8oo Idols and Idol Worship of the Delaware Indians. [October, 



arisen from the fact that it was regarded with superstitious rever- 

 ence and invested with supernatural powers, in their belief. 



Such " idols," however, unless usually made of material as 

 perishable as wood, were of rare occurrence, if we may judge by 

 the common experience of those who have been enthusiastic col- 

 lectors of the ordinary stone implements of these people. Rude 

 representations of the human face, it is true, have been quite fre- 

 quently found ; but the character of all these carvings is such as 

 to suggest simply that they were intended merely as personal 

 ornaments, and possessed no religious significance. 



A recent discovery in New Jersey opens up the subject of the 

 occurrence of " idols " among the Delaware Indians, and also 

 furnishes another instance of the close relationship of the Ohio 

 mound-builders and the Atlantic coast tribes. It has long been 

 known to archaeologists that elaborate carvings of the human 

 head have been found, in mound regions, of such large size that 

 their use as ornaments was impracticable, and their religious sig- 

 nificance was therefore proportionately probable. Such a carving 

 has been recently found in New Jersey, and is at present a unique 

 specimen. For other reasons than this, however, it is of consid- 

 erable interest. The brief but authentic history of this idol, if 



he Deli 



iware Indians. 





his : 



It was 



found in cleai 



ring a pre- 



preparatory 



to building a 



L dwelling 



red m 



rith sen 



ib pines, with 



an under- 





,'in the 



moister soil, 



of swamp 



xeept 



some ti 



vo inches of h 



umus.was 



we may so designate i 

 viously uncultivated 

 house. The spot was 

 growth of black huckleberry and,'i 

 blueberry. The drie 



an exceedingly homogeneous yellow ferruginous sand ; and the 

 workman was impressed by the fact that his spade had struck a 

 stone a few inches below the surface, as the spot was one so des- 

 titute of stone that the presence of one was deemed remarkable. 

 His attention was also drawn to the fact that the stone seemed 



