lEWKEsJ CULTUEE AREAS IN THE WEST INDIES 131 



the Greater Antilles from Porto Eico to Cuba ; and Trinidad, which 

 is but a fragment recently detached from the continent ; by gathering 

 carefully in each island all the wrought stones which would certainly 

 be found there ; by studying with the utmost care the inscribed stones ; 

 by classifying separately the inscriptions and relics according to 

 locality; and finally by comparing the whole together in order to 

 determine the points of relationship. 



"Having completed this first labor in the Greater and Lesser 

 Antilles, it would be necessary to collect together the relics from the 

 soil of Guiana and, taking them as types, to compare them with those 

 of each Antille separately. Then only could we come to some con- 

 clusion. We would have laid open to us in fact the now silent his- 

 tory of these aboriginal inhabitants. 



" I have been able to obtain some pieces from Porto Eico, as fol- 

 lows: 1st. Celts of all sizes, in general well polished, but some with 

 a fine brilliant glazing. 2d. A mortar representing a bat — a very 

 curious. piece which must have required long months of labor. 3d. 

 An idol representing a man lying on his belly and supporting a 

 motmtain on his back. A very remarkable peculiarity is that the 

 legs are bent as if in the act of swimming. I think that this idol is 

 the personification of some marine deity, protector of an island. 

 4th. An enormous necklace, covered with inscriptions on one of its 

 lower surfaces. This necklace was evidently slung over the shoulder 

 like a hunting horn. 5th. The lower part of another necklace, but 

 without any inscription. 6th. A small netting needle. 7tli. Some 

 remains of pottery (heads of men and monkeys modeled with great 

 boldness, evidently forming cup handles) and the upper rim of a 

 cup which must have been of great diameter. Some of these frag- 

 ments of pottery still bear traces of a fine red glazing. 



'' I must acknowledge that during two sojourns at Porto Eico — 

 one of six and the other of two months — I never came across an ax. 

 Moreover, there is not a single ax in the superb collection presented 

 to the museum at Washington by Mr. G. Latimer, and which is 

 entirely from Porto Eico. The abundance of axes in the Lesser 

 Antilles and their complete absence in Porto Eico would seem to 

 indicate a difference of race in the inhabitants of these different 

 islands. 



" I have been able to obtain five perfect celts and four fragments 

 from Martinique ; one single celt — but very remarkable for form and 

 polish — from Dominica ; two celts and three axes from St. Lucia ; 

 and one celt from Santo Domingo (the Hispaniola of Columbus). 



" No typical difference can be established between the celts, whether 

 tliey come from Porto Eico or from Martinique, Guadeloupe, Domin- 

 ica, and St. Lucia. 



