Ohttmry—Capt. F. W. Sutton, F.B.S. 575 



at one end is as much polished as the bone itself is, like all bones 

 from the Crag ; but at the other end decidedly less so. It was said 

 to have been found with an urn." 



Mr. Whincopp told me that the thing was brought to him by 

 a carrier from the country, and seemed to have no dej&nite 

 information about it ; but it was evidently a bone from the Red 

 Crag, which was at the time largely worked for phosphatic nodules. 

 The note which I made at Prestwich's house was this : " 5th August, 

 1889. This specimen is now in the collection of Prof. Prestwich, 

 v/here I saw it at this date. It weighs 2 lb. 7 ozs. The above is 

 a fair representation of it" (now copied). The little pits on the 

 surface are shallow excavations. Its length is 10^ inches and 

 diameter 2 inches. 



Scale, two inclies to a foot. 



Of course, the antecedent probability is against finding a specimen 

 bearing signs of man's handiwork at such an early period as thg.t 

 of the Crag. But at every new stage to which his existence is 

 pushed back there must always be a first find to break the record. 

 The marine character of the Crag is not a serious objection, for, 

 seeing that Mr. Whincopp's collection was remarkable for the large 

 number of remains of land animals that it contained, there is no 

 reason why, if man should have lived among them, one of his im- 

 plements might not have been found along with their bones. 



It is in the hope that this curious object may be brought to light, 

 and examined by competent judges, that I venture to ask you to 

 print this letter. 0. Fisher. 



Haeltox, Cambridge, Octoher Ist, 1905. 



P.S. — Since writing the above I have met with the following 

 memorandum, which I had overlooked : "Feb. 9, 1866. Mr. Whincopp's 

 collection. The ' bludgeon,' which I particularly noticed when last 

 here in December, is evidently formed from a fossil bone, a rib, 

 but I think was a fossil before being made into a bludgeon." 



The conclusion would be that it was cut off at one end before 

 being mineralised, but that it was subsequently shortened to suit the 

 requirement of some Neolithic man who had found it. 



CAPT. FREDERICK WOLLASTON HUTTON, F.R.S., F.G.S. 



Born November 16, 1836. Died October 27, 1905. 



"We regret to record the death of Capt. F. W. Hutton, F.E.S., 

 Curator of the Canterbury Museum, Christchurch, New Zealand, 

 on Friday, 27th October, at the age of 68, on board the R.M. s.s. 

 " Rimutka," while on his return voyage from England to New 

 Zealand, after a brief Summer visit to the old country. 



