A MUNDRUCU MUMMIED 

 HEAD TROPHY. 



In the Museum of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences. 



These human head war trophies were formerly prepared by 

 the Mundrucus, a powerful tribe of Brazilian Indians, living to 

 the south of the river Amazon on the river Tapajos, near its 

 lower falls, and westward to the branches of the [Madeira. In 

 former days they tattooed the face and body in a peculiar man- 

 ner, and preserved as trophies the heads of their enemies, pre- 

 pared by smoking them over a fire, filling the eye-sockets with 

 ornamented balls of rubber. They are said to be physically and 

 morally one of the finest of South American races and are agri- 

 culturists, but bold warriors. They conquered their neighbors, 

 the Muras in 1788, and in 1803 made peace with the whites and 

 have ever since been their faithful friends. They are now partly 

 civilized and are much employed as rubber gatherers. 



