Huntington Free Library Native American Collection CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924104070176 Evidences of Man IN THE Drift A DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN ARCH^OLOGICAL OBJECTS RECENTLY DISCOVERED IN MASSACHUSETTS, CONNECTICUT, NEW YORK, PENNSYLVANIA AND NEW JERSEY READ BEFORE THE AMERICAN NUMISMATIC AND ARCH/EOLOGICAL SOCIETY, MARCH 28, 1892 BY FRANCIS WORCESTER DOUGHTY NEW YORK . PRIVATELY PRINTED 1892 oRMC ^ LONG ISLAND ARCH^OLOQICAL CLUB, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, i8 FULTON ST., Robert B. Valentine, Prest. Wm. F. Seymour, Secretary. A PRELIMINARY WORD: The far-reaching importance of the discovery detailed in the pages which follow being of itself sufficient to provoke criticism, a preliminary word may not be out of place. Although for many years a member of the Society before which this address was de- livered and a devoted student of American archaeology, I am best known as a numismatic writer and coin collector. That it should have fallen to my lot to make this discovery is even yet a thought quite as novel to myself as to my many acquaintances among the numismatic fraternity. On the other hand, the full meaning of the objects taken by me from the Drift can only be comprehended by one entirely familiar with primitive symbolism as depicted upon ancient, coins. The facts of this discovery can be readily demonstrated to any archaeologist who cares to go to the trouble of a personal examination. The objects found, with the information derived from them, are at the service of such as are interested in archaeological matters or the study of primitive man. FRANCIS WORCESTER DOUGHTY. BROOKLYN, N. Y. 341 HoYT Street May 1st, i8()z. 4> EVIDENCES OF MAN IN THE DRIFT. At the birth of the Nineteenth Century few persons could have been found within the limits of the United States, daring enough to assert it as their belief that man had existed on this planet for a greater length of time than that allotted to him by an Irish Bishop whose view of the matter had come to be accepted as biblical authority- At the close of the Nineteenth Century few thinking men can be found, either in Amer- ica or abroad, who deny the certainty of man's existence for a period many thousand years previous to the date assigned by Bishop Usher for the birth of Adam, and the beginning of the world. * The causes of this change of thought have been many and varied, but above all others in importance may be placed the discovery of cave man in Europe, largely due to the persistent efforts of M. Edouard Lartet, Professor of paleontology in the Museum of Natural History, at Paris, and his various associates, who, in the face of the most violent opposition from religious and scientific prejudice, at last succeeded, after a long and bitter fight, in firmly establishing the fact that Europe was inhabited for thousands of years previous to the dawn of history by a race of men dwelling in the caves of the earth, and employing only implements of stone. Until within forty years science has frowned upon all attempts to ascribe a high antiquity to man, in spite of the statement of Cuvier long ago of his belief in man's existence being co eval with the great revolutions of the earth taking place at the close of the Tertiary period- " He might," says this authority, " have inhabited certain districts, whence, after these terri- ble events, he repeopled the world ; perhaps, also, the spots where he abode were swallowed up, and his bones lie buried under the beds of the present seas.'' The terrible events here referred to are the unquestioned changes which took place in the surface formation of our planet at the end of the Tertiary period, when the face of all nature was changed ; when the inclination of the axis of the earth is believed to have assumed its present position ; when the day of perpetual summer ended, and the dreary winter of the glacial epoch came ; when the gigantic beasts, birds, reptiles and fishes were wiped off the earth forever to make room for the dawning of modern civilization; for from the hour of that calamity man's mental progression has been slowly, but steadily advancing, until it has reached its present stage of development. And who can question that this great change, this destruc- tion of the old order of things that a new and advanced civilization might arise from its ruins, is the change designated in biblical chronology as the fall of man. What was the nature of this change ? Long doubtful, it is now universally admitted to have been the coming of the Drift. For the benefit of such as are unfamiliar with these matters, let me briefly explain the nature of the Drift. The term Drift is applied to the sand, clay, pebbles, cobble stones and boulders which form the present surface of the earth in certain localities, superimposed upon the bed rock of earlier epochs . In the region which we inhabit every plain is covered with it, every valley filled with it ; only on the hillsides, in the beds of streams, and in other isolated places does the ledge rock crop out. The Drift, then, is that portion of the earth's surface immediately beneath our feet. Two principal divisions of the Drift are recognized : the general and the local. Local drift may occur anywhere, and is the result of the breaking down of higher levels, sedimentary deposits of old seas or lakes, but the general drift is quite a different thing. Hitchcock best describes the drift in North America. According to this authority it is a vast deposit of unstrat.'fied clay, sand, gravel and stones of various sizes and shapes, almost destitute of organic remains of animals and plants in the upper portions, which remains in- crease as we descend. The drift, to a greater or less extent, covers the region east of the Mississippi, and a similar deposit occurs in Europe, Africa, and in portions of South America. West of Iowa the general drift is admitted to be wanting. It does not occur in Australia nor the Pacific islands, and the same is true of the greater portion of Asia, although in all these regions areas of local drift exist. There have been many theories accounting for tne presence of the general drift upon the earth's surface. With the close of the Tertiary period all geologists agree, the earth had reached what may be termed completion. It was practically as we know it now. The duration of this period was very great ; its climate was that of perpetual summer ; its animal forms embraced all that we now know, together with many extinct creations- The only point disputed is whether animal development had been brought to completion by the advent of man. Conservative science denies man's existence in the Tertiary. More radical thinkers claim that it has been'tully proved. All agree that the Tertiary period was brought to an abrupt termination by the sudden advent of the calamity to which is due the presence of the sand, clay, gravel and stones going to make up the drift; that the earth was desolated by this strange deposit ; that animal and vegetable life was well-nigh destroyed ; that thousands of years must have elapsed ere Nature again resumed some semblance of her former state. But whence came the drift ? Here science differs widely. There are three schools of thought, or we may say two, for the adherents of the first are now reduced to a minimum. All agree that following the Tertiary came a period of intense cold, during which, or im- mediately preceeding it, the drift was spread upon the earth. 1. By icebergs developed during the cold epoch, which, floating over the continents, conveniently made to sink beneath the ocean to accommodate this theory, deposited the drift material collected no one knows where. 2. By glaciers, which covered the drift regions to an enormous height — some claim as much as a mile. These glaciers, it is asserted, moved slowly over the rocks, tearing awav 6 fragments, grinding some into strange shapes, pulverizing others into dust and sand, and finally depositing the whole mass in its present position as the ice melted, where it has since remained unless disturbed by local convulsions or the hand of man. This is the well known glacial theory, and was for a time very generally credited. It presents, however, many unanswerable objections, freely admitted by its ipost steadfast adherents ; and the latest school of thought, at the head of which may be placed Mr. Ignatius Donnelly, who was the first to properly present the evidences in its favor, claims : 3. That the drift was suddenly thrown upon the earth, either by the contact of our planet with a comet, or by some other agency not understood. Such is the nature and theory of the drift. In August, 1891, it was my fortune to discoyer in the drift deposits undeniable and heretofore unrecognized evidences of the hand of man- This discovery, followed up , has led to the conclusion that not only did man exist on the Atlantic seaboard of North America previous to the coming of the drift, but that his ex- istence at that time had been for a long period. This of necessity involves the claim of proofs of the existence of Tertiary man. Followed still further, this discovery developed a certain comparative relation between the archseological objects found buried in the drift with the earliest known coins, to the study of which I have been devoted for more than a quarter of a century. After careful consideration of these points of evidence, I have concluded that the time has arrived when they should be made public, and propose now to lay them in part before you, prefixing my discourse with the statement that the subject is as new to the members of the American Numismatic and Archseological Society as to the public generally, having been discussed only with its chief officers and an informal committee of three members by them appointed, who have kindly afforded me the opportunity to lay my discovery before the Soci- ety. The granting of this privilege, as a matter of course, does not commit the American Numismatic and Archaeological Society to the endorsement of my claims, the nature of which they, as a body, have yet to hear. The discovery in question was made in the town of Lancaster, Massachusetts. There, in the unstratified deposits of the drift, I found at various depths, and in situations where human disturbance subsequent to the Champlain geological period was highly improbable, definite evidence of man. Subsequent examinations were made at Waltham and Bridgewater, Massachusetts; in the neighborhood of New London, Connecticut ; on Snake Hill, Seacaucus. New Jersey ; at Peckville, Pennsylvania ; and on Staten Island ; but more extensively on Long Island, within the limits of the city of Brooklyn. The objects discovered may now be generally described. Representations of the human head in profile, of iron, cut in blue slate, sandstone, gneiss and granite; modelled in hard baked clay, glazed and unglazed, in unbaked clay attached to some foreign surface wrought into various shapes. Flat tablets (if they may be so termed) of clay, bearing portraits of men and women, existing and extinct animal forms, together with various objects of primitive symbolism occurring on the most ancient coins; notably those of Rome, Celt-Iberia, Britain, Gaul, and on a few of the oldest archaic coins of Greece. Clay moulds and small stone seals have also been found in considerable numbers, in each instance returning upon plaster casts representations of human and animal heads, together with certain other markings to which I shall later allude. Further, it has been found that the so-called clay-ironstones of the drift are not natural concretions, as heretofore supposed, but archseological objects of the highest interest. The most critical examination of hundreds of specimens having failed to produce one unmarked bv the hand of man. As for the beds of clay-ironstone reported as existing in Pennsylvania, I can only say that I have had no opportunity of examining them. If they prove to be of the same compo- sition as the specimens in my possession, further light may be looked for. Still further it has been found that many of these objects have been painted. The col- ors, so far observed, are red, yellow, purple, blue, green, black, white, and brown. In addition to these, there have been found at depths varying from a few feet to fully 200, a large selection of already recognized prehistoric implements in stone, precisely such as occupy the shelves of every museum, upon the uses of which science has long discussed. In one particular only do these implements differ from similar forms found on the surface and beneath our Western mounds ; very few have been pierced. No arrow heads have been dis- covered by me in the drift- Finally must be noticed the constant occurrence upon these objects of certain mark- ings, arranged with definite system, which, from their frequency, general appearance and, most notably their position in reference to the principal device, I confidently predict will be found, when philologists come to investigate them, to be either hieroglyphic in their nature or the letters of some hitherto unknown alphabet. These markings, until now un- noticed in this connection, so far as my knowledge extends, occur also on the oldest coins of Rome and her colonies and on several relics of the bronze age in Europe brought to my notice. I do not claim sufficient linguistic knowledge to render my opinion conclusive in this branch of the subject. I shall, however, make the plain statement that I believe these markings to be inscriptions for the reasons mentioned and others which I shall presently assign.- Such, in general, is the nature of this discovery- While involving many considera- tions of the highest importance to science, it is of particular interest to American Arch- eology, inasmuch as it proves the existence in North America of a race, at least semi- civilized, long ante-dating the earliest creations of the mound builders. In presenting this matter, I may add that far from being hasty in so doing, it is only after months of careful work that I have reached the point where it has seemed safe to speak. As the merits of these specimens are certain to be subjected to the most searching criticism, it is unnecessary for me at this stage of development to go beyond a general assurance that the claims I propose to make for them do not rest on my judgment alone. Let me now leave generalities and proceed to details, beginning with the question of shape. The principal shape occurring on the archaeological objects found in the drift deposits is that of the human head. Many of the clay models bear this form, many of the stones are so sculptured. Upon every specimen examined it has been found in some form or another, excepting only the implements, and even these in a measure appear to follow the general rule. Let me begin with the exhibition of a specimen photograph of eight of these im- plements, all well recognized forms of the stone age in Europe, one being placed beside the skeleton of a cave man, which serves as the frontispiece to Dana's Geology, the recognized text book in the United States. Stones of precisely this shape, and presumably used as skin polishers, may be found in any bank on the outskirts of the city of Brooklyn, where the cutting through of streets or railroads has caused the drift to be exposed. Such an exposure is that of the great railroad cut lying just beyond Greenwood Cemetery, where the drift has been opened through at a depth of some 200 8 feet. A similar one exists at Windsor Terrace, another on Rogers avenue, south of the Boulevard, others still on the East Side Park lands. Greater than all has been the cutting through the drift formed by Brooklyn's new relief sewer, now about to be opened. As Long Island is made up entirely of drift, being geologically the great ter- minal moraine of the New England glacier, objects taken from this sewer, whose depth is 65 feet, cannot be regarded as otherwise than strictly in situ. All these localities have afforded me specimens for my collection, as have also the deep cuttings at Bay Ridge. To locate the situation of each object in an address of this character would be tedious and cannot be attempted. The information, however, is at the service of all who may desire it at any future time. Of the human heads discovered in the drift, which do not appear to have been in- tended for mechanical uses, I have a long and interesting series of some thousands. Realizing the necessity of corroboration of my own impressions at an early period of my work, I associated with me an artist, an old personal friend. Together we have worked these objects out of their deep graves beneath the drift, and unless we found ourselves in accord the object discussed was rejected. Nothing will be shown that has not been passed upon by others than myself. Thus we took from the drift heads in iron, stone, clay, clay-ironstone, etc. Many of these heads are profiles, not a few full-faces. Some are manifestly the faces of Indians, having the Indian features and feathered head-dresses strongly marked. Others represent faces of a distinctly Caucasian type, and are often heavily bearded. Sometimes the beard is represented as a mere goatee, at others as being blown by the wind; at others still, cut square after the Assyrian style. While the heads having Indian features are adorned with feathers on reddish stone, or painted red, those of the Caucasian type wear hats of various recognized patterns — patterns occurring freely on the heads of the figures at Palenque, Uxraal, Chichen Itza, and other ruined cities in Central America and Yucatan. One of the best heads in my collection, found at Bay Ridge, wears a cap painted blue and pink, and precisely of the same pattern as that worn by the Virginian tribes, as depicted in all early books on American discoveries ; as worn by the white Mandan tribe of Dakota to this day, and as found on the head of the life-sized statue recently exhumed at Chichen Itza. Other heads have been found of strongly marked negroid features and cranial shape. These heads are usually painted black. Still another group, all uniform in appearance, are colored brown. Still another green, while the heads with Caucasian features and bearded are in almost every instance either made of white clay or colored white. Yet another group of heads, and the one which at the outset is probably destined to attract the most attention, bears a resemblance to the flat- headed Palenque figures which is positively startling. I have a few heads colored bright orange, and one solitary instance in fired clay resting on a blue-black foundation, of a white face with strongly-marked Celtic features and a heavy red beard and moustache. Of existing animal forms I find the following : the dog, horse, sheep, rabbit, black bear, wolf, anthropoid ape, elephant, green adder, parrot and smaller birds, and the dolphin or whale- I have found no representation of a cow, but of the man-headed bull I have several examples ; nor have I as yet met with anything which I dared to designate a pig Of prehistoric animal forms, too plainly depicted to admit a doubt of their character, there are specimens of the mylodon, gigantic bird or lizard (shown only in the head), an animal of the hippopotimus type, a large web-footed bird somewhat resembling the dodo, and lastly a reptile with a long snout and flattened paddle-like tail. Concerning the stones which I have designated tablets, I can only say that they bear upon their flattened surfaces figures of human and animal forms, sometimes singly represented, but more frequently in groups presenting scenes which I prefer to make ■no attempt to describe at length. Indeed I shall mention but two ; one, of which I have probably twenty examples, represents a man with Caucasian features sitting in the presence of several highly colored individuals who approach him with bowed heads. In each instance, either the seated figure holds a staff bearing the head of a serpent, or the staff is held before or behind him by another. The seated figure always wears a most elaborate feathered crown, resembling that worn by the Palenque figures. Having no desire to theorize, I merely suggest that this scene may represent the ruler ■of the serpent clan, or totem, receiving homage from the heads of subordinate tribes. I am emboldened to make this suggestion from the frequent occurrence of human heads wearing caps, representing the heads of animals. One large human head in clay-ironstone wears a dog's head suspended beside it, of the nature of which there can be no mistake, Another isolated specimen in white clay depicts a man standing holding the serpent staff horizontally, the end of which he thrusts into the mouth of an attacking wolf. This specimen was found fifty feet under ground at Bay Ridge. To those familiar with the study of totems, it can suggest but one thing, the serpent clan defending itself against the ■clan of the wolf. Many of these clay tablets are painted, but the arrangement of color, which resembles the Chinese style, is such as to render it very difficult to determine the nature of the scenes -depicted. Another feature of these tablets is that many of them are mere stones upon which is laid yellowish clay worked out into various devices. This clay is sometimes attached to the stone by a blackish substance which appears to be asphaltic in its nature. Traces of patination are frequent, indeed many are partially patinated ; all without exception, unless the clay is entirely disintegrated, assume a beautiful patination upon the application of a little cold water and a brush, precisely as do the clay coated coins of Greece and Rome. And I here state it as my belief that in many instances these coins have been purposely coated, and that the clay is not always the result of long burial in the earth. Another marked and most perplexing feature of many of the tablets is the want of proper division between the figures. The style of art displayed is certainly crude, but no more so than many examples of Chinese art. Like the Chinese, the artists of the drift had no idea of perspective, but they were possessed of another idea which stamps all their work. Let us term it the idea of space •economy. They seemed to consider it necessary to permit no space, however small, to remain unornamented. To our eyes this creates hopeless confusion- The large figures are made up of many smaller ones, and the designs hard to decipher. Thus one figure contains many. A foot in one group is liable to serve as a head in another, the arm of one becomes the leg of another, and so on through a perplexing infinity of detail, seeming hopeless at first, but after a little patient study, easily understood, and one has no more difficulty in compre- hending a stone picture from the drift than the design on a Chinese fan. Yet another peculiarity is the fact that in many instanc^es the design is double, in some ■quadruple. Thus a specimen held one way shows one design, reversed another, turned again, still another, and so on up to four. It is hard to understand such artistic methods, as they are entirely foreign to all accepted ideas. Yet do they most certainly obtain in the stone pictures to be found in vast quantities buried in the drift. In fact single figures are decidedly scarce on the tablets, although I have many marked examples. Heads are laid above heads, precisely as upon all prehistoric monuments among the Mexican and Central American ruins, as upon the totem posts of the Alaska Indians, as .upon the tatooed bodies of South Sea Islanders, as upon the representations of Diana of the Ephesians, as in innumerable instances in India, China and Japan- Thus while in this respect the drift artists are perplexing, they are by no means pe- culiar. ' Their style of art corresponds with the most ancient that we know of, as it properly should. Upon many of the clay-ironstone and slate specimens are also designs cut in very low relief. In almost every instance clay has been rubbed over these specimens, filling the minute spaces, and thus bringing out the design. The discovery of the fact that a prehistoric people in America employed this method is not original with me. It was mentioned in the " New York Sun," in a despatch dated "Memphis, June 3, 1891, describing the prehistoric inscription on the ledge or wall at Cleveland, Tennessee, upon which, according to the " Nashville American," of November 27th, 1891, Dr. J. N. Porter, of the Smithsonian, pronounced favorably, declaring the in- scription to be the work of man, and older man than has yet been recognized, as proved by the geological formation of the hill upon which it occurs. Speaking of the inscription, the account referred to says : " The marks are cut in the face of dark red sandstone, a sixteenth of an inch deep, and filled with a substance which is sometimes harder and sometimes softer than the rock. This substance, I have no doubt, will prove to be the same as may be found on hun- dreds of specimens taken by me from the drift, and employed for the same purposes as on the wall. In addition to this, many of the tablets have clearly bei-n rubbed with oil or fat to- bring out the design. Traces of animal matter are of frequent occurrence, as shown con- clusively by the action of water upon them. Upon applying animal oil to similar speci- mens not showing such traces, precisely the same effect is produced. Another point of peculiar importance must be touched upon. Many of the tablets contain a layer of clay through the centre, off from which the top can always be lifted by a slight tap on the side, or by applying the thumb-nail to a fre- quently occurring indentation. This interior layer of clay presents a, second face as per- fect as the first, and in every case is found worked up with figures or painted. The bond of union is sometimes a shoulder of harder clay, to which the top leaf has been cemented,, but oftener the same blackish substance already alluded to. In many instances of the larger tablets these leaves are not fastened together at all, although matching each other perfectly. In such cases all sides are worked up into pictures, and a glance is sufficient to- show that no permanent union ever could have existed between the leaves. Single leaves, are sometimes found . Still another point is that in all the smaller tablets there are slots, finger holes cut,, which not only perfectly adjust themselves to a man's hand, but are invariably arranged in such a manner that the finished face is exposed when the tablet is held. Many of the tablets are finished on both sides, others have one side left rough- I shall offer for inspection one tablet which I consider the most curious of all found as yet. While the upper side is finished in the usual way, the bottom is covered with a substance which seems to be parchment or skin dressed with clay ; upon this appears an excellent male head, a full figure of a very fat gentleman, and other devices, some of which, appear to be under the parchment — if parchment it is finally decided to be. These are made of a hard, blackish substance which at first I took to be horn. This I now question. I shall offer nothing further than suggestions. To submit the object to tests calculated to- prove the presence of animal matter upon it, will certainly disfigure, if not totally destroy it. This experiment must be reserved until it can be done in the presence of those whose opinions will be conclusive. It is from the deep drift cutting on the East Side Park land^ in the city of Brooklyn. Singular as such a statement must necessarily seem, the most perfect depictions of the human form in my collection were found upon the inside clay surfaces of some of these stones. These tablets would then appear to be simply the clay books of the men of the drift. They occur in all sizes from that of a dollar up to a greater weight than two men would care to carry very far. I have, however, seen none larger than two strong men ( ould easily lift. The small ones are both square and oval, the larger ones are invariably perfect parallelograms, with sides often striped in various colors ; the top always bears some device^ the bottom is often found rough. In every instance they contain interior leaves of clay,, bearing heads and figures fcquently painted in the most brilliant colors. They are, as a rule, extremely fragile, and the greatest care must be exercised to obtain them perfect. I have seen some hundreds of damaged ones in the drift, but of perfect specimens very few. In the Book of Job, generally conceded to be one of the oldest books which antiquity has bequeathed us, XlXth Chapter, 23d verse, we have the following puzzling wish expressed. " Oh, that my words were now written. Oh, that they were printed in a book. That, they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock forever." The typographical fraternity have been accustomed to claim this as proof of the exist- ence of their craft in remote ages. Interesting are the thoughts suggested by the words of Job, if indeed the words of a book are to be found hidden in the rocks of the drift, sealed by the singular cement described, the chief component of which may yet prove to be lead. To geologists these tablets are known as a variety of clay stones. There exist no- ledges corresponding to them. No one can examine them and for an instant imagine that they were broken from ledges, for each perfect specimen is in itself a complete object. Let me mention en passant, before proceeding to other matters, that I have one speci- men in clay-ironstone whiih is the perfect model of a human foot. The cuttings are deep- and were filled with clay when found, the whole specimen assuming a beautiful patination under the brush. I have now reached the second section of my subject, namely the comparison of device found upon drift specimens with archaic archaeological and numismatic remains of the ancient nations of the old world. Generally stated, the devices found depicted upon these objects correspond only to the- most archaic forms of recognized primitive symbolism. Among these forms phalli in stone and clay are to be found, although they cannot be said to be numerous, as after eight month's hard delving in the drift I have obtained no more than twenty perfect specimens. These, however, are in such forms as to be beyond dispute^ They have been submitted to a competent anatomist and pronounced strictly correct in their proportions. Among the devices upon the various specimens are many indicating a devotion to this peculiar form of primitive worship. Of prime importance in the symbolism of the drift is the constant representation of the- human head. In the earliest ages of which we have any historic record we do not find this form of symbolism particularly dwelt upon, but the moment we advance a step beyond we find it everywhere. Egypt appears on the pages of history a nation fully developed in all the arts of civiliza- tion. All schools of thought admit the necessity of an archaic period for Egypt, but so far as^history goes she has none ! It is the same with Assyria, India, China, and the civilized nations of the American con- tenent. Whence came their civilization is a question as yet unanswered. If we prove the existence of civilized man before the coming of the drift the problem is solved. 13 In the case of Egypt we find the gigantic head existing previous to the earliest records, in the form of the sphinx. It is here associated with the pyramid, Among the ruined cities ■of the new world we have precisely the same thing; the gigantic head is of frequent occur- rence; the pyramid is found in nearly every ruined city on the American continent. The gigantic head in the blazing sun was the prin:;ipal feature of Inca worship and Peru still retains the symbol on her coins. . Even on the islands of the Pacific prehistoric depictions ■of the gigantic head are to be found. In India we find the same thing, and it is the same again with the earliest European civilizations. The coins of ancient Greecs nearly all bear a large head upon the obverse. At first these were the heads of the gods, later it grew to be the custom to substitute the heads of living men, which custom still obtains on the coins of nearly every nation on earth. The earliest Roman coins' are said to bear animal forms, but there is no proof that the quincussis preceeded the Aes. On the Aes we have the gigantic head doubled and styled the JanuSj also single. These heads are large out of all proportion to the size of the coin. The Janus appears also upon the coins of the ancient Britains and Gauls. It was a favorite symbol in the most ancient times. Thus we find that the predominant shape in the drift specimens originated in the most remote antiquity, and was continued down to the dawn of history. The gigantic head is depicted upon hundreds of the specimens found in the drift. Men -are seen bowing before it, fleeing from it and holding in front of it the serpent staff. Associated with the pyramid the gigantic head is found on numerous examples, three of -the most prominent I shall exhibit for your inspection. Thus the most ancient of all symbols, the sphinx and pyramid, existed among the drift men in America. Fortunately the specimens mentioned are too plain to admit a doubt. All three have been submitted to competent judges and pronounced not only unmistakable in their character, but positive works of art. Among the specimens which I have collected from the drift bearing resemblance to the 'primitive symbolic devices of the old world, may be mentioned the Janus, ship, sphinx, bird- headed man, man-fish, fore part of a human-headed bull, horse's head, fore part of the horse, •elephant, snake, two snakes facing, two men facing, fore part of the lion, two animals facing, turtle, bird's head, water fowl, sheep, wolf, sea shell, dolphin, phallus, and finally the human head in profile, which is decidedly the most prominent feature in primitive symbolism, from the sphinx of Egypt down through all ancient monuments, coins included, to the symbolism of Tmodern times. And in this connection I confidently predict that the Old Man of the Moun- 14 tain, that gigantic human profile cut on the New Hampshire hills, will be found to be nothing; more than the idea of the sphinx and pyramid worked out in colossal size, untold ages ago by the men of the drift. These resemblances are not mere fancies, they are stern facts. The proof I hold in my possession in the shape of the objects themselves which tell their own tale. Is there nothing but chance in all this ? If but one or two comparisons had been traced we might hesitate ; but so many? Moreover, the symbolic representations on these objects- compare only with the most ancient forms of symbolism, as they should do if they are not mere freaks of Nature, but the handiwork of man. The occurrence of the sphinx and Janus is most frequent, and too strongly marked to- admit of mistake. Of the ship, the device on the reverse of the Aes, I have many specimens. One has the high, animal headed prow of all ancient ships; has a human figure head upon the bow, has holes in the sides for the oars of the rowers, and is not only a perfect model of an ancient ship- but -undulating in its form to depict the movement of the waves. It is of white clay, and shows traces of green paint in many places. It is a work of art and a most interesting arch- aeological object, indicating as it does that the drift men not only possessed ships, but that their ships were constructed after the model of those of the most primitive nations of the earthy But more important than this is another fact which, so far as I am aware, is now brought to the attention of numismatists for the first time. It is that upon many of the earliest coins of Rome and all her colonies, upon the coins of Celt-Iberia and Britain, upon coins of Western Europe down to the times of Charlemagne, the human profile is found cut upon the side of the planchet, and not infrequently on both sides, forming the symbol of the Janus. You have before you a large line of such coins. Upon the slate and clay profiles which I have exhibited we not only find the mouth lincs^ plainly cut, but in many instances the eyes bored. The coins we find treated in precisely the same way. That many ancient coins are painted I have long known. The existence of these pro- file cuts I observed previous to my discoveries in the drift, and since first recognizing their true character have examined many thousand specimens of ancient coins. The proportion so cut is net small. Some of the cuttings are so badly done as to leave room for the charge which will be first brought against me, namely, that they are mere accidental breaks in the planchet. Others, on the contrary, I have seen, and own many where the eye borings are deep, the nose well rounded, and even the lips shaped. Hasty judgement will oppose this statement. Careful examination of any considerable 15 collection of inferior ancient coins will confirm it in the mind of any intelligent numismatist. Why it has never been written upon is hard to say; and, indeed, research may prove that it has been, although I have not been able to find any notice of it. That others than myself have observed and casually commented upon it, I know to be a fact. Here we have the same form of primitive symbolism again. These cuttings are nothing more than the idea of the sphinx, or gigantic human head. Out of the middle of a so-called stone from the Long Island drift deposit I have taken a •clay covered plate, ornamented with devices characteristic of the art ideas of those who made it, and bearing upon its edge the same profile cut found upon the Roman semis, with an eye too cleverly constructed to admit a doubt of its true import. This alone involves thought upon the antiquity of man, so novel and far-reaching that placed before the world it •demands all the pains-taking investigation that science has to give. It is no fancy, it is a fact. The coin and the clay plate are both in my possession . The recognized text books of geology tell me that this clay plate was ground from a ledge by a glacier. There are no ledges of such material existing. I have an undoubted right to de- mand of science an explanation of a coincidence so strange. So also with the markings which I have suggested may be found to have a meaning. My reasons for suggesting that they may constitute a hitherto unrecognized language of vast antiquity can be summed up very briefly, but let me first describe the marks, as after months of careful study they appear to me. On all the larger specimens, on all painted tablets, on nearly all the clay-ironstone ■specimens, I find markings made up of irregular lines and dots. At first glance these marks appear meaningless, but upon careful inspection they shape themselves into groups intermingled with small human heads, some full faces, others profiles. I have been able to trace the same characters on different specimens repeatedly. In many in- stances they run around the edge of the specimen in continuous columns, as do the cuni- form inscriptions, and the characters of the Chinese and Japanese. More frequently the large human head seems to be employed as a cartouche to enclose the smaller heads. By turning the large head uppght, the markings sometimes form them- selves into regular columns. In other instances, instead of being enclosed in a large head, they follow the pattern of the specimen, in this particular, again, resembling the cuniform inscriptions. Thus, with an animal form, the marks will follow the head, run across the back and down the legs. We need not look further than the remains of Nineveh and Babylon to find these things. It is the same with other devices. As the picture goes so go the marks. Again they appear on raised bosses, on bands or ribbons, facing the head, as in the case of the Palenque inscriptions ; but the rule seems to be to enclose them within the human head. If these actually prove to be hieroglyphics or letters, a reason for the repeated occur- rence of the human head can be imagined. The heads may be simply cartouches enclosing the record. My reasons for thinking that these marks may have a significance are four in number. 1. The resemblance of particular characters to recognized characters of primitive lingual systems. 2. Their repeated occurrence in connection with the portraits and pictures. 3. The fact that on carved specimens they, are found carved, on painted specimens painted, and almost always in a different color that they may be distinguished. 4. That similar markings, although hitherto unnoticed, are to be found on the earliest Roman coins. Specimens of Roman coins thus marked are fairly common down to the time of Faus- 16 tina, after which reign they begin to disappear. I have found none later than the reign of Philip I., 244 A.D. They are not mere corruscations of the metal, nor the result of corrosion. I can pro- duce coins in every stage of corrosion which do not bear a trace of them. Per contra, I can produce coins as perfect as on the day they were minted, which are covered with these marks, raised above the surface of the planchet, and undoubtedly struck with the coin. Stronger testimony still is the fact that in most instances the head on the obverse car- ries the marks. They are seldom found upon the reverse, and more rarely still in the field. As with the profile cuts they are found upon the coins of Rome and her colonies. No true Greek coin bears them, so far as my observation has extended, and I possess one of the largest collections of Greek bronzes in the United States. If corruscations in the bronze or the action of time and the elements has produced these strange markings upon the coins of Rome, why not also upon the coins of Greece? Certainly the coins of both nations are of similar material, were struck under similar conditions, and have been subject to similar exposure. That the tooth of time should play tricks with one series and not with the other, would seem improbable. Furthermore, these marks occur on perfect specimens, and not infrequently in the form of counterstamps, which no one can claim as the result of wear. And here I propose to leave them to be investigated by competent philologists, as in time I believe they surely will be. If they prove indeed to be a lingual system, if by happy chance they should be deciphered, then the existence of man before the drift need no longer be questioned, for his records have remained after him, inscribed in indellible characters upon bronze and iron, clay and stone. But are there no other records of the men of the drift ? There are — many of them. They exist in the form of legends and are found recorded in ancient books. Legends are the historic records of primitive peoples. More and more is their value being appreciated, year by year their true nature better understood. The elder Edda of the Scandinavians tells of the coming of the drift in language too plain to be misunderstood by any one who has studied its deposits. The legends of all Europe tell of a race of men who were buried under sand and earth. In an Aztec prayer we have the following : " The children die broken and dashed to pieces as against stones and a wall. . . Hast thou verily determined to utterly perish ? that the peopled place become a wooded hill and a wilderness of stones ? . . . Thine arrows and stones have surely hurt this poor people." In the XXVIIIth chapter of Deuteronmy, the 24th verse, we have : " The Lord shall make the rain of the land powder and dust. From heaven shall it come down upon thee until thou be destroyed." In the Xth chapter of Joshua, the nth verse, we have it stated that " The Lord cast down great stones upon them unto Azekah." Among the Toltecs there existed a legend that the " Third Sun (or era) is called Quia- Tonatiuh, sun of rain, because all that existed burned, and there fell a rain of sand and gravel. Lastly, the Book of Job abounds in references to a calamity caused by the falling of stones and sand. These are but a tithe of the legends which seem to have reference to the coming of the drift. They have been extensively collected and ably commented upon in Mr. Donnelly's book, " Ragnarok, or the Age of Fire and Gravel." All seem to indicate that the drift not only came suddenly, but came from above. 17 Glacialists of course deny this. For my part, I can only say that many hundreds of specimens taken by me from the drift deposits never could by any possibility have beet* subjected to the action of water or ice. In conclusion, let me remark, that far from intruding theories upon you, I have simply stated facts, adding to them a few suggestions which I deem pertinent to the subject. That many will at first not only reject these facts, but even refuse to entertain them as mere theories, I am well aware. •«(«#'•-«■>' "'• --m • ' •' ■- Still noses which can be measured, and eyes into which you can put your fingers, are realities, and prejudice cannot permanently overcome facts. Time may elapse bef^e this discovery receives the attention its vast importance to science demands, but in the end recognition is certain, for the statements made before you this evening are truths, and truth is mighty and will prevail. Many of these forms are obscure and require patient study. The artistic ideas of drift men were novel, and wholly out of harmony with our own. Knowing my ground, I know also its solidity. The half of what I know concerning the drift has not been told, but any man can know all that I know, and more, who cares to delve in the drift for himself. I have made no allusion to the cobblestones and boulders. Let me add that among; both will be found thousands of examples of the handiwork of man. I have in my possess- ion a sculptured human head weighing 600 pounds, as perfect as any specimen shown here this evening, and taken from the drift. My work is but the beginning, I have merely scraped the surface. Where are the bones of the men who perished in this calamity ? Where are the remains of their cities and temples ? Let science search the valleys of New England at the base of the drift which fills them. I have excellent reasons for most confidently predicting that these things will be found. The question has been asked, and will be asked again many times, why have these things not been found before ? That the same question has been and will be propounded in relation to every important discovery ever made or to be made in the future, is in itself a sufficient reply. The truth is that until now no careful examination of the so-called stones of the drift from an archselogical standpoint has been attempted. And having made this announcement, I feel that for the present, at least, I have done my work. I am not the first, nor will I be the last to seek for evidences of man in the DRIFT. I THE STANDARD mm. > William Berri. Murat Halsteau IWBDNESDAY EVENING, JAN. 17, 1894. EIGHT PAGES. TO WOEK IN THE DKIFT. THE LONG ISLAND ARCHAELOGI- CAL CLUB FORMED FOR THAT PURPOSE. A meeting was held last evening at the office of A. Von Mlcheroux, 18 Fulton street, of a number of Brook- lyn and New York gentlemen prominent In archaelogical and geological research, for the purpose of forming an associa- tion under the title of the Long Island Archaelogical Club. The object of this organizfition is ,to forward tjie interesting researches In the Ijonjr Island drift, con- ducted in the last three years by Francis Worcester Doughty, which have attract- ed such widespread " interest In scientific circles in this country and abroad. Mr. Doughty showed a. number of en- larged photographic views and groups of his specimens, which it was the pre- vailing sentiment of the meeting offered unmistakable evidence that they were the work of prehistoric man. The officers cliosen were:. President, Robert B. Valentine; Vice President, Al- bent- Vpn Mlcheroux; Secretary, William F. Seymour; Treasurer, Cecil Burleigh. Among those present were the following well-known gentlemen: Lyman H. Low, John W. Scott, John Brysen, John R. Musick, F. M. Foster, Charles D. Cocks, Aftliur Pottow, L. U. Sennerens, Robert B. Valentine, George B. Seymour, Wil- liam F. Seymour, Albert Von Mlcheroux, Cecil Burleigh, Le Moyne Burleigh, John Bulger.