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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



specimenofhornblende-biotite-granite, about 

 five feet long and three feet wide. It is 

 also called " Waukuu," or a mystery. "The 

 hunting-ground of the clan claiming the al- 

 tar was upon the St. Croix River ; and inva- 

 riably before starting on an expedition they 

 would visit Eyah Shah and leave an offering 

 of gayly painted feathers, or a duck, or a 

 goose, or a haunch of venison, and after a 

 few simple ceremonies they would go on 

 their way. But twice a year the clan would 

 meet more formally, in order to paint the 

 stone, which they did with vermilion, or, as 

 some say, occasionally with the blood of 

 their enemies which had been saved up for 

 the purpose. "When the painting was done 

 they would trim the bowlder with feathers, 

 flowers, and other ornaments, and dance 

 about it before sunrise, with chants and 

 prayers for successes from the mysterious 

 spirit of the rock. The rock was last known 

 to have been visited in 1862, just before 

 the massacre, although the stripes have 

 been renewed, possibly by the white men. 

 " By the compass, Eyah Shah lies exactly 

 north and south. It is located just twelve 

 paces from the present river-bank. The 

 north end is ornamented by a design rep- 

 resenting the sun — a rudely drawn face sur- 

 rounded by fifteen rays. These markings 

 are interesting, because, if not actually made 

 in their present condition by the Indians, 

 they were evidently meant to reproduce their 

 original work." 



The Order of Children's Studies.— In a 



paper on this subject read before the Edu- 

 cation Society, Mrs. Bryant says that the 

 order of studies should depend both on the 

 order of the development of faculty and the 

 order of logical dependence in knowledge. 

 Subjects become interesting to a child as 

 his intellect develops a capacity for deal- 

 ing with them; hence, the order of interest 

 in studies for children should be taken as 

 a clew to the natural order of studies for 

 them. Children are interested in the super- 

 ficial aspects of Nature. Nature-knowledge 

 should be one of their first studies, develop- 

 ing gradually into natural science as intel- 

 lect ripens and the age of reason draws 

 near. Children are also interested in social 

 objects so far as these appeal to their rudi- 

 mentary faculties of emotion and imagina- 



tion. Ilistory and literature of the ele- 

 mentary kind should find a place among 

 their studies, and thus preparation may be 

 made for a scientific study of the same 

 subjects later on. The mother-tongue is 

 profoundly interesting to children, and they 

 are, to some extent, interested in foreign 

 languages, the acquisition of which is at 

 the most quite possible to them. Hence 

 the study of the English and of a foreign 

 language may take an early place in the 

 curriculum. The increasing complexity and 

 the increasing inwardness which character- 

 ize mental development throughout bring 

 about at last that capacity for and im- 

 pulse in search of general knowledge which 

 distinguish the adult from the childish mind. 

 Then the order of studies is dominated by 

 the logical sequence of sciences. 



Prehistoric Monnments in Southeastern 

 Africa. — A feature of the region of Eastern 

 Africa south of the Zambesi, which has 

 hitherto escaped the attention it deserves, 

 is the evidence that is cropping out day by 

 day, in the shape of extensive ruins, of the 

 existence of a prehistoric civilization and 

 an ancient flourishing state in the country. 

 The ruins are of such a character as to indi- 

 cate the former existence, not merely of one 

 or two cities, but of a considerable domin- 

 ion. Ruins of cities have been discovered 

 which have stood, if the difference in cli- 

 mate be considered, nearly as well as the 

 most enduring monuments of Egypt, and 

 better perhaps than those of Assyria, the 

 wear and tear of time. In the imperfect 

 state of our knowledge of the country, it is 

 impossible to fix upon any particular mass 

 of ruins and say that it was the chief city 

 of the ancient state. The ruins of Zim- 

 babye are of great extent, and most remark- 

 able for the strange shapes they present as 

 well as for their enduring structure. Walls 

 twelve feet thick at the base, and tapering 

 upward to a height, even now, of thirty feet, 

 constructed wholly of small hewed blocks of 

 granite, put together without mortar, and in 

 which are imbedded blocks of stone eight- 

 een and twenty feet in length, apparently to 

 support a gallery, sufficiently testify to the 

 ingenuity and industry of their builders. 

 North of these, about Manica, many ruins 

 are to be found, and no less than three bun- 



