THE OOLOGIST. 



125 



Pan-American Notes- 



A fine lot of Pueblo pottery and relics 

 of different sorts is shown in the Eth- 

 nology building of the Pan-American 

 Exposition. The Pueblos, who were 

 dwellers in the plains and in the c iffs 

 as well, are one of the most interesting, 

 from an archaeological point of view, 

 of all prehistoric people. Their civil- 

 ization was remarkable, and their in- 

 genuity in pottery making, basket 

 weaving, bead work and many ocher 

 things, very great. 



They had many peculiar customs, 

 ceremonies and symbolic rites, and 

 their pottery is ornamented with fig- 

 ures the significance of which puzzles 

 the novice and expert alike. One of 

 their peculiar symbols was a broken in- 

 stead of a continuous line drawn about 

 a bowl or other dish, suggesting per- 

 haps the finite character of life. A 

 bowl shown in the exhibit of the Pueb- 

 lo pottery has the repr^^duction of two 

 feet upon the bottom of it, inside, sug- 

 gesting possibly the transitory and iu- 

 signifigant character of terrestial exist- 

 ance. 



Fine specimens of the famous "black 

 and white ware," are shown, as well as 

 the "red ware," most of which is black 

 on the Inside. A number of specimens 

 finished so as to give the outside a cor- 

 rugated appearance, are shown. 



Many ingenious fine tools, finished 

 stone implements, ornamental trinkets, 

 presumably having religious signifi- 

 gance, are on exhibition in the cases 



The basket work of Indians is very 

 wonderful. Baskets made by compara- 

 tively modern Indians are shown. 

 Water-tight baskets in large numbers 

 and in many varieties are seen in the 

 exhibit. All are oranmented with fig- 

 ures woven in when the basket was 

 made. 



The Pima Indians are those most 

 famous for basket making. They even 

 used baskets for cooking utensils, cov- 

 ering them with a thin layer of clay to 

 keep them from being destroyed by 

 contact with the fire. 



An instructive exhibit of flint im- 

 plements from Mill Creek, Union Coun- 

 ty 111., occupies five cases in the bal- 

 cony of the Ethnology building of 

 the Pan-American Exposition. Rough 

 pieces of flint are shown in different 

 stages of completeness, and incomplete- 

 ness. On the left a number of blocks 

 of flint are shown, and, as one walks 



along the line of cases, he sees the 

 various implements assuming a more 

 nearly finished condition, and finally 

 the complete flint spade, hammer, axe, 

 knife, or whatever domestic or agri- 

 cultural implement the crude work 

 produced. 



In working the rough tools a stone 

 bearing some resemblance to the shape 

 the implement is to assume is usually 

 selected to save labor in chipping and 

 flaking the rough block. 



Many of the implements are extreme- 

 ly crude, being hardly more than flat 

 stones used, probably, in excavating; 

 and round hard stones used in pound- 

 ing and flaking the larger pieces of 

 flint. Many of the stone spades and 

 axes, however, are chipped down to a 

 remarkable degree of thinness and 

 must have made very effective tools. 



The Florida exhibit of sponges in the 

 Horticultural Building of the Pan-Amer- 

 ican Exposition, interests all who en- 

 ter this palace of wonders. This is an 

 important industry in that state and 

 should be developed. Mr. T. M. Wier 

 of Tampa, the Commissioner from 

 Florida, says: "The Florida sponges 

 are of many varieties, differing in com- 

 mercial value from $2 00 to a great 

 many dollars per pound. It is one of 

 the largest industries in the state, more 

 than 100 vessels being engaged solely in 

 this trade. The business is carried on 

 almost entirely by negroes. It is not 

 an uncommon sight to see a vessel's 

 captain and all of the crew composed 

 of colored men. The sponges are 

 gathered by means of a long pole with 

 a hook attached to the lower end with 

 which the sponge fisherman is very ex- 

 pert. He lies prone upon his stomach 

 in the stern of a boat looking through 

 an ordinary water bucket with a glass 

 bottom, which does away with the 

 glare from the water and allows him 

 to survey the bottom leisurely while 

 the boatman rows or sculls the boat. 

 A schooner lies at anchor nearby, from 

 which a half dozen or more of these 

 small boats fish, which returns to port 

 when it is loaded or at night, as the 

 case may be. The men all share and 

 share alike of the cargo, the captain 

 receiving a larger portion and the own- 

 er of the vessel one-quarter of the profit. 

 Anclote Harbor in Hillsboro County 

 and Key West are the principal sponge 

 stations off the coast of Florida. 



