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POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



extended, and everywhere were the telltale fragments of shell 

 and. abalone. 



In the space of the present article it is impossible to more than 

 call attention to a few of the finds made, illustrating the everyday 

 history of these unknown people. The sand in places was littered 

 with fragments of stone vessels which had been broken probably 

 by some vandal. Some of these jars weighed nearly twenty 

 pounds, others more, and were of all sizes, from small vessels, in- 

 tended as paint or color jars, to vessels which would hold several 

 quarts of water. Here were discoidal stones exactly like those 

 taken from the kitchen middens of Europe, flint arrow and spear 

 heads, beads of shell and bone, scrapers and awls of bone, and rings 

 and other ornaments cut from the pearly abalone. 



The most interesting fjnd was made in the center of the dune, 

 where, in sinking a trench, a skeleton was found in so peculiar a 



Fig. 8. Musical Instri'jients, Double and Single, Inlaid with Pearl taken from 

 Sands of San Clemente, by C. F. Holdek, August, 1895. 



position that the entire party gathered about and aided in the ex- 

 cavation. It was lying on its face, the head to the east, the arms 

 raised over the head as though the man had fallen on his knees, or 

 had been buried in a bent position. The bones were of a deep tan 

 color, and about them was not the slightest vestige of clothing. 

 The sand was carefully worked out, and after an hour's labor the 

 skeleton was seen in perfect relief against it. Then began the de- 

 tachment of the bones, each one being taken out separately and 

 carefully laid aside to dry ; in this way the perfect skeleton was 

 secured. 



Of many skeletons discovered by the writer on these islands, 

 this was the first with which some of the possessions of the native 

 had not been buried ; as a rule, mortars and pestles, beads, weap- 

 ons, and other property of the deceased were buried with him. 



When the skeleton was almost exposed, an interesting find 

 was made about five feet behind it. When first found it was 

 supposed to be another skeleton, but careful digging with a 



