652 



POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



Fig. 6. 



ing pellets. Notwithstanding the beauty and symmetry of their 

 work, the Chiriquians seem to have lacked one faculty that the 

 people farther north, in Honduras and the Yucatan peninsula, 



had fully developed ; for they 

 failed to portray, even poorly, the 

 human face, while the latter were 

 clever portraitists. 



In Honduras a wealth of pot- 

 tery may be dug from the soil ; 

 but this must be done with care, 

 otherwise the frail things will in- 

 evitably be broken, owing to their 

 moist condition. When exposed 

 to air and sunlight they become 

 hardened and may be handled with 

 less risk. 



At Mugeres or Woman's Island 

 (latitude 21 18' north and longi- 

 tude 86 42' west, Greenwich me- 

 ridian) so called by the Spaniards because they found many 

 statues of women there an ancient shrine stands on a rocky prom- 

 ontory at the south end of the island. There the waves perpetu- 

 ally dash themselves as if in blind fury. Atom by atom the rocks 

 must yield to the force of perpetual motion ; then this old shrine 

 of strong masonry will fall into the maw of Neptune. Long ago 

 thousands of pilgrims used to bring to the spot votive offerings of 

 all kinds. Fragments of pottery are scattered over the ground in 

 front of the building. Delving in the sand, we brought to light 

 a fine incense-burner. Unfortunately, a man, too anxious to help, 

 thrust a spade in the sand and broke the object before we had 

 time to say " Hold ! " 



Afterward, in one of the fragments, we kindled charcoal to 

 varnish photographs which we had taken. From the heated 

 pottery an exquisite odor was wafted on the air. Thus, once again, 

 and probably for the last time, was the shrine perfumed with the 

 sweet incense which had permeated the porous clay, and truly it 

 was delicious enough to delight not only the most fastidious 

 devotees but the most exacting divinities. The face which had 

 ornamented the burner escaped injury, as did the feet from the 

 lower part of the brazier. Able potters of these modern times 

 have pronounced the face a very fine piece of modeling. It is 

 now in the museum of the Antiquarian Society of Worcester, 

 Mass. The woman represented did not belong to any of the races 

 that followed the customs of deforming their skulls ; but she had 

 her front teeth filed in points, a fashion which was in vogue 

 among some Americans as it is among the Fans of equatorial 



