THE BIRD.

With all peoples the bird has been a most important symbol. Possessing

the mysterious power of flight, by which it could rise at pleasure into

the realms of space, it naturally came to be associated with the

phenomena of the sky--the wind, the storm, the lightning, and the

thunder. In the fervid imagination of the red man it became the actual

ruler of the elements, the guardian of the four quarters of the heavens.

As a result the bird is embodied in the myths, and is a prominent figure

in the philosophy of many savage tribes. The eagle, which is an

important emblem with many civilized nations, is found to come much

nearer the heart of the superstitious savage; its plumes are the badge

of the successful warrior; its body a sacred offering to his deities, or

an object of actual veneration. The swan, the heron, the woodpecker, the

paroquet, the owl, and the dove were creatures of unusual consideration;

their flight was noted as a matter of vital importance, as it could bode

good or evil to the hunter or warrior who consulted it as an oracle.

The dove, with the Hurons, is thought to be the keeper of the souls of

the dead, and the Navajos are said to believe that four white swans

dwell in the four quarters of the heavens and rule the winds.

The storm-bird of the Dakotas dwells in the upper air, beyond the range

of human vision, carrying upon its back a lake of fresh water; when it

winks its eyes there is lightning; when it flaps its wings we hear the

thunder; and when it shakes out its plumage the rain descends. Myths

like this abound in the lore of many peoples, and the story of the

mysterious bird is interwoven with the traditions which tell of their

origin. A creature which has sufficient power to guide and rule a race

is constantly embodied in its songs, its art, and its philosophy. Thus

highly regarded by the modern tribes, it must have been equally an

object of consideration among prehistoric races. We know that the

Natchez and the Creeks included the bird among their deities, and by the

relics placed within his sepulchers we know that it held an important

place in the esteem of the mound-builder.

Our prehistoric peoples seem to have taken special delight in carving

its form in wood and stone, in modeling it in clay, in fashioning it in

copper and gold, and in engraving it upon shell. One of the most

interesting of all the specimens preserved to us is illustrated in

Plate LVIII. The design with which this relic is embellished possesses

no little artistic excellence, and doubtless embodies some one of the

many charming myths of the heavens.

I am perfectly well aware that a scientific writer should guard against

the tendency to indulge in flights of fancy, but as the myths of the

American aborigines are highly poetical, and abound in lofty rhetorical

figures, there can be no good reason why their graphic art should not

echo some of these rhythmical passages. To the thoughtful mind it will

be apparent that, although this design is not necessarily full of occult

mysteries, every line has its purpose and every figure its significance.

Yet of these very works one writer has ventured the opinion that "they

do but express the individual fancy of those by whom they were made;"

that they are even without "indications of any intelligent design or

pictographic idea." I do not assume to interpret these designs; they are

not to be interpreted. Besides, there is no advantage to be gained by an

interpretation. We have hundreds of primitive myths within our easy

reach that are as interesting and instructive as these could be. All I

desire is to elevate these works from the category of trinkets to what I

believe is their rightful place--the serious art of a people with great

capacity for loftier works. What the gorgets themselves were, or of what

particular value to their possessors, aside from simple ornament, must

be, in a measure, a matter of conjecture. They were hardly less than the

totems of clans, the insignia of rulers, or the potent charms of a

priesthood.

The gorget in question is unfortunately without a pedigree. It reached

the National Museum through the agency of Mr. C. F. Williams, and is

labeled "Mississippi." On its face, however, there is sufficient

evidence to establish its aboriginal origin. The form of the object, the

character of the design and the evident age of the specimen, all bespeak

the mound-builder. It was in all probability obtained from one of the

multitude of ancient sepulchers that abound in the State of Mississippi.

The disk is four and a quarter inches in diameter, and is made from a

large, heavy specimen of the _Busycon perversum_. It has been smoothly

dressed on both sides, but is now considerably stained and pitted. The

design has in this case been engraved upon the convex side, the concave

surface being plain. The perforations are placed near the margin and are

considerably worn by the cord of suspension. In the center is a nearly

symmetrical cross of the Greek type inclosed in a circle one and

one-fourth inches in diameter. The spaces between the arms are

emblazoned with groups of radiating lines. Placed at regular intervals

on the outside of the circle are twelve pointed pyramidal rays

ornamented with transverse lines. The whole design presents a remarkable

combination of the two symbols, the cross and the sun. Surrounding this

interesting symbol is another of a somewhat mysterious nature. A square

framework of four continuous parallel lines, symmetrically looped at the

corners, incloses the central symbol, the inner line touching the tips

of the pyramidal rays. Outside of this again are the four symbolic birds

placed against the side of the square opposite the arms of the cross.

These birds, or rather birds' heads, are carefully drawn after what, to

the artist, must have been a well recognized model. The mouth is open

and the mandibles long, slender, and straight. The eye is represented by

a circlet which incloses a small conical pit intended to represent the

iris, a striated and pointed crest springs from the back of the head and

neck, and two lines extend from the eye, down the neck, to the base of

the figure. In seeking an original for this bird we find that it has

perhaps more points of resemblance to the ivory-billed woodpecker than

to any other species. It is not impossible, however, that the heron or

swan may have been intended. That some particular bird served as a model

is attested by the fact that other specimens, from mounds in various

parts of Tennessee, exhibit similar figures. I have been able to find

six of these specimens, all of which vary to some extent from the type

described, but only in detail, workmanship, or finish. The specimen

presented in Fig. 2, Plate LIX, was obtained by Mr. Cross from a stone

grave on Mr. Overton's farm near Nashville, Tenn. Professor Putnam, who

secured it from Mr. Cross, has published a cut of it in the Eleventh

Annual Report of the Peabody Museum. It is made from a large marine

shell, probably a _Busycon_, and is represented natural size both by Mr.

Putnam and myself. The design is essentially the same as that shown in

the type specimen, but is much more rudely executed. A circlet with a

central pit takes the place of the cross and sun. The looped rectangular

figure has but two lines and the birds' heads are not so full of

character as those on the other specimens; they resemble the heads of

chicks with a few pin-feathers sprouting from the back and top of the

head rather than full-fledged birds. The design is engraved on the

concave side. The perforations are much worn. This specimen is now in

the Peabody Museum.

[Illustration: PL. LVIII--SHELL GORGET--THE BIRD.

Mississippi.

(1/1)]

The same collection contains a large fragment of another small disk

about two inches in diameter. The central part seems to be plain, but

the looped figure, which has four lines, resembles very closely that

engraved on the other plates. It is mentioned by Professor Putnam, on

page 309 of the Eleventh Annual Report of the Peabody Museum. It is said

to have been found on the surface in Humphrey County, Tennessee.

A much larger specimen, which resembles my type specimen very closely,

is shown in Fig. 1, Plate LIX. It was obtained by Professor Putnam and

Dr. Curtis from a stone grave on Mrs. Williams' farm, Cumberland River,

Tennessee. It is nearly circular, and about two and a half inches in

diameter. A small piece has been lost from the upper margin. It is

neatly made and quite smooth, and the lines of the design are clearly

and evenly engraved. The small cross in the center is inclosed by a

plain narrow zone, and is defined by four triangular perforations

between the arms. In this respect it resembles other shell crosses found

within the Mississippi Valley. Surrounding the plain zone are eight

pyramidal rays with cross-bars; in this feature, and in the drawing of

the looped square and the birds' heads, there is but little variation

from the type specimen. The surface upon which the engraving is made

seems to be slightly convex.

Another specimen of this class was obtained from a stone grave near

Gray's mound, at Oldtown, Tenn. It is shown in Fig. 3, Plate LIX. The

design is very much like that of the type specimen, from which it

differs in having four large perforations near the center. Although the

engraved design which once occupied the central space is almost totally

effaced, one or two of the tips of the pyramidal rays may be detected.

It is probable that the four round perforations correspond to the four

triangular ones by which the arms of the cross in the preceding example

are defined. The perforations for suspension are near one margin, and

seem to be very much worn by use. The whole object is fragile from

decay. This specimen is also in the Peabody Museum.

One more very imperfect specimen obtained from a stone grave in the

Cumberland Valley is nearly five inches in diameter and very irregular

in outline. Barely enough of the engraved design remains to show that it

belongs to the class under consideration.

It will be observed that the specimens of this class obtained from

Tennessee are confined to a limited area. It thus seems especially

unfortunate that so little is known of the history of the type specimen

given in Plate LVIII, as without assurance of the correctness of the

statement that it is from Mississippi we cannot make use of it to show

geographical distribution. In reference to this point, however, we have

a few very interesting facts which make the occurrence of specimens in

localities as widely separated as the "Cumberland River" and

"Mississippi" seem inconsequential. I refer now to two specimens

described by Dr. Abbott in "Primitive Industry." One of these is a

remarkable slate knife, the striking features of which are a "series of

etchings and deeply incised lines of perhaps no meaning. Taken in order,

it will be noticed that at the back of the knife are four short lines at

uniform distances apart, and a fifth near the end of the implement.

Besides these are fifteen shorter parallel lines near the broader end of

the knife and about the middle of the blade. A series of five zigzag

lines are also cut on the opposite end of the blade. * * * More

prominent than the numerous lines to which reference has been made, are

the clearly defined, unmistakable birds' heads, placed midway between

the two series of lines. * * * Did we not learn from the writings of

Heckewelder, that the Lenapé had 'the turkey totem,' we might suppose

that this drawing of such bird heads originated with the intrusive

southern Shawnees, who, at one time, occupied lands in the Delaware

Valley, and who are supposed by some writers to have been closely

related to the earliest inhabitants of the Southern and Southwestern

States. Inasmuch as we shall find that, not only on this slate knife,

but upon a bone implement also, similar heads of birds are engraved, it

is probable that the identity of the design is not a mere coincidence,

but that it must be explained either in accordance with the statements

of Heckewelder, or be considered as the work of southern Shawnees after

their arrival in New Jersey. In the latter event, the theory that these

disks were the work of a people different from and anterior to the

Indians found in the Cumberland Valley at the time of the discovery of

that region by the whites is, apparently, not sustained by the

facts."[139]

A cut of the bone implement referred to above is reproduced from Dr.

Abbott's work, in Plate LIX, Fig. 4. It has probably been made from a

portion of a rib of some large mammal and is thought to be somewhat

fragmentary. "The narrow portion has been cut or ground away to some

extent, and the edges are quite smoothly polished. Near the end of this

handle-like portion, there is a countersunk perforation, and upon the

concave side of the wider part there are rudely outlined the heads of

two birds."[140] These resemble somewhat closely the heads depicted on

the other specimen described by Dr. Abbott. The specimens referred to

are both from New Jersey, and are probably surface finds.

Although the heads represented on these specimens do certainly in some

respects suggest that of the turkey, the characters are not sufficiently

pronounced to make it impossible that some other bird was intended, so

that the original in the mind of the ancient artist may have been the

same as that from which the examples on shell were drawn.

In comparing the northern examples with those of Tennessee I observe

another feature that is more conclusive as to the identity of origin

than the rather obscure resemblance of the birds' heads delineated. I

have not had the opportunity of examining the specimen illustrated in

Fig. 4; but in the cut given by Dr. Abbott a rather indefinite figure

can be traced which has a striking resemblance to the looped rectangle

characteristic of the designs on shell. This resemblance could hardly be

owing to accident, and if the peculiar figure mentioned is actually

found in conjunction with the birds' heads upon the New Jersey specimen,

it will certainly be safe to conclude that the bone, stone, and shell

objects belonged to the same people, and that they constituted the

totems of the same clan, or were the insignia of corresponding offices

or orders.[141]

As bearing upon the question of the species of bird represented in the

preceding specimens, I present in Plate LX an illustration published by

Dr. Rau in the Smithsonian Report for 1877. This remarkable ornament

(represented in Fig. 3) was obtained from a mound in Manatee County,

Florida. It is a thin blade of gold, pointed at one end and terminating

at the other in a highly conventionalized representation of a bird's

head, the general characteristics of which are much like those of the

examples engraved upon shell. The crest is especially characteristic,

and, as pointed out by Dr. Rau, suggests a prototype in the ivory-billed

woodpecker, an inhabitant of the Gulf States.

The significance of the looped figure which forms so prominent a feature

in the designs in question has not been determined. I would offer the

suggestion, however, that, from the manner of its occurrence, it may

represent an inclosure, a limit, or boundary. It may be well to point

out the fact that a similar looped rectangle occurs several times in the

ancient Mexican manuscripts. One example, from the Vienna Codex,[142] is

presented in Fig. 5, Plate LIX. It is not a little remarkable that a

cross occupies the inclosed area in all these examples.

[Illustration: PL. LIX--THE BIRD.

1. Shell gorget from stone grave, Tenn.

2. Shell gorget from stone grave, Tenn.

3. Shell gorget from stone grave, Tenn.

4. Bone implement, N. J.

5. Design from Aztec painting.]

I shall close this very hasty review of the bird in the art of the Mound

Builders by presenting the remarkable example of shell carving shown in

Fig. 1, Plate LX. Like so many of the National Museum specimens, it is

practically without a record--a stray. It is labeled "B. Pybas,

Tuscumbia, Ala." It is old and fragmentary, the shell substance being,

however, quite well preserved. It is the right-hand half of a gorget

which represents an eagle's head in profile. The skill of the ancient

artist is shown to great advantage; nothing can be found, even in the

most elaborately carved pipes, equal to the treatment of this remarkable

head. To overcome the difficulty of cutting the flinty and massive shell

was no small triumph for a people still in the stone age. To conceive

and execute such a graphic work is a still more marvelous

achievement.[143] The lines of the mandibles and protruding tongue are

strongly and correctly drawn. The eye and the markings of the head are

executed in smooth, deeply incised lines, and are conventionalized in a

manner peculiar to the American aborigines.

[Illustration: PL. LX--THE BIRD.

1. Fragment of shell gorget, Alabama. (1/1)

2. Gold ornament, Florida. (1/2)

3. Head of ivory-billed-woodpecker.]