ABORIGINAL USE OF WOOD IN NEW YORK I9I 



of these grotesque objects. Some reference to the latter seemed 

 proper, but this will now give place to a brief account of the general 

 character of these masks, and the description of a few examples. 

 In general, they have not been highly valued. Mr De Cost Smith 

 got a large collection at Onondaga at a small cost and with little 

 effort. The State Museum has over ioo examples, and they are 

 found in other collections. They rarely lack the metallic circles for 

 eyes and have two or three strings to attach them to the head. Long 

 horsehair is quite commonly used, and till quite recently they were 

 usually painted with Indian red. In a few instances the tongue 

 protrudes, and in many there is an attempt to represent teeth. The 

 very broad lips and those puckered and pointed seem a recent idea. 

 With rare exceptions the character is grotesque. Two Onondaga 

 masks figured by Mr Smith had projecting lips, and their owners 

 thought they were respectively made about i860 and 1870. Other 

 forms were supposed to be a century old. 



Figures are given of a few masks, illustrating some of the prin- 

 cipal types. Two of these are made of corn husks, and these are 

 worn by the doorkeepers. Figure 145 is the largest of these and 

 is woven so that the loose ends of husks represent hair. Figure 

 146 is a little smaller and has no loose ends. Both are very 

 ingeniously woven. 



Figure 141 is of wood, as are the three following. Its dimensions 

 are 6^2 by 11^ inches, and it has a curiously formed projecting 

 mouth, much resembling some Japanese masks. Its modern char- 

 acter will be seen at a glance. Figure 142 is one of the so called 

 maternity masks, having a very small mask attached. The expand- 

 ing lips form a common feature. The dimensions are 6 by 10 

 inches. Figure 143 shows one of the more frequent forms, the 

 size being 5^ by 9 inches. Figure 144 has the mouth awry, in 

 conformity with one of the legends. This is 6 by 10 inches. Three 

 of these are adorned with horsehair, but this feature is often 

 lacking. 



Figure 147 is from a small photograph of part of a group on the 

 annual round at Onondaga, Jan. 29, 1896. They were on a slow 

 run in the snow. Figure 148 is from Mr De Cost Smith's sketch of 



