EARTHENWARE OF THE NEW YORK ABORIGINES I33 



head being very large, as in all such cases. There are horizontal 

 grooves on the throat, and two rows of flutings on the upper side 

 of the long stem. It is the longest clay pipe yet reported. 



Fig. 218 is another unique pipe of reddish clay, from Jefferson 

 county, 5^ inches long. There are grooves and indentations on the 

 front of the bowl, and lying obliquely on the top toward the smoker, 

 is what might be termed a quartered" shield^ divided by groups of 

 lines running in various directions. 



Fig. 219 is another still more remarkable pipe^ where the unan- 

 swerable testimony of the camera will be found of value in point of 

 detail. This peculiar pipe is from Jefferson county, and is sugges- 

 tive of many things. What bird is represented? When was it 

 made? Mr Twining, who obtained the pipe from Sand}^ Creek, 

 thought it a parrot, and the thick, curved beak naturally suggests 

 that bird, but is not sharp enough. It has full as much resemblance 

 to the flamingo. The Iroquois^ however, seem to have known 

 nothing of the parrot till they extended their w^ars southward, 

 after the downfall of the Eries in the middle of the 17th century. 

 Yet they were kindred to the Eries, the Massawomekes, and the 

 Tuscaroras of the south, and thus might have, known something 

 of southern birds at an early day. On the other hand^ nearer 

 home, this head may have been but an exaggeration of the thick 

 bill of the coot or some other member of the duck family. Accur- 

 ate likeness of anything it certainly is not, and something is exag- 

 gerated, though we can hardly say what or how much. One north- 

 ern bird might put in a strong claim, the razor-billed auk, which 

 at times frequents the Gulf of St Lawrence and the New England 

 and New York coasts. It comes nearer to this peculiar outline 

 than any bird now recalled, and the early Iroquois reached its 

 haunts. 



As to when this pipe was made we have no certain dates. It 

 was found in a region peopled by prehistoric men of the Iroquois 

 family, though it might have have been lost in later days. The 

 character of the pipe, however, suggests the i6th century, at which 

 time the Iroquois lived at peace on the St Lawrence, certainly as 

 low down as Quebec. They went much farther. Thus it is prob- 



