The Natuuaeists' Companion. 
35 
0 UR AJYCESTORS. 
Were the many Hint anil stone lelics 
which are constantly coming to light in 
various ])art, of the country, to sjjeak 
one word of their history, what a world 
of doubt and wonder would be removed 
from the minds of our archaeologists and 
writers. Historians tell us of the people 
a few centuries back, their ^customs and 
modes of living, waifare, etc., but be¬ 
yond this we have no concise records of 
the men who had their rude dwellings 
in the cliffs and mounds which dot the 
country here and there with their curi¬ 
ous and fantastic shapes, d'hese with 
their contents of flint and stone relics, 
arrowheads, broken pottery and other 
rude objects, are all that is left to tell 
the tale of the past. Many eminent 
writers and historians have given these 
subjects special study ; some attributing 
these mounds and relics to the present 
American Indians, or rather their fore¬ 
fathers, and some to the woik of an en¬ 
tirely different race, who occupied this 
continent at a time many years before 
the Indians. Later periods of history 
has left some discernable traces where¬ 
by to trace them, their legands, historic 
monuments and obelisks and other works 
give us some idea of the people who 
then existed, d’he various Roman coins 
and anti(][uities now being unearthed at 
Rome and Pompeii, together with their 
historic manuscripts, etc., give a fairly 
clear idea of the people wdio used them. 
We also have writers of these ages who, 
so to speak, pass their reports down to 
their successors, and in this way give 
us such information as we could in no 
other way obtain. But in the case of 
these historic mound-builders, the rude 
and quaint relics constantly coming tc- 
light are the only remains of an extinct 
people. What they were and how they 
lived is an unexplained mystery ; and 
having no writers in that period, we are 
completely at loss to understand the 
wonders enclosed in these mounds, and 
only these rude reminders serve to tell 
us what little they can of a barbaric 
people who no longer tread their quaint 
mounds, but have past into eternity, 
'hhe many quaint and curious carvings 
show a s})ecial talent of their race to this 
peculiar, and to the true archaeologist, 
beautiful work ; and yet how little inter¬ 
est is felt or displayed in this, the study 
and history of our ancestors ? Compar¬ 
atively little. Beyond the line of com¬ 
mon people there are to be sure many 
eager and earnest workeis who devote 
the greater part of their lives to the 
unraveling of these great mysteries, and 
what thanks do they get outside of their 
own circle of archaeological friends and 
fellow thinkeis? d'he busy world rolls 
on, heedless of their endeavors, deigning 
but a passing glance at their relations 
and then moving on. Although the 
question will probably never be fully 
settled, there can be none too much in¬ 
terest displayed in it, and would that 
more might give their services to the 
cause and hel}) advance the noble work 
of American Archaeology. 
J, E. Jones, 
St. Johnsbury, Vermont. 
Artificial Coral.— 'Bwigs, raisin 
stalks and any objects having the gener¬ 
al outline of branched coral may be 
made to resemble that article by being 
dipped in a mixture of 4 parts resin, 3 
parts beeswax and 2 parts vermillion, 
melted together and thoroughly mixed. 
The effect is very pi'etty, and for orna¬ 
mental work such immitation coral is 
very useful. 
