POTTERY AND A R T 1 f ]. E S OF OLA Y 



191 



of holding from three to thirty gallons. These are seldom ornamented, but are 

 extremely well formed. It may be remarked that the handles of the Southern 

 vases are often neatly moulded into scrolls, or representations of the heads of 

 animals and birds. 



Fio. 71. 



Fig. 71, Number 1, is a very good specimen of an ancient Peruvian vessel, now 

 deposited in the museum of the Historical Society of Connecticut, at Hartford. 

 The peculiar spout, answering the double purpose of use and ornament, has been 

 observed in some of the vases of the Southern United States. Number 2 illus- 

 trates one variety of earthen ware, which is common from the mouth of the Ohio 

 to the Gulf of Mexico. This specimen was taken from a mound at Ellis's Bluff, 

 near Natchez. It contained burnt remains, though we are uninformed of what 

 description. It is unbaked and composed of a singular kind of clay, which exhibits 

 the appearance and has the feel of the softer varieties of " soap stone." The 

 material is accurately described by Mr. Flint, in his account of certain articles of 

 pottery found in Missouri. " The composition when fractured shows many white 

 floccules in the clay, that resemble fine snow ; and these I judge to be pulverized 

 shells. The basis of the composition seems to be the alluvial clay, carried along 

 in the waters of the Mississippi, and called by the French ' terre grasse,'' from its 

 greasy feel." This specimen is seven inches high by eight inches in its greatest 

 diameter. The neck is two and a half inches long, and a cover fits neatly over 

 it, completely closing the vessel. It is very symmetrical, exhibiting but slight 

 irregularities. Its thickness is not far from three eighths of an inch, but it is 

 evidently not uniform throughout. It has no markings, except some irregular 

 notches in the rim of the base.* 



Many vessels of similar shape are found in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Lou- 

 isiana, of which number 3 of the cut furnishes a very good example. They are 

 of a great variety of sizes, and sometimes have the form of the human head, or of 



* In th.. i-^bn-t nfP.-. S. P 



IK 1 1 1. l^fMiipitii. Ohio. 



