ANTHROPOLOGY AT THE PARIS EXPOSITION IN 1889. 677 



mantel over the fireplace, or may be inserted in a crack at the outside 

 of the door. The general belief is that these stones come from the 

 heavena in the flash of lightning, and one person declared that his 

 polished stone hatchet had desceuded therefrom in a streak of light- 

 ning in his presence, that he had seen it strike in the neighboring field, 

 and upon his going to the place he found the hole and extracted there- 

 from this hatchet, still hot, and that he had kept it ever since. It is 

 needless to say that he positively refused to part witb it at any price. 



The flint arrowheads come within the same category, and many times 

 a flint chip is used to which is attributed the same virtue. The arrow- 

 heads were not drilled. Sometimes they were in their original condi- 

 tion, but many times they were mounted in silver and the mounting 

 arranged with a ring for suspension. Drawings of these are given in 

 Mr. John Evans's "Ancient Stone Implements of Great Britain," in de 

 Mortillet, Cartailhac, etc. 



In Brittany a common amulet, but one of great power and regarded 

 with great veneration, is the one called the pierre du croix, the staurolile 

 by the United States mineralogists, but staurotite by the French; a 

 mineral which crystallizes in the form of a cross, not always at right 

 angles, but frequently so. This is regarded as a token from God in 

 favor of the religion of the country, and is given to these his chosen 

 people as a recognition of their piety and religious fervor. There are 

 several quarries of these in Brittany, one near Auray. There they are 

 gathered and mounted by the jewelers and sold as amulets. I saw in 

 the jeweler's window in one of the streets of that town a slab of min- 

 eral containing these staurotites embedded therein in their natural 

 state. It was about 12 inches wide and 16 inches long and had in it, 

 if I remember rightly, forty or fifty of these specimens. It was re- 

 garded with great veneration, would not be sold at any price, but, 

 nevertheless, was exposed in the window and served as a sigu by 

 which the owner did a good business at selling the single ones mounted. 



There were others of the same nature, which are crystallized in the 

 star shape, and they are regarded in the same way. We have in the 

 National Museum full series of both kinds, some from the United States 

 and others from Europe. They are considered as a talisman against 

 shipwreck, drowning, and hydrophobia, and are a cure for sore eyes. 

 When not mounted as a pin or a ring, they are placed in a small sachet 

 or bag and so worn occasionally around the neck or in the pocket. 

 They are of various sizes and leugths, from an inch down to less than a 

 quarter. 



In Italy the coral is an amulet ts guard its owner against the evil 

 eye. 



These are the principal objects. The others dwindle in importance, 

 but are, of course, considerable in number and much relied on for their 

 efficacy and virtue. 



