48 [Senate 



Various specimens of Terra-Cotta were disclosed in one of the mounds upon the 

 Cattaraugus Indian Reservation. Among these were fragments of pottery, com- 

 posed of the pounded quartz mixed with clay, and baked quite hard. These arti- 

 cles are quaintly figured, and bear resemblance to the ancient pottery found on 

 the Colorado Chiquito, and illustrated III volume ''Pacific Railroad Reports." 



Fig. 1. This represents a statuette or figure cut in relief, from a granite block; 

 the features are remarkably well defined; the work evinces an advanced state of 

 aboriginal art. Fig. 2 represents a vase — given from the restored fragments. It 

 is elaborately wrought from the Lapis ollaris. This specimen of ancient work- 

 manship is of the most beautiful design, — finely polished and ornamented. Many 

 other articles — chisels, fleshing instruments, &c., were found, in connection with the 

 relics first described, near the excavations in township of Leon. Here also occur 

 those peculiar blocks of granite — such as referred to in ** History of Indian tribes" — 

 which from the striae or groves upon the surface, have a fanciful resemblance to 

 birds. I consider their singular form to be entirely due to attrition. 



In the tumulus at Conewango, the relics of art, together with osteological 

 remains, were of the most interesting character. The several skeletons were very 

 much decayed, crumbling upon exposure to the atmosphere, but were all of very 

 large size. A cranium, as well as could be ascertained from the restored frag- 

 ments, was of the following dimensions : 



Occipito-frontal arch, , 19 inches. 



Longitudinal diameter, 9 " 



Parietal diameter, 8 1-5 " 



Zygomatic diameter, 7 2-5" 



Facial angle, 73° 



The ethmoid, and both the superior and inferior maxillary bones were wanting. 

 An Os-femur disclosed here, from accurate measurement, was found to have a 

 length of twenty-eight inches. Fig. 3. — In this I have but imperfectly given a rep- 

 resentation of an instrument, formed of dark variegated porphyry, elaborately 

 wrought and polished; it is convex upon one side, while the upper portion is 

 turned in concave form. The edge of this instrument is quite sharp, and it was 

 undoubtedly used for the purpose of carving wood-work. It has a close resem- 

 blance to Peruvian antiquities, (as figured in second vol. Astl. Exp.) Fig. 4 rep- 

 resents another finely polished article, formed of the silicious slate. Fig. 5. — An 

 amulet or ornament of steatite, and painted in deep red colors. Various other relics 

 of ancient art — chisels, resembling those of the Mississippi valley — disks, similar 

 to those found in the Carolinas — bone needles, fleshing instruments, which will 

 compare favorably with the remains even in the proud Aztec capital of the south, 

 were found deposited in the mound. 



Fig. 6 represents one of the most interesting relics yet noticed. It was dis- 

 closed by the plough, near the tumulus at Randolph, at the time of my examina- 

 tion of the series of works at that place. The figure represents the head of a bird, 

 resembling the toucan, and is wrought with most precise outline and elaborate 

 design, from a block of white and nearly transparent stone, with sparkling crys- 

 tallizations, and which is unlike any formation known in this section. This art 

 specimen is finely polished— the contour, with the curved back, minutely traced; 

 and it appears almost impossible that it could have been so well done with any 

 other but metallic tools. This beautiful relic is undoubtedly a Totemic representa- 

 tion — the symbol of some tribe or clan. Fig. 7. — The fragment of a tomahawk- 

 The material consists of dark and beautifully variegated stone, and is finely 

 polished. Fig. 8 represents the fragment of a spear-head, formed of the white 



