8 



THE OOLOGIST. 



victims. No collection is left free 

 from the suspicion that among its 

 specimens are bogus scalping knives, 

 fishhooks and other "rare" copper im- 

 plements." 



"For seven years at the least this 

 arch swindle has been in progress. 

 There is no possibility of determin- 

 ing how many are the victims." 



"March 6, 1907, George A. West, of 

 Milwaukee, Wis., ordered an Indian 

 pipe from Daniel E. Soper, of Detroit, 

 for $5. He writes about sending six 

 pipes of a total value of $40, but 

 names $35 as the bargain day pince 

 for the lot. One pipe, he says, was 

 found in Kent county, Michigan. 



The Milwaukee collector sends the 

 pipes back with some show of dis- 

 approval. On April 2, 19Q7, Soper 

 writes again, saying he is sorry Mr. 

 West doesn't like the pipes and adds, 

 "I have been collecting 30 years and 

 my collection is pronounced the larg- 

 est and finest in Michigan." 



■Soper is the man who offered relics 

 to Mr. Oriffin, which the latter pro- 

 nounced other than genuine. 



On Aug. 2'2, 1907, 'Soper wrote to H. 

 P. Hamilton, vice-president and treas- 

 urer of the Hamilton Manufacturing 

 Co., Two Rivers, Wis., offering to pay 

 Hamilton's expenses to Detroit and 

 return that he might see Soper's col- 

 lection. Hamilton had for long been 

 a correspondent of Soper's and 

 wanting to see some of Soper's relics." 



"Much discussion of the suspected 

 parties has been going on among 

 those honestly interested in archaeo- 

 logy. The following is an abstract 

 from a letter written Oct. 25, 1907, by 

 a Wisconsin expert of national repu- 

 tation, Curator Charles E. Brown, of 

 the Wisconsin Archaeological societ- 

 ty, at Madison: 



"Among other persons appar- 

 ently connected with these vari- 

 ous deals are .James Scotford, 

 167 Abbott street: Adolphe B. 



Covert, curator of the University 

 of Cincinnati museum." 

 Covert was. formerly connected with 

 the University of Michigan museum 

 as a young man and later tried to get 

 in at the Detroit Museum of Art, but 

 failed. 



All the while these investigations 

 were going on among the archaeolo- 

 gists, the vendors of 'bogus relics were 

 busily at work urging their wares. 



In a letter of Oct. 5, 1907, between 

 Curator Brown, of Madison, and H. P. 

 Hamilton, the Two Rivers collector, 

 regarding bogus stuff from Detroit, 

 this rule is given for determining 

 fraud: 



"Test with sharp knife and 

 prick the little ax to see how 

 hard is the incrustation. They 

 can get the green on the copper 

 easily, but they cannot counter 

 felt the hardness of the • genuine 

 incrustation." 



Oct. 30, 1907, Soper, in Detroit 

 writes as follows to Curator Brown at 

 Madison, who had examined some of 

 Soper's wares as submitted by Mr. 

 Hamilton, of Two Rivers: 



"I wish to know of your find- 

 ings. The collection in question 

 has been sold. I am just taking 

 over another collection, stuff tak- 

 en out of the ground within two 

 weeks, among them a beautiful 

 battle ax, pendant, grease lamp 

 of clay, two caskets and two clay 

 tablets. 



Yours truly, 

 i'(HON.) DANIEL E. SOPER." 

 The "Hon." probably refers to So- 

 per's having once been secretary of 

 state of Michigan. 



Curator Brown sends this caustic 

 answer in reply, dated the first of the 

 present month of November: 



"The specimems are frauds oth- 

 er experts agree with me, I shall 

 be pleased if you will kindly sub- 

 mit to me for my information 

 sketches and other data concern- 

 ing the collection you have secur- 

 ed." 

 "The complaint made against you," 



