240 



THE MUSEUM. 



with the finding of the broken arrow- 

 head containing the encrinal column is 

 this, that the base I found one year on 

 the Mohawk river flats and the point I 

 picked up another season. Probably 

 both parts lay near together, but of 

 this I am not sure; at any rate they 

 perfectly correspond forming when 

 joined a shapely specimen. How 

 many collectors can record such an in- 

 stance.' And how many persons upon 

 finding a beautifully modeled hunting 

 point of flint or mayhap of chalcedony 

 or quartz, have stopped to think that 

 possibly the arrow-head found may be 

 at a point miles from where discharged 

 from the bow.' 



I imagine that many an arrow-head 

 has been carried back into the wilder- 

 ness far from the usual hunting grounds 

 of the aborigine by wounded animals. 

 The arrow or spear-head becoming de- 

 tached from the shaft might easily be 

 retained in the body of the wounded 

 deer or bison until its death, be it 

 sooner or later. 



Thus might the particular and uni- 

 que examples of the art of the arrow- 

 smith of one tribe be easily distributed 

 over the territory occupied almost ex- 

 clusively by other tribes. Possibly 

 many an exotic, — some rare form or 

 material plainly the work of a distant 

 people, is noticed with a wondering 

 thought — "how did this strange ex- 

 ample get in this region." However, 

 barter and warfare are responsible for 

 some of these instances. 



As exotics we sometimes find here 

 in the Mohawk Valley examples of the 

 white quartz points used by the na- 

 tions living more to the south. 

 Glenville, N. Y. , Aug. i, 1896. 



The Antarctic Continent. 



BY C. O. ORMSBEE. 



At the present time much interest is 

 centered upon the Antarctic continent. 

 Anything descriptive of this unknown 

 land is eagerly read by the multitude. 

 As yet very few travelers have ever 

 seen this land. No exploration into' 

 its interior has ever been attempted; 

 and, although two expeditions are be- 

 ing fitted out, and several more are un- 

 der serious consideration, all designed 

 for antarctic exploration, it is not 

 probable that the present generation 

 will do much more than to outline its 

 coast. At first thought this statemant 

 seems to cast some reflection on the 

 ability of our explorers, but, when we 

 consider the lapse of time since Arctic 

 explorations first began, and note the 

 little progress that has been made in 

 the exploration of the interior of 

 Greenland during the past three hun- 

 dred years, and compare the incentives 

 for Arctic with those for Antarctic ex- 

 plorations, we shall see that the state- 

 ment is not too conservative. 



Yet, notwithstanding the fact that 

 the Antarctic continent is wholly un- 

 explored it does not follow that its- 

 physical features are wholly unknown. 

 When sufficient data are given, we 

 may, by a system of comparisons and 

 deductions, ascertain innumerable hid- 

 den features. As the mathematician 

 may, from a few simple elements, 

 solve an abstract problem, or as the 

 anatomist may, from a single bone, 

 construct the model of an unknown 

 animal, so may the geographer, from 

 a few known facts — by reasoning from, 

 cause to effect, and inversely from ef- 

 fect to cause- -calculate the physical 

 features of a continent. This has 



