258 



A N C 1 E N '1' M i\ U M K N T S . 



Numerous other illustrations of these miniatures might be introduced ; the 

 above will, however, convey a very clear notion of the character of the sculptures 

 and the fidelity of the representations. 







Fig. Ifi': 



Fig. 162 is a fragment of a large and elaborately carved pipe representing the 

 head of some animal. It is composed of the beautiful micaceous stone already 

 several times noticed, and in respect of size is unlike any of the articles of this 

 description which have been taken from the mounds. The circular striae left by 

 the instrument used in boring the tube are distinctly marked. At the termination 

 of the bore, is what is technically termed " the core,'''' showing that the drilling had 

 been effected by some hollow instrument, probably a thin stem of cane. The 

 cane is used at this day by the Indians for drilling, and with the aid of fine sand 

 and water forms a very efficient instrument. It is probable that all the tubes, 

 large and small, found in the mounds, were produced in this manner. This frag- 

 ment of sculpture is nine inches long. The bowl was evidently carved in the form 

 of some animal, but it is too much broken to be made out. 



Fig. 163 is one of the most delicate specimens of ancient workmanship thus far 

 discovered. It is of the same material with the article last noticed, and like that 

 has the form of an animal's head. What animal it was intended to represent, 

 it is not easy to determine ; in the length of its ears it resembles the rabbit. A 

 portion of the point of the nose is broken off. It is hollowed like a canoe upon 

 the under side, leaving but a thin shell of material, not exceeding, for the most 

 part, the tenth of an inch in thickness. It is perforated with small holes at the 

 root of each ear, and has a hole, drilled from the interior, in the crown. It is 

 impossible to conjecture the purpose to which this article was applied, unless that 

 of ornament. It is elegantly and symmetrically carved, and highly polished. 



Sculptures of Biki>s. — The sculptures of birds are much more numerous than 

 those of animals, and comprise between thirty and forty different kinds, and not 



