Class Fourth — Opoaguna
The class of antique pipes. Smoking pipes, constitute a branch of Indian art, which called forth their ingenuity by carvings of various forms of steatite, serpentine, indurated clay, limestone, sandstone and other bodies. A very favorite material was the red sedimentary compact deposit, found on the high dividing ridge between the Missouri and Mississippi, called the Coteau du Prairie. Pipes were also made from clay, tempered with some siliceous or felspathique material, similar to that used in their ancient earthenware.
The composition of this pipe is a compact brown clay, tempered with a fine siliceous matter, and dried in the sun, not baked in a potter’s oven. The exterior is stained black, and bears a certain gloss, not a glazing. The bowl has been formed by hand, and is rude. The principal point of skill is evinced in the twist ornamenting the exterior of the bowl. Locality, Genesee river valley.
Opoaguna Aztec. Fig. 3, Plate VIII. The material is a species of Terra Cotta, or reddish earthenware. Its fracture discloses very minute shining particles, which appear to be mica. Probably the ingredient used to temper the clay, was pounded granite. The features resemble, very strikingly, those of Mexico and central America, figured by Mr. Catherwood & Stephens. Onondaga county.
Opaguna Iberic. Fig. 1. Plate IX. Material, a slate coloured ware. Features, thin and sharp. Neck, acute in front, with an angular line extending from the chin downwards. Onondaga.
Opoaguna Etruscan. Fig. 2. Plate X. Material similar to O. Aztec. Figure double headed—heads alike, placed back to back, like the Grecian deity Janus, connected by five parallel fillets,—bowl rudely formed, by hand. Onondaga.