MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. 



5 



objects from the Florida keys, has recently added to this gift a collec- 

 tion of pottery and other Indian articles mainly from Arkansas. 

 Mr. J'. T. Bowne, through whose efforts this material was secured, 

 has kindly written the following description of this accession : — 



"The collection comprises forty pieces of prehistoric pottery from 

 southeastern Arkansas. Twenty from Arkansas County were from 

 graves near Menard Mound, Old River Landing, and Sawyer's 

 Landing. Eighteen pieces were from near Greer, Jefferson County, 

 and two from a mound near Douglas in Lincoln County." 



In addition to the pottery were the following objects: Shell 

 beads, discoidal stone, arrow point from alligator scale, "charm 

 stones," copper beads, galena, which changed to white lead furnishes 

 a basis for Indian paint, and an iron hatchet doubtless brought in 

 by some trader. 



Mr. Bowne continues : "As we have no Arkansas pottery in 

 the museum, the gift was the more acceptable. The varieties of form 

 and marking indicate great skill and the lot is a remarkably fine 

 collection. The forms may be roughly grouped as flask-shaped, 

 bowl-shaped, basin-shaped, and saucer-shaped. One is in the shape 

 of a frog. A few have handles, and others bird's-head ornaments 

 on the rim. Several are ornamented with incised designs and two 

 are painted." 



Mr. Nathan D. Bill, while in the far West, secured a collection 

 of carefully selected examples of pottery, which illustrate clearly 

 the work of the Cliff Dwellers of Arizona. The specimens, twelve 

 in number, show in most satisfactory fashion the various shapes and 

 patterns of the baked clay used by these people. The characteristic 

 decorations add much to the value of these pieces. 



Mr. Bill has also given two baskets, one the work of Indians 

 in British Columbia and the other of tribes in Oregon and Washington. 



Note should be made in this connection of the rapid growth in 

 the department of archseology, which has been enriched by important 

 gifts from Mr. Moore and Mr. Bill. These collections now occupy 

 the two upper rooms of the Science Building, and are made up of 

 gifts from Miss Mary A. Booth, Dr. Philip Kilroy, Mr. Nathan D. 

 Bill, Mr. H. W. Seton-Karr, Mr. Clarence B. Moore, together with the 

 material taken from the Wilbraham Indian workshop. The available 

 room is now practically occupied and in the near future additional 

 space must be found for the department. 



Mr. Willard C. Gompf of Hartford, Conn., has presented a mis- 

 cellaneous collection, mostly of relics of the Civil War and of John 

 Brown and his raid at Harper's Ferry. Some of the most note- 

 worthy Civil War relics are from Appomattox and Bolivar Heights, 

 Antietam, Gettysburg, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Peters- 



