Harper's New Monthly Magazine Volume 21 June to November 1860 . obviously designed as idols or objects of worshiphave been taken from the mounds. Most, infact, are what may be called ornamented pipes,wrought in a multitude of characteristic repre-sentations of the human head, animals, birds,etc., of which they give to a surprising degreethe characteristic attitudes and expression. Ofthose of the human head Figure 19 may betaken as a fair example. It is engraved of fullsize. The material is a fine-grained, compactstone, much altered in color and other respectsfrom the action of fire. The muscle
Harper's New Monthly Magazine Volume 21 June to November 1860 . obviously designed as idols or objects of worshiphave been taken from the mounds. Most, infact, are what may be called ornamented pipes,wrought in a multitude of characteristic repre-sentations of the human head, animals, birds,etc., of which they give to a surprising degreethe characteristic attitudes and expression. Ofthose of the human head Figure 19 may betaken as a fair example. It is engraved of fullsize. The material is a fine-grained, compactstone, much altered in color and other respectsfrom the action of fire. The muscles of the faceare well exhibited, and the forehead is finelymoulded. The eyes are prominent and open,and the lips full and rounded. The knots ob-servable at the top of the forehead and just backof the ears may be designed to represent themanner in which the hair was gathered orwound. It appears reasonable to suppose thatthis, and the other sculptured heads found inthe mounds, were copied from nature, and dis-play the characteristic features of the 20.—SCULPTURED BIRD FKOM THE MOUNDS. Figure 20 is a good example of the carvingsin representation of birds and animals. It isthe figure of some rapacious bird, probably somevariety of the hawk or eagle, in the act of tear-ing in pieces a small bird, which it grasps in itsclaws. The workmanship is spirited and life-like, as well as minute and delicate. The wingsare folded across each other, and the finer feath-ers on their superior portions, as well as on the thighs, are well represented. The eyes werecomposed of small pearls. In fact, pearlswere inserted for eyes in all the sculpturesof birds. The material of this pipe is ahard, red porphyry. Other sculptures rep-resent an otter with a fish in his mouth, aheron devouring a fish; others still, bears,beavei-s, panthers, the elk, the squirrel, theopossum, the frog, toad, SAvallow, duck, buz-zard, rattle-snake, etc., etc., all so well exe-cuted as to be recognized by the mo
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, bookpublishernewyorkharperbroth
