MILLS— THE TREMPER MOUND 



Sculpture of the Paroquet.- — Plate iv, 2, illustrates a very good 

 sculpture of the Carolina paroquet, which no doubt attracted aborigi- 

 nal man of the Scioto valley, where it formerly was common but is 

 now extinct. The sculpture shown is a fine conception of this beauti- 

 ful bird. The artist fully portrays its keen eyes by a setting of pearls, 

 and the head and body-markings are well executed. The head is turned 

 upward, as becomes the inquisitive character of the bird. The stem, 

 which is gracefully curved, and the tail, were slightly broken and 

 repaired by the maker. The paroquet was found also by Squier and 

 Davis, in Mound No. 8, Mound City group. These authors state 

 (1846) that the paroquet is sometimes seen fifty miles above the 

 mouth of the Scioto, and we have a very authentic record 1 made by 

 Dr William S. Sullivant in July, 1862, of a boisterous flock of paro- 

 quets, numbering twenty-five or thirty, in the elms of the Capitol 

 square at Columbus. 



Owl Effigy Pipes.— The barred owl (Syrniutn varium) shown in 

 plate v, 1, is a faithful representation of the hoot-owl, as this species 

 is popularly known. In this specimen the primitive artist has por- 

 trayed the habits and appearance of the owl by sculpturing it as 

 facing to the rear, and emphasizing its eyes by the insertion of large 

 pearls. The feather-markings, especially in wings and tail, are very 

 prominent. The platform, which is unusually large, is 4^ inches 

 long and i}i inch wide at each end. The front or stem end is 

 squared, while the rear end is oval. The pipe is made of light-gray 

 pipestone slightly stained with iron. 



Sculpture of the Great Blue Heron. — The great blue heron shown 

 in plate iv, 5, is one of the finest of the bird sculptures. The bird, 

 with its small body, long wings, neck, and legs, is represented in the 

 act of eating a fish. The artist's work is excellent, both as to con- 

 ception of the bird and its habits, and in the faithful and delicate 

 execution thereof. As a work of art it is the equal of any of the 

 sculptures taken from the mounds of Ohio. The pipe is made of 

 dark-gray pipestone. The platform is strongly curved from front 

 to back, flat on top and convex beneath, and is square at each end 

 with rounded corners; it is 3^2 inches long and 1% inch wide. This 

 specimen and a similar one found by Squier and Davis in Mound No. 8, 

 Mound City group, and illustrated in their report, are the only ones 

 of the kind found in Ohio mounds. The feather-markings and only 

 the outlines of the wings and tail are shown in the Mound City pipe; 

 the platform is but slightly curved, and like the specimen from the 

 Tremper mound is square at each end. In the catalogue of the Black- 



1 Dawson, The Birds of Ohio, p. 371. 

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