Therefore, to
obtain absolutely authentic examples, it was necessary to indulge in the
unwonted pastime of antiquarian research. During an unsystematic,
unmethodical overhauling of the shell heap of an extensive kitchen
midden--to apply a very dignified title to a long deserted camp--
interesting testimony to the diligence and patience of the deceased
occupants was obtained. It was evident that the sea had been largely
drawn upon for supplies, if only on account of the many abortive and
abandoned attempts at fishhooks in more or less advanced stages of
completion. The brittleness of the fabric and the crudeness of the tools
employed had evidently put the patience of the makers to severe task,
who for one satisfactory hook must have contemplated many disappointments.
The art must be judged as critically by the exhibition of its failures
as by its perfections, as Beau Nash did the tying of his cravats.
"Those are our failures," the spirits of the departed, brooding
over the site of the camp, might have sighed, as we sorted out crude and
unfashioned fragments. Presently the discovery of a small specimen
established the standard of perfection--a crescent of pearl, which alone
was ample recompense for the afternoon's research.
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