348 



INDIAN POTTERY. 



especially in cases when portions of tlie rim remained. Figures 1 and 2 rep- 

 resent (in sections through the middle) the prevailing forms of the vessels 



The rim, it will be seen, is formed into a lip and turned over, in order to facili- 

 tate suspension ; sometimes, however, it is cut off abruptly, as in Fig. 3. Some 

 of the vessels — more especially the smaller ones — were provided with ears, like 

 Fig. 4;* others had the outer rim set with conical projections or studs, both for 

 convenience and ornament; and a few of the fragments exhibit very neatly in- 

 dented or notched rims. In size these vessels varied considerably; some 

 measured only a few inches through the middle, while the largest ones, to 

 judge from the curvature of the rims, must have exceeded two feet in diameter. 

 The bottom of the vessels mostly seems to have been rounded or convex. I 

 found not a single flat bottom-piece. This, however, may be merely accidental, 

 considering that flat-bottomed vessels were made by the Indians. The appear- 

 ance of the fragments indicates that the earthenware was originally tolerably 

 well burned, and the fracture exhibits in many instances a reddish color. But, 

 as the art of glazing was unknown to the manufacturers, it is no wonder that 

 the sherds, after having been imbedded for many years in the humid ground, or 

 exposed to rain and the alternate action of a burning sun and a severe cold, are 

 now somewhat brittle and fragile ; yet, even when new, this aboriginal earthen- 

 ware must have been much inferior in compactness and hardness to the ordinary 

 kind of European or American crockery. 



The thickness of the fragments varies from one-eighth to three-eighths of an 

 inch, according to the size of the vessels, the largest being also the strongest in 

 material. But in each piece the thickness is uniform in a remarkable degree ; 

 the rims are perfectly circular, and the general regularity displayed in the work- 

 manship of these vessels renders it almost difficult to believe that the manufac- 

 turers were unacquainted with the use of the potter's wheel. Such, however, 

 was the case. I have already mentioned that the clay used in the fabrication 

 of this earthenware is mixed with coarsely pulverized unio-shells from the 

 creek ; only a few of the smaller bowls or vases seem to consist of pure clay. 

 The vessels were covered on the outside, and some even on both sides, with a 

 thick coating of paint, either of a black, dark brown, or beautiful red color, and 



* I possess a small food vase of this shape, which was takeu out of an old Indian grave 

 on the "Bluffs," near French village, six or seven miles east of Illiuoistown. It was, per- 

 haps, made at the very place which I have described. 



