THE DELAWARE INDIAN AS AN ARTIST. 



593 



such simplicity of illustration. This interesting- specimen was 

 recently found on an island in the Susquehanna Valley, and cer- 

 tainly is a most striking example of effective portraiture by 

 means of a few lines and dots. 



Having shown how a stone surface was altered to produce 

 either a purely ornamental or a pictorial effect, let me offer now 

 some striking examples of how the artistic efforts of the Indian 

 showed themselves in carving in other substances than stone. 

 This was, of course, a much more difficult matter. Stone is, if not 

 too hard, easily shaped by hammer- 

 ing, its surface yielding to constant 

 hammering with another stone. To 

 shape a bit of wood is another mat- 

 ter, but that the Indian was abun- 

 dantly capable of this, I offer Fig. 7 

 as evidence. Here we have an in- 

 stance of the artist's skill in more 

 than one direction. As we look at 

 the illustration, we see the human 

 face grotescpjely represented, and at 

 the same time the portrait is equally 

 good, or almost so, of a barn owl 

 (Strix praiincola). To accomplish 

 this the artist must have had a clear 

 conception of many of the rules of 

 his profession. 



Fig. 8 brings us, perhaps, to the 

 highest point reached by the Dela- 

 ware Indians in artistic effort. Here 

 we have a portrait of an Indian, it 

 may be, and at any rate a correct 

 representation of the Indian counte- 

 nance. This and the preceding, hav- 

 ing metal and porcelain about them, 

 were certainly made after European 

 contact, unless we can suppose that 

 the eyes originally were bits of cop- 

 per, and these becoming detached, were replaced, in one case, 

 with bits of sheet silver, and in the other with small white beads. 

 This is not altogether improbable, and that the objects themselves 

 really antedate the Columbian discovery. They are certainly 

 very old. 



Perhaps more striking than either of the wooden carvings is 

 that represented in Fig. 9, which is an example of carved antler, 

 where we have a combination of representations, all realistic, and 

 absolutely perfect in their way. The human face is a marvel of 



Fig. 9. Carved Antler. 

 Delaware Indian. 



