18 



known and thriving towns and settlements had been 

 deserted and left to decay ; the agencies of nature had 

 been at work, and now the sites of many once extensive 

 mining towns could only be made out by researches simi- 

 lar to those by which prehistoric cities were re-discovered. 

 Such facts should certainly teach us to be careful in our 

 deductions regarding the time required for the rise and 

 fall of more ancient cities. 



After remarking on the older and prehistoric races of 

 men that had once inhabited our country, he alluded to 

 the probably more recent Indian race found in New Eng- 

 land at the time of its settlement by our forefathers, and 

 passing in review some of the more ancient relics from 

 the graves of the departed race, he exhibited a small col- 

 lection of articles and two human skulls which he consid- 

 ered as possessing great interest in connecting the past 

 with the present, and as illustrating the transition period 

 in this country, when people of the stone age were 

 brought suddenly face to face with the highest civilized 

 race. 



The collection referred to consisted of two well pre- 

 served Indian skulls, two fish spears cut out of bone, 

 quite a number of shell beads, or wampum, a pair of iron 

 scissors very much rusted and corroded, and a brass han- 

 dled pocket knife of very old style. These had all been 

 found in a few Indian graves that had been discovered in 

 digging away a gravel hill at Saugus, on the farm of 

 Joseph Ballard, Esq., who presented them to the Insti- 

 tute. The association of the various articles found in 

 the graves shows that the habit of depositing the choice 

 possessions of the departed with the body in the grave 

 was continued after the Indians had come in contact with 

 the whites. 



Mr. Putnam then alluded to the probably universal 



