“Is that all?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“When Carey told it to me, he said the old man hit the skull and it went into the air; when it came down it turned into knives, forks, thimbles, threads, awls, wax, needles, and scissors. The man told the woman to come down from his hair but not to pick up anything that was on the ground; if she did he would punish her. And the old man went off and sat down under a tree. She tried to pick up a pair of scissors; when she did so her hands dropped off. That is the way Carey told it.”
“Carey did not get it right. This is a very old story, and at the time it was first told we never knew of such things as knives, forks, awls, or scissors. Carey has added that, or some of the younger people have told it that way because they now use these things. But I have told it to you the old way, and that is the right way.”
George Truman Kercheval.
EXHIBIT OF GAMES IN THE COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION.
Primitive Religions, and Folk-lore, including Games, are the subject of a special section in the Anthropological Building at the Columbian Exposition. This section, which is known as the “Section of Religions, Games, and Folk-lore,” is located upon the main floor, where the exhibit occupies a series of cases on the south side and a line of flat cases which extend across the entire building.
Folk-lore is the name given to the material which has come down to us in the sayings and customs of mankind. Its study, for which no special name has been devised, is an important branch of the science of anthropology.
The chief object of the collection is to show things which illustrate folk traditions and customs. The field being a vast one, the collection has been practically restricted to the subject of games. The basis of the collection was formed in the Museum of Archaeology of the University of Pennsylvania during the past two years. The University’s collection has been supplemented by exhibits from individuals and the leading manufacturers of games in this country.
The objects are classified and arranged for comparative study, games of the same general sort being placed together. They are contained in twelve table cases running from the southernmost entrance on the west side to the corresponding entrance on the east side. Puzzles and the simple games of children commence the series.