three or four hours. Examine all the bones to see if there are marks of disease, or healed fractures. Preserve, if possible, the lower portion (if not all) of the humerus. A perforation in

the lower part of the humerus is characteristic of savage people. It is of great anatomical importance, and should be always watched for with great care. If a collector knows nothing concerning anatomy, he should call upon a physician of his neighborhood, and learn from him the points of interest in the skeletons which he exhumes. The intelligent observer should watch for the following peculiarities in prehistoric skeletons:

The flattening of the tibiæ.

The presence of the Inca bone in the skull.

The prominence of the orbital arches. The elongation of the os-calcis. Olecranon perforation of the humerus. Prognathism of the jaws.

Fragmentary pottery from a tumulus should always be preserved. Often a pot has been broken by earth pressure and the fragments can be restored by any one who cares to take sufficient pains.

Charcoal (which often shows marks of stone cutting tool) should be examined carefully. Calcined human bones (evidence of cremation) should also be cared for. Anything unique or unusual which the collector does not understand should be scrupulously preserved and properly labelled.

Fortifications, enclosures, circles, squares and octagons are of interest to scientists and collectors alike. The latter should keep a careful record of all such structures in his neighborhood, and ascertain whether

a village was located within them or near them. If the collectors will work in unison in the matters which have been outlined in this brief paper much heretofore unknown regarding our American predecessors will become known to science.

Next month, we will consider the various types of pipes.

(To be continued.)

RECENT DISCOVERIES.

Up to May 10th the following discoveries have been reported:

Three skeletons and several pipes in a cave near Somerset, Pa.

Several stone graves and flint implements on the Patuxent River, near Fredericktown, Md.

At the site of two brick pyramids, near Cairo, Egypt, a profusion of gold ornaments, idols, etc. Many of them bore the cartouche of Amen-em-Hat III. The sarcophagi seem to have been built in 23662300 B. C. We regret that our magazine limits its field to America, and that these interesting finds cannot here be fully described.

Several more ruined cliff houses and pueblos in the Huachuca Mountains in western Arizona.

Two decayed skeletons in a mound four miles north of Columbus, Ohio. No relics with the remains.

MUMMIES IN THE SAN JUAN VALLEY.

THEY WERE FOUND, WITH MANY INTERESTING RELICS, IN MOUNTAIN CAVES.

SALT LAKE CITY, April 23.-An exhibit of mummies, alleged to have been recently found in caves between the Elk and the Bule Mountains, at the head of the Comb Wash, which empties into the San Juan River, ten miles below Bluff City, Utah, was opened in a room in a hotel this week. There are six, all very well preserved; one