'From the Davenport Daily 



NOTABLE CONTRIBUTIONS. 



The Academy of Sciences Again Fav- 

 ored—An Unusually Interesting Ses- 

 sion liast Evening. 



The Academy of Xatural Sciences bad 

 last evening an unusually large and inter- 

 esting meeting. The President, Mr. E. 

 P. Lynch, appointed the usual commit- 

 tees for the year : 



Miss Cornelia McCarn and Mr. Chris. 

 Bendix were elected corresponding mem- 

 bers. 



Mr. J. B. Phelps was elected Trustee to 

 till the vacancy caused by the resignation 

 of Rev. J. Gass, on account of removal 

 from the city. Mr. Charles E. Harrison 

 was elected Treasurer. 



The Publication Committee reported 

 the completion of the printing of the 

 third, part of Volume III of the ''Academy 

 Proceedings," and the reception of the 

 engravings; the volume being now ready 

 for binding, which will be done without 

 delay 



The Librarian, Miss Dr. McCowan, re- 

 ported the addition to the library during 

 the month of thirty-two bound volumes, 

 forty-one pamphlets, thirty-nine circulars 

 and bulletins, thirty-three daily and week- 

 ly papers — total, 145 ; exclusive of the city 

 papers. 



The Curator presented for inspection a 

 collection of thirteen of the "curved- 

 base" mound builders' pipes just received 

 from that indefatigable explorer and col- 

 lector. Rev. ,J. Gass. These pipes were 

 collected the past year from the mounds 

 in Muscatine, Kock Island and Mercer 

 Counties, by Mr. Gass, his brother and 

 some neighbors, and he has recently ac- 

 quired full possession of them for the 

 benefit of the Academy, with a full de- 

 scription of the mounds, their structure, 

 etc. 



One of these pipes is a finely carved 

 stag's head, representing the antlers bent 

 around the bowl and carved in relief ; an- 

 other is an eagle, perched, and holding 

 some small animal in its claws, and two 

 others are neatlv carved birds. These 



Gazett<- of Ffib. 24th. 188;i • 



four are of ash-colored pipestone. An- 

 other is a finely sculptured blac k bear and 

 is very appropriately cut in a smooth fine- 

 grained blackstone. The sixth is sup- 

 posed to represent a fox with the face 

 turned backward, carved in a beautiful 

 bright red catlinite ; the seventh, a non 

 descriptive animal is also cut in red cat- 

 linite, very much spotted. 



Two of plain form, all composed of 

 plain red catiinate. The other four are 

 made of a light brown stone, rather small 

 and of the simplest form. 



There is also an "axe" of the exact us- 

 ual form of the plano-convex copper 

 "axes" so-called, which is also made of 

 the catlinite, or red pipestone and a small 

 charm of the same material. 



This constitutes a very important addi- 

 tion to this already unequalled collection 

 of the relics of the mound-builders and 

 bringing the collection of pipes of this 

 typical form up to the number of fifty- 

 six, including several unfinished speci- 

 mens, and by far the largest collection of 

 its- kind in the world. 



3Ir. Gass presents these in the name of 

 his little son, and a committee was ap- 

 pointed to draft and present to him reso- 

 lutions expressive of the heartfelt thanks 

 of the Academy and their high apprecia- 

 tion of his noble, disinterested and self- 

 sacrificing labors for the building up of 

 this magnificent collection of the relics of 

 the remote past of our immediate local- 

 ity. 



It was voted that the Curator. Mr. W.H. 

 Pratt, be requested to prepare a paper on 

 the Mound-builders' pipes for the meet- 

 ing of the American Association for the 

 Advancement of Science to be held next 

 August at Minneapolis. 



The Academj' has also received during 

 the past week a collection of marine in- 

 vertebrates, numbering over one hundred 

 species, preserved in alcohol, and design- 

 ated as "Educational Series No. 31," 

 which are put up by the Smithsonian In- 

 stitution for the use of such scientific in- 

 stitutions as !^ili give sufficient assurance 

 that the specimens will be properly pre- 

 served and used. 



