Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 20, Number 100, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 August 1899 — A Fine Collection. [ARTICLE]

A Fine Collection.

W. P. Damon, of West Auburn, Me., has what is said to be the finest collection of Indian relics in New England and a collection of the minerals of Maine which is without a rival. The Smithsonian Institution has tried in vain to secure these treasures, but the owner says that they shall never be permitted to leave the State. The Indian relics are believed to include every implement used by North American savage, and among them are afrow and spear heads by the thousands, scalping knives and battle axes by the hundred, and prehistoric pottery from the mounds in great quantities. Maine is not noted, commercially, for any minerals more precious than granite, but few States offer a richer field for the geologist or the collector of cabinet specimens. The Maine ledges contain a little of almost everything, and some of the crystals found in them are remarkable for both size and rarity. Oxford and Androscoggin counties are famous among scientists for tourmalines and topazes, and Mr. Damon has marvelous examples of both. One of his most valuable specimens is a smoky topaz two feet high and over twelve inches thick. It was taken from the Llttlefiqld ledge in Auburn, and is probably the finest of its kind in existence. Another specimen from the same place is nearly two feet thick and is set in a matrix of quartz. These great gems, of course, are not of interest to the jeweler.—New York Times.