608 



REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 



holes closed. 



Fingeriug from the open end toward tLe mouthpiece the 

 following notes are emitted: Scale No. 1. 



P=l 



I • o 



• • o o 



• o o o 

 o o o o 



Reversing the process of fingering gives the 

 following: Scale No. 2. 



:t=t:: 



±= 



s ^ 





By this combination the tone F^ is the 

 same with all open or one hole stopi)ed. The 

 note C# can only be made by fingering, as 

 shown in scale No. 1. 



Fig. 254 represents an instrument carved in 

 marble. The upper end is broken, but was 

 evidently fashioned for the insertion of a 

 mouthpiece similar to the modern flageolet, a 

 portion of the vent hole still remaining. It 

 has six sound holes, and the lower end is carv- 

 ed in imitation of an alligator's head. A hast- 

 ily constructed mouthpiece of wood (see re- 

 storation) was inserted by the writer, and a 

 rather imperfect scale obtained. The anti- 

 quity of this instrument may not be very great. 

 The fact of its having six finger holes suggests 

 Euroi^ean contact, as in all other specimens of 

 this class from the Western Hemisphere the 

 usual number aj)pears to have been four holes. 



Prehistoric musical instruments made of 

 wood are extremely rare. A material which 

 decays so easily can not resist the influences 

 of time, except under favorable conditions 

 which retard its destruction. The wooden 

 objects in the National Museum classed as pre- 

 historic were all obtained from burial places, 

 either in caves or graves. 



Fig. 255 represents a whistle made fi^om a 

 hollow reed or cane. It was found in a pre- 

 historic cavern near the Bay of Angeles, Lower 

 California. One end is closed with resin and 

 forms an air chamber. About 3 inches from 

 the open end, which served as a mouthpiece, is a joint or knot in the 



m 



