260 ANTIQUITIES OF THE ST. FRANCIS, WHITE, 
unskilled local endeavor. Consequently the limitations of the scientific worker 
along St. Francis river at the present time are apparent. | ба 
Though we were merely gleaners along the St. Francis, so far as the acquisition 
of pottery there was concerned, and while the number of vessels obtained by us 
was far smaller than it would have been had the time of our visit been advanced a 
score of years, yet there seems to be no reason to believe that the average quality 
of the vessels obtained by us can differ from that of earlier discoveries along the 
river. 
The earthenware is shell-tempered. Quantity rather than quality seems to 
have been the aim of its makers, for the ware is often insufficiently fired, and the 
vessels are frequently thick and out of shape—*'lop-sided," to use an expression 
exactly describing them. 
The high polish of the surface often found on vessels from Mississippi, Alabama, 
and Louisiana, is almost absent on the St. Francis. : 
А very large proportion of Ше vessels are undecorated ог have some trivial 
form of decoration such as beaded, notched, or scalloped margins, or else loop-han- 
dles below the rim or ears projecting from it (if handles and ears, which were used 
to aid suspension, may be classed as decoration). Superior trailed or incised deco- 
ration is almost never seen on the St. Francis pottery, the inferior surface of most 
of the ware being unsuited to incised decoration of excellent quality, even had it 
been attempted. When incised decoration is met with on the St. Francis ware, it 
is as a rule rude and scanty, being confined to parts just below the rim, and usually 
is restricted to vessels intended for culinary purposes. On the few vessels found 
by us having incised decoration, it is almost invariably of a kind so elementary in 
design and execution that the vessels are entirely out-classed in this respect by 
those found in some other regions. But one really superior piece of incised work 
was found by us on the whole St. Francis river, and but two or three of even 
medium quality. This comparative absence of incised decoration on St. Francis 
pottery is conducive to great monotony in the appearance of its vessels, since very 
many of them, which would have decoration in other regions, are wholly without 
it on the St. Francis. 
Of course there are some exceptions to the general inferiority of vessels along 
the river—perhaps about eight per cent.’ of those found there present other than 
most minor points of interest as to form or decoration. Vessels of the better class 
found by us will be fully described and illustrated in this report. As, however, 
almost none of our vessels are of types wholly new to the pottery of the Middle 
Mississippi valley region, we feel an explanation to be due for introducing illustra- 
tions of them. Many of these vessels present minor points of difference from those 
which have been figured elsewhere, and illustrations given in some of the earlier 
works were made at a time when technical methods had not reached the excellence 
they have attained at present. 
* Fourteen hundred and fifteen vessels, whole and broken, were found by us on St. Francis river and 
on the small part of Little river investigated by us. All these vessels were most carefully examined 
by us before being rejected in place, being given to owners of the lands, being turned over to minor 
Institutions, or reserved for our collection at the Academy of Natural Sciences, 
