HOLMES] DECORATIVE DESKiNS, IROQUOIAJS^ POTTERY 171 



Algonqiiian tribes encroached at times on tiie northern margin of 

 Ontario, that these vessels may have been moditicd in certain details 

 hy the art of that people. 



Mr Boyle, in the Annual Report of the Canadian Institute for 1889, 

 records the discovery of much fragmentary ware along and near the 

 north shore of Lake Erie. It is stated that mnuerous unusual features 

 of minor imjDortance occur, but. from the descriptions and illustrations 

 given, there is no reason for supposing it other than Irociuoian work. 

 A number of exceptionally large pieces were observed, a diameter 

 and height of 17 inches being- noted. 



In the same publication Mr Boj'le presents a vessel of unusual shape, 

 restored from numerous fragments found Ijy Mr John INIcPherson on 

 Mindemoya island, northern Lake Huron. This piece is shown in plate 

 cxLViiiy. Attention may be called to the fact that it differs essentially 

 from Iroquoian types, and resembles somewhat the Algonciuian pottery 

 of the Lake Michigan and Lpper ^Mississippi regions. Since Algon- 

 quian tribes occupied this region more fully, perhaps, than the Iro- 

 quoian. the probabilities are that this vessel is of Algonquian make. 



It is a remarkable fact that in the National Museum there are a 

 number of fragments of tj'pical Iroquoian ware entered as having 

 been found in southern Alabama. Fearing that there may have been 

 a mistake on the part of the curator or his assistants in placing this 

 accession on the books, I will not venture to do more than mention 

 the circumstance. Such an occurrence, if sustained, would be of much 

 interest to students of stock distribution. 



Decorative Designs 



In plates cxlix, cl, cli, and clii, a series of figures is presented to 

 illustrate the nature and range of the incised and modeled decorations 

 of this pottery. The example shown in plate cxLi.x a is from a Rom- 

 nev, West Virginia, vase; 5, <•, d, and e are from fragmentary vessels 

 procured from a village site on the Susquehanna, near Bainbridge, 

 Pennsylvania, while /'and f/ are from Mohawk valley sherds. 



The designs shown in plates cl and cli are mostly from vases in the 

 Wyoming Historical and Geological Society collections, and belong in 

 the Wilkesbarre region. The second figure. />. of plate cl, represents 

 part of a zone of ornament encircling a Cherokee split-cane basket, 

 and is intended for comparison with the incised design illustrated in a. 

 There can be little doubt that the latter motive was deri\'cd almost 

 directly from some similar textile ornament, the art of basketry having 

 been universality practiced by the ancient tribes of the East. 



The remaining figures of plates cl, cli, and clii serve to indicate 

 the general uniformity and simplicity of the linear designs of the 

 whole province. The employment of double zones of figures is illus- 

 trated in the lower figures of plates cli and clii. The design in the 



