Elephant pipes and inscribed tablets in the Museum of the Academy of natural sciences, Daveport, Iowa / by Charles E. Putnam.

  • Charles Edwin Putnam
Date:
1885
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Elephant pipes and inscribed tablets in the Museum of the Academy of natural sciences, Daveport, Iowa / by Charles E. Putnam. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    PREFATORY NOTE. The following vindication of the authenticity of the elephant pipes and inscribed tablets in the museum of the Davenport Academy of Natural Sciences from the accusations of the Bureau of Ethnology of the Smithsonian Institution was pre- pared in response to an earnest feeling entertained by members of the Davenport Academy of Natural Sciences, and in its preparation the writer has had their hearty cooperation and active assistance. Especial acknowledgments are due to Mr. William H. Pratt, the Curator and Corresponding Secretary of the Academy, whose extensive researches in archaeology enabled him to furnish much valuable material for incorporation in this paper; to Rev. A. M. Judy, Mr. James Thompson, and Dr. C. H. Preston, who, as a special committee on behalf of the Academy, thoroughly investigated all the circumstances connected with the transactions in question, and freely placed at the disposal of the writer the results of their inves- tigation; and to our honored associates. Prof. D. S. Sheldon and Rev. W. H. Barris, of Griswold College, who carefully reviewed the paper and favored the writer with excellent suggestions. An expression of grateful appreciation is also due to those correspondents, in various parts of the country, who, in strong terms, have expressed their condemnation of the unjustifiable attack made upon the Academy by the United States Bureau of Ethnology; and, in entering upon the preparation of this vindication, the writer has derived great encouragement from the hearty assurances of approbation and support received from these eminent archaeologists. E. p, Davenport, Iowa, February 9th, 18S5.