632 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [n. s., 1, 1899
additional facts fitting into the body of the narrative making it more consistent. ... It seems, as time went on, Mrs Matson, an orderly housekeeper, began to take a dislike to that untidy thing — an unwashed dead head in her house, and made complaint. It was more in the way than of use or ornament, and she decided to get rid of it. Thereupon her husband, like a proper acquiescing partner in life, carried it to Mr Scribner's store, where at the same time the Wells Fargo Company had its business office. Mr J. C. Scribner and his partner, Mr Henry Matthews, now became the uninvited custodians of the topmost part of an aged and un- known man. . . . This man Matthews had a common failing among people, he was fond of liquor, and sometimes indulged his taste to excess. Some few days or maybe weeks prior to the advent of the skull at Scribner's, Matthews, not feeling well, paid a visit to Dr Jones, a worthy physician at Murphy's, consulted him in regard to his health, and obtained from the Doctor a pre- scription and medicine. The medicine proved rather strong ; it depleted the patient rapidly and produced unlooked-for discom- fort. As he grew weaker and impatient under the continued action of the purge, it made Matthews swear, he swore at the
unholy medicine and at the d d outcast of a doctor who gave
it. The natural result was he became cross towards Dr Jones. Not to lose sight of the skull, we note that as soon as Mr Scribner saw the dirty rotted remains of old mortality before him, so soon he decided it was out of his line, and he did not want the offensive thing about. But Matthews took to it instinctively and at once. He thought that it with some half-rotted and half- petrified pieces of wood and a few lumps of native ore might do to embellish Dr Jones's cabinet of geological and natural history curiosities. Therefore, they, the uneasy head and the rest, were immediately dumped into an empty potato sack and sent to Dr Jones at Murphy's. On the same day it came without note, com- ment, or message, and Esculapius opened the sack and took out its contents one by one. After a short inspection of the specimens of
�� �
