APPENDIX : F.I,EPHANT PIPES AND INSCRIBED TABLETS. 265 



believe that such an investigation would be of considerable benefit, and feel quite 

 certain that the result would show that, whatever other conclusions might be arrived 

 at, the members of the Davenport Academy have been acting in good faith, a fact 

 which seems to be doubted by some. 



"Asking your pardon for the length of this letter, I am, sir, 

 "Very respectfully yours, 



"J. Duncan Putnam.* 



"P. S. — Regarding the interpretation to be put upon these tablets and pipes, 

 there is room for a vast difference of opinion. They may be three hundred or they 

 may be one thousand years old; they may have been made in the locality where 

 found, or they may have been brought from a distance. These and many other 

 questions will probably require many years of investigation to settle, if, indeed, 

 they can be settled. f. D. P." 



In these contemporary accounts, made by gentlemen not unknown 

 among men of science, and who were familiar with all the circum- 

 stances connected with these discoveries, we find striking confirmation 

 of the expUcit testimony given by the explorers as to the genuineness 

 of these relics. Archaeologists will not fail to notice that every pre- 

 caution was observed and every requirement of science regarded in 

 making these explorations, and that the question of their genuineness 

 is embarrassed by no suspicious circumstances. Bancroft, in his great 

 work, makes these excellent observations : 



"The mounds are usually opened by injudicious explorers, or by treasure-seek- 

 ers, who have paid little attention to the location of the relics found, or the condition 

 of the surrounding soil. Museums and private collections are full of spurious relics 

 thus obtained. It is certain in some cases, and probable in many more, that the 

 mounds have been 'salted' with specimens with a view to their early investigation. 

 Yet many mounds have been opened by scientific men, who have brought to light 

 curious relics, surely the work of the Mound-builders. Such relics are found in the 

 center of the mounds, on or near the original surface of the ground, with the sur- 

 rounding material undisturbed. In the stratified mounds any disturbance in the soil 

 is easily detected, but with difficulty in others. Reports of unusual relics should be 

 regarded as not authentic unless accompanied by positive proof." t 



The discoverers of the relics in question were neither treasure- 

 seekers nor curiosity-hunters, but disinterested and judicious explorers, 

 without thought of pecuniary gain, and only zealous to extend the 



* If it is objected to Mr. Putnam that, as an entomolog^ist, he. was disqaalified as a judge, it 

 may also be objected to Mr. Henshaw that, as an ornithologist, he was disqualified as a critic. 

 While it mig-ht be considered unbecoming in the writer to speak in terms of commendation of a 

 son, it will not be thought improper to present the testimony of another as to the qualifications 

 of this young scientist. Prof. Asa Gray, who had excellent opportunities for forming an opin- 

 ion, says of him: "What struck me in my intercourse with Putnam was his sobriety of judg- 

 ment and simplicity of spirit. Never have I seen a cooler and, as we say, more level, head upon 

 young shoulders." (Proceedings of Davenport Academy of Natural Sciences, Vol. III., p. 215.) 



t Bancroft's "Native Races," Vol. l\'., p. 773. 



