I

REPORT OF A NEW DOUBLE CONOIDAL

PIPE FROM KENTUCKY

BY WM. S. WEBB

T IS believed that the Indian Pipe shown in Figures 1, 2, is a good example of the Double Conoidal pipe as classified by McGuire' having, with the usual distinguishing characteristics, other interesting features.

This pipe was obtained from Mr. John Cinnamon, of Lawrenceburg, Ky., who found it while cultivating land on the farm of Mr. T. J. McCouan, one mile east of Farmdale in Franklin County, Ky. An old pasture which had been in bluegrass sod for many years had been ploughed up in the spring of 1913, and after ploughing, the sod was cut by a disk harrow. This pipe, covered with earth and clay, became entangled between neighboring disks of the harrow, arresting its motion. In removing this obstruction, this peculiar stone was discovered. When found it was not known to be of any historical significance, but because of its unusual form and color it was preserved in the home of the finder, serving for many years as a "door stop," a use to which it is well adapted, being roughly cubical in form and rather heavy, weighing 1212.5 grams (2.9 lbs.).

Notwithstanding this service, the manner of its discovery, and the probable fact that it has resided for perhaps hundreds of years in the surface soil, easily within the "frost zone" this specimen appears to be but little the worse for wear, showing only one relatively recent scratch, that on the base surface. Several small chips have been split from the edge of the base and one of the four engraved images is slightly marred, but all of this chipping has the appearance of great age, and points to the conclusion that practically all damage which has been done this specimen was sustained by it while still in the service of its prehistoric possessor.

This pipe was probably cut from a block of sandstone, and presents a general cubical appearance, having four vertical faces,

1 Joseph D. McGuire, Report U. S. Nat. Museum, Part 1, 1897.

each being an approximate rectangle. The base is 4-1/4 inches long from front to rear, and 4 inches broad. The height is fully 3 inches above the base section. The pipe proper rests upon a base section 3/4 inch thick, the outline of which is exaggerated by a deep groove cut parallel to the plane of the base, (see Figure 1). Portions of this groove seem to be worn, suggesting that it served a double purpose of outlining the base section, and also

providing an opportunity for attachment of a thong. Such a thong may have served as a means of carrying the pipe or as a simple attachment to any other form of support.

The four faces of the pipe rise from the base almost perpendicularly. Into the rear face is cut the large conical stem hole, the diameter of which at the face is 1-3/8 inches and decreases to 1/4 inch diameter at a depth of 1-1/4 inches. The stem hole is almost an exact duplicate of the bowl, which has the same depth and slope of side. These two conical drillings could have been made by the same blunt reamer. That they were originally

reamed out is clearly shown by the circular grooves still existing in the conical face of the stem hole. However, the main bowl shows several vertical grooves also, which appear to have been made with a blunt instrument used as a chisel. Such grooves could easily have been made in cleaning the bowl by scraping, possibly after the pipe had been used. The grooves in both bowl and stem hole appear to be quite as old as the other surface of the pipe,

and were evidently made either by the maker or the prehistoric user of this specimen.

The material of this pipe was originally a rather heavy sandstone, probably having a large iron content, probably carbonate of iron. The sandstone has undergone a change, (after the manufacture of the pipe), as the result of being hundreds of years in the soil, not deeply covered, and exposed to the action of the air and soil water. The specimen has become covered with limonite (2Fe2O33H2O) to a depth of 1/16 inch or more, giving the pipe a fairly smooth haid surface, dark red in color. This coating gives

the characteristic red line when rubbed on unglazed porcelain. Professor McFarland of the Department of Geology of the University of Kentucky who kindly examined this specimen expressed the opinion that this coating may have been derived from carbonate of iron in the original sandstone, by oxidation and weathering to limonite, or it may have been deposited on the sandstone as the result of the action of soil water, rich in iron content. The present density of the specimen is 2.24. The actual water displacement volume is 541 c.c.

Perhaps the most interesting feature of this specimen is the medallion-like disks raised nearly 1/4 inch above the face of the pipe, one on the right and another on the left face of the pipe as one views the stem hole. Upon each of these raised disks is engraved a human face. Figure 3 shows these two disks, side by

side for comparison.

This engraving was done by deeply incised lines, the eyes being each represented by crescentic lines concave toward each other. The nose in both images is rather boldly represented by a raised triangle, extending from between the eyes, base downward, completely to the deeply incised line representing the mouth. In both figures the surface of this triangle is broken by

a slight increase in elevation, giving to this nose the "Roman" form.

On the front face of the pipe, the side opposite the stem hole, are to be found two raised figures, one a face carved similarly to the medallion-like disks, but being in such high relief as to appear almost like a spherical head. A second image representing a head and form of body also raised in high relief appears on the front face of the pipe (see Figure 2). These two images are much less carefully wrought out than the two side carvings, and the features of the nearly spherical head are slightly marred as described above, by an apparently old injury.

The base of the pipe has a slightly convex surface, and it would appear that the surface was once smooth and had a fair polish, if we may judge by a portion of the surface remaining. However, in almost the exact center of this surface there is a large pit, nearly one inch in diameter and almost 1/4 inch deep giving to the basal surface the usual appearance of a hammer stone. It is not at all impossible that the pipe might have been so used. Because of its shape it was fairly easy to hold in the hand, and because of its weight it might easily have served to crack nuts, or buffet a stone chisel, it being not an unusual thing to find evidence that among stone age men one tool served two or more purposes.

When we consider the rather considerable weight of this specimen, one wonders how it was supported while in use as a pipe. Perhaps the large pit hole in the basal surface, and the groove about the basal section could be explained on the basis that they enabled the user to attach it by means of a thong to a support, perhaps to the end of a small post, the other end of which could be easily set in the earth. One is tempted to speculate as to whether or not this specimen was really a pipe as we ordinarily understand the term. The fact that as a pipe it appears unwieldy, and that it may have been designed to be supported on a vertical post, suggests that it might have served in some ceremony, religious or otherwise as a small altar, from which smoke was expected to rise at an appointed time. Because of the size of the bowl, a very considerable amount of combustion could