Back to: Ray's Letters
Back to: Letters from Greg
Back to: Gregory Perino
Letters from 1990 thru 2004
July 25, 1990
Dear Ray,
Thanks for the clipping. Now we know our boy is doing his job. I don’t know about plants but his responsibility is to report the facts and let the law handle the rest.
Haven’t added much lately but am trying to go in with a collector in Houston to buy some points a collector in Palestine, Texas has. He has 6 frames 2X4 feet full of good to average points and wants $6,000 for them, then we could have the rest to keep or as trading material. We will split the collection if he can raise $3000.
Tomorrow I’m going to Longview, Texas to see a dig going on there, and if possible, look at some trade goods they are getting from an oil tank farm. When they leveled the site they must have scraped out a bunch of late Caddo burials because over the years one guy collected over 1800 feet of seed beads and other things. You would think guys on dozers would see things come out of areas like this but some can’t see anything but dirt. I’m not sure if I told you about the large unused Hardin I traded a small corner-tang knife for from a guy in Washington state. He got it from one of the old Wisconsin dealers but its made of black flint from Arkansas. It had the barbs missing but its too fine a point not to get and restore. Black new Hardins are not common. My corner-tang was worth about $250 but this Hardin is finer. It’s very well made. The lower body and stem begin tapering from about 1/3 of the length to the base, and from there to the tip. It’s made of black Pitkin chert. I restored the barbs AND IT LOOKS GOOD.
(Over)
This thing was found years ago, long before they could make them, in modern times.
Lately I have seen fake spuds of the late kind, short, flat, and broad.
The buyer was an experienced collector yet he couldn’t see anything wrong with them. They looked brand new and only had a little dirt smeared on them. He also believed a dealer who sold him some engraved antlers and shell, and 2 antler "spoons". You would think he would have caught on with the spoons, and that the antlers had a lot of check marks from laying out in the weather. You never see this on dug antler as it gets buried before it weather-checks. The engravings on shell and antler were done by use of a tiny flat grinding wheel and a Dreml tool, a small moter held in the hand. The little wheel bounced up and down making a series of depressions along the line when it hit bottom. Also the grooves were all the same depth and width. Indians made v-shaped lines of varying width, these were round-bottomed and uniform in width. Wonder how long its going to take this guy to wise up to his "digger"?
I’m working on the manuscript for Vol. 2, and hope to have it ready for publication by middle of September. Got to sell a bunch this year to cut down on income tax. I’m only going to publish 1500 for the first edition, about what we sold of the first issues. These will sell out in a year and put us in a high tax bracket. We can’t prorate it over the 5 years I have been working on it so by selling half this year and half the next year we can cut taxes some. I would rather stretch it out the next 5 years when we hope to have Vol. 3 ready. This will give us income over those years with relatively low taxes but the collectors wont let us stall. They all want the book right away. When we sell out we can get second editions printed of each but I’m not sure selling two or three a week is worth tying up a lot of money for.
Sincerely,
Greg.
Aug. 17, 1990
Dear Ray,
Saw this clipping in the Tulsa World newspaper and thought ____________ could have a picnic with it lambasting the law. I have no way of getting his address but maybe you can find it in the phone book or get the Chicago Tribune address and send it to him one way or the other.
Got to appraise a collection of about 150 pots and other relics for the ____________ University. They sent photos of the pots which were mostly restored pots. This will take awhile to do but they don’t need it for over a month. I charge a minimum fee which
(Over)
don’t begin to pay for my time, just to help them out. It came at a bad time as I’m getting a lot of things to check after the Kentucky meeting. So far it has been fakes. I can’t see why anybody goes to those meetings any more if that’s all they can come home with. Another collector told me about a 2 ½ inch Folsom a dealer had for sale and was touting as exceptional, and valued at $2500. I saw that Folsom a month ago and it is a fake. Hope nobody bought it.
Sincerely,
Greg
Nov 13, 1990
Dear Ray,
Here are some Meso/South American items plus what was left:
A worn mold-made figure_________________________________________$10
A Colima dog with pup on back. Has legs on one side restored____________$10
A toy Zapotec bowl______________________________________________$15
A toy rougher pot________________________________________________$10
A broad, shallow gray bowl________________________________________$25
They are priced pretty low and you or your friend might like some or all. Those you don’t want just return. They have a big box full of pieces of figures and effigy pots if you are interested. These were all bought by ________ when he lived in ________, from___________ a dealer in Chicago about 1955-60.
Greg
Dec. 26,1990
Dear Ray,
Got your Xmas card/photo and note you don’t have enough meat on your bones as my mother used to say. Gad, the kids are getting big, where does time go?
Haven’t heard any more from ________ about selling the Southwestern pottery which is just as well as I’ll be picking up some of the ____________ collection next time I go to Tulsa. ________ wants me to begin selling it (he) may never come out of the hospital. I guess the great amount of smoking he did over the years finally caught up with him and he has respiratory ailments and now cancer in the lungs. He quit about 5 years ago but it was too late. Sure hate to see this as he is a very nice person.
Finally got someone who will type the manuscript for point guide Vol. 2 but it still is not what I wanted. I would have liked the lines to have been at least 4 letters longer but she has it about 2 letters shorter than Vol. 1. Its hard to believe the machine (word processor) cant do any number of letters one needs on a page but it cant. Some are different and can do things others cant. I’m beginning to proofread her typed copy and she has made a few mistakes I got to catch. I’m also fitting drawings of points into the space allotted. If the space is not large enough I delete several lines of text, usually the incidental info. I will probably be March before we can get it published.
Ray, I need another name and address stamp. The last one you sent is beginning to break up. Note that the P is shortening and the E has a piece off of it. I can draw repairs in but the process may continue so just as well get a good one. Please make one and bill me for it.
Sincerely,
Greg
Note) Greg stamped the page with his old stamp to show what was going wrong with it. The stamp read:
GREGORY PERINO
Archaeological Consultant
1509 Cleveland
Idabel, Ok.74745
Sept. 25, 1991
Dear Ray,
Received the Bullseye Site report okay, thanks. The thing has some interesting points in it that are rare. Looks like there is more than one time period involved as Pike County points should be of Dalton age or slightly earlier Fig A.3. Dovetail and Thebes might go together but not with Godar points. Fig A.5. h, is a Bynum point something like a straight-based Dovetail. Fig A.A bottom right low sidenotched points are Simonsen points dating near Dovetail times. The Hardin below them sure has the longest stem I ever saw. There are many low notched, concave base points of the Simonsen type mixed in with Godar points like the one in FigA.11 bottom row no. 2 and 5. Flaking is better on these and notches should be ground. None of these should be associated with Godar points as they are much earlier. Also, the lownotched points are more common in western Iowa and the Plains around it. Wonder why the Indians saved all the worn out knives (drills?). Some late Caddo groups did too and ten or more are sometimes found in the caches with burials. They are so worn the edges are polished. The tube pipe A.26 bottom cant be as early as Godar as they have only been found with Early Woodland and Godar is earlier so that means things later than Godar are there. Could be the terrace was so well located that groups lived there over a long time period. There has to be other similar sites in the valley. I remember a collector in Hamburg getting a Thebes in the Mississippi Valley in a dredged canal that was about 15 feet deep.
There was a Godar shell midden up near Rockport just above Atlas I wanted to dig but the owner would not let us as he was picking up Godar points and grooved axes every time he plowed. Well, he sold the farm recently so don’t know who has it now. When we visited it we picked up lots of human bones he was plowing out in good condition. It was about a mile out of the bottoms, maybe less, and I think it was near the Sny. The Sny is a canal-like stream that follows the bluffs, comes in at Quincy and out again miles downstream sort of hooking the river up with people along the bluffs who used water transportation. I also remember another shell
(Over)
midden area farther downstream again probably near the Sny, but couldn’t find it today. These are large village type sites which don’t seem to occur around the Bullseye site unless they are buried or washed away.
Don’t know if I told you I traded a red and white bottle for 5 Clovis points mostly used up but some not bad. One has a great impact fracture then was repointed. Later I bought a small collection from a local and it had two short or often resharpened Clovis points found just north of us ant the base of the Red River bluffs where fingers of land run our short distances from the bluff into the valley. There also are Caddo house sites and burials on some of these but none are plowed now. I only know of 5 other Clovis points from our county which is as large as Delaware. They are not common but I don’t remember there being many in Illinois either. Most are probably buried deep.
I’m trading a guy two of the most resharpened points for one that was found in southern Illinois in Williamson County because it was made by the same guy who made one I found in St. Clair County on the Mississippi river bluff adjacent to Stoles Quary. It was a low bluff over a creek and we found many other point types there also. The thing had about an eighth of an inch of the tip missing and some jerk repointed it.If I get it I’ll restore it. Put the two together and they look identical, same material, same shape, same workmanship and stem edge grinding up longer than on most Clovis points. In a straight line they were found about 100 miles apart. This should give us some idea of the range these guys hunted in. The Williamson site point is shorter because it had been sharpened down more. It is possible both points were made from the same block of flint they look so much alike. Maybe I’m giving too much for a repointed Clovis but both together can prove that the same person made them. Is it worth it?
Sincerely.
Greg
PS. Point was found by________ of Williamson County, Il. Enclosed is money and postage for the Bullseye report.
Nov. 22, 1991
Dear Ray,
I took off the polish on the point from one side and it is new flaking. Another thing wrong is that the stem is one-fourth of an inch too short for the type. The point was soiled just enough to make it look good then probably sprayed with clear lacquer to hold the dirt in place. I have seen several of these sprayed points lately. The shine makes the point look like it had been found in a stream and gotten sand polish.
A collector brought a large point that a boy found in a creek in east Texas. It was a Gahagen 3 inches wide and 11 ¾ inches long. Man what a knife. It had sand polish all over it and was this smooth too.
A couple weeks ago a guy came into the Museum here with the largest perform I ever saw. It was 4 inches wide and 26 inches long, and about 1 ¼ inches thick. Finished it would have made a knife 3 inches wide and 24 inches long. There still is a lot of things in streams. I bought a nice Agate Basin point a collector found in the Canadian River below ______________. It has polish like your point but it wont come off with thinner.
Don’t remember if I told you I bought a small collection from this area that had two small Clovis points in it. Came from a site near the base of the Red River bluffs. I have only seen 5 Clovises from this county before this so feel fortunate in having these even to the farm found on. Also got a small Holland and a beatup Calf Creek from the same site.
Got more tham half of the _________ collection sold, the points, so now am beginning to sell the prehistoric Mexican pottery. Most of it is good painted pots with prices raqnging from $200 to $600 each. If you know of anyone interested let me know. Later I’ll have baskets to sell and historic art pottery from the Southwest. I think most baskets will be sold to ___________ who collects them.
Kermit Suhling and Jeannette are coming by on the 24th. On their way to visit their daughter in Georgetown, Texas.
Greg
Jan. 3, 1992
Dear Ray,
Hope things are going well with you and that the New Year will be kind to you and yours. Things are going fairly well here. Seems like I have a lot of extraneous things to do here the last month and have not kept up with working on Vol. 3. The printer sent 96 Vol. 2 books just before Xmas and they sold out fast, but I need more and have no idea when he will get more to me. Its been a mess. He has been paid when I got the first books which turned out mostly bad. He took them back and said he would do them over. That was in June. I’m still waiting.
Another thing that I had to do in December28 &29 was appraise a collection in Dallas. Wish they had called me earlier as it was too late in the month for such a large collection but to get tax deductions for it from ______________Univ. they had to have it appraised before end of year.
The collector was a__________ from Texas who died 2 years ago. His wife was donating the collection so wanted the tax writeoff as they have many business interests. He had huge amounts of common points piled 4 inches high on the shelves between boxes of points, and on the floor under the shelves. No way we could count them all so we filled cigar boxes, jars, cans with points and estimated the numbers and values. We had boxes of axes, celts, manos, pestles cores, etc, very few of which were first class. Same for points, He had only a few classics and many fakes. He must have liked volume and not quality. I never knew there were so many poor axes and celts around as in Illinois most axes I have seen are better than these were but guess there are some states in which axes are just a cobble with a groove and an edge. Two SMU. Students helped the first day by filling boxes, etc. and numbering each lot. In the process they found a shoe box full of the new silver dollars you see being sold on T.V. The wife did not know these existed. The next day I was alone and shortly after dinner I was appraising a stack of cigar boxes full of relics. I came to one that had two bundles of $100 bills each marked $5000. I took these to the lady of the house and she was speechless for awhile saying she had no idea he had money hidden away. I went back and finished with the points in the box and got the next one and damn if
(Over)
it didn’t have two more bundles of money, $50 bills each bundle containing $5000. I took these to her and she was totally flabbergasted. She didn’t even say thanks. This is the first time such an experience has happened but I can see why the old guy had cash on hand. There were many times that if I had the money at hand I could have bought some fine relics. In the last few years I have tried to keep a couple hundred on hand. It has paid off a couple times. Recently, a local collector who I thought would never sell came around and offered to sell a small frame of points found near the Red River bluff just south of us. It contained some nice points including two small Clovis points. I only know of about 7 Clovis points found in the whole county and this county is as big as New Jersey. Other money I had accumulated for relics went to buy a refrigerator, a dishwasher, a washing machine. Seems like every time I got it up to a good figure we needed a machine for the house, or to make major repairs on a car, or buy tires. Its never ending.
Kermit Suhling and his wife are here now. They had been visiting their daughter down in Georgetown, Texas and stopped for awhile to rest. Kermit has many problems due to diabetes. He wants a bunch of cane shafts to make darts and arrows and I think he is getting some for Larry Kinsella.
Still got half of the ___________ collection to sell but this consists of smaller less expensive items which dont sell as well as the big stuff did. Over the Xmas holiday I bought two fairly nice novaculite Johnson points from Texarkana Lake. I like the colored novaculite, its pretty. I bid on a nice, small Scottsbluff point and may have offered too much but can get my money back so no problem. These things are the same as Hardins and Dovetails but cost more as they are not as common, and more collectors want one. I have 4 now. There were two small ones in the frame I just bought with the Clovis.
Have a fine and happy New Year.
Sincerely,
Greg
Feb. 28, 1992
Dear Ray, these photos are small but the best I have at the moment. The list give the size and price of each from each numbered photo. Please send them and the list back as I have no more. A collector down in Corpus Christi, Texas is interested but you called first. I took a big gamble and traded 4 short nice Clovis points for two Midland points with a nick in the side of each. Midland points are related to Folsoms but are not fluted, just well made and usually thin. Even a half of one sells for over $100. I probably could get 6 or 7 hundred for each. I figured the Clovis at $250 each. They were 1 ½ inches to 1 ¼ inches long but nice. Actually one of the Midland is a variant that is obscure, very thin, and has transverse parallel flaking, and was named the Belen point several years ago but nobody paid much attention to it. I may have another that I had for years and thought it was a small Milnesand point. I have a hunch that at the Folsom time period there are several variants of it
(Over)
including the Midland which was found associated with Folsoms in Texas. I even have one from down here that I got in as small box of common points for less that $5 each. This one is a little rougher in that it has broader flakes removed from it. We should have allowed for that kind of variation. I remember seeing a few others like it from around here but never connected them with Midlands till recently. Stands to reason that if we don’t have hardly any Folsoms around here that somebody else may have been here at the time with slightly different points. The Mahaffey is one for the 10,500 B. P. period and also in your area it’s the Illinois Folsom or Barnes Fluted point which can be Folsom size to Clovis size but thinner. It appears that Agate Basin points come shortly after these points. So if you find small lanceolate points they may be in the Midland point date range.
Sincerely,
Greg
March 29, 1992
Dear Ray,
The pot in the photo looks Caddoan to me. There is no Cape Girardeau Illinois, it is on the Missouri side of the Mississippi. The shape is certainly in one of the Caddo time periods and this kind may have any kind of decoration or none. I would have to see it to know if the paste is Caddoan. If it was Illinois it should be grit-tempered. Caddoan pots are clay-tempered, in that shape.
I traded for two pieces recently. A long new type Dalton that is left-beveled, and a Kirk Stemmed point made of novaculite from Arkansas.
The Dalton came from ___________in southeast Mo. Northeast Arkansas and Missouri just across the line from Missouri. Found in 1991. Baxter Co. Ark. It is made of black argilite, kind of a grainy like quartzite. The novaculite point was in an old Texas collection but had to come from southwestern Arkansas although it could have been found in northeast Texas where a lot of novaculite was used. The Dalton had been about 10 inches long when new. Look at the size of the base.
Sincerely,
Greg
June27, 1992
Dear Ray,
Its been a long time so thought I had better write. Things are hectic here as the authentication business has more than tripled and there is no sign of letting up which means more collectors are getting panicky about buying relics. Got around $100,000 worth of high grade flints from Illinois and Missouri to go over from _________ a lawyer in Dallas. Don’t know how in five years he managed to gather some of the best points shown in the various journals over the years. This will take a month to complete because I’m working on the small boxes of things that come in every day first Get 3 to 5 boxes a day. I wish some others would get into this business. As it is they all send things to me.
Did you know ___________ had some fine Clovis points left and he began selling them after we bought his low grade points He will take whats left to Jeff. City.
I haven’t added much to my collection in the last year. Got two of those red pots that are like the one I found at the Williams site made by a potter between 1700 and 1725. Bought them because it is the work of the only Caddo potter we can identify within 25 years. Doc__________ found 2 more on the Roden Site so most seem to be coming in the area of Roden/Kaufman and the Clark Site where commercial diggers found these.
I traded a book for a nice small hematite boatstone. Its rather plain but nice; and I got a Nochta point that are hard to come by. The Nochta site is at MacDonough Lake located near the bluff road north of Collinsville. I used to hunt the bluffs but had no idea there was a ridge in the bottoms near the lake that had a site on it. There was plenty on the bluff including cemeteries. Anyway at the Nochta site they found several early layers like Dalton on the bottom, Nochta just above them and Kirk corner-notched above the Nochta points. Anyway what the mystery was that was solved by the dig is proof that there are two points that may resemble Agate Basins. Here in Oklahoma real Agate Basins were found well below Daltons dating near 10,000 B. P. In Illinois several pros kept insisting that Agate Basin was later than Dalton. What they saw were Nochta points which look like Agate Basin points and have long stems ground like Agate
(Over)
Basin points but their utility use was different. Agate Basin points are spear points and pretty much maintain an even profile. Nochta points get resharpened at various angles cause its used as a knife. Mine is even serrated. They may be thinner and a bit wider than Agate Basin points. At the Nochta Site they date to about 9,000 B. P. about 1000 years later than Agate Basin and 500 years later than Dalton. So that clears that problem up. I never could believe that Agate Basin was younger than Dalton because of a dig here that found them well below Daltons. Anyway it’s a new point type for Illinois and Missouri. I use the name Nochta point for the site and will publish it in Vol. 3.
Last week I did buy a box of common points a guy found across the line in Arkansas for $300. There were 80 points but a good many were very small Daltons in good condition and some early sidenotched points. Nothing big, but nice color ranging from novaculite to black and tans. The little Daltons are kind of strange and may be a small type.
Have a good summer, got to go.
Sincerely,
Greg
July 3, 1992
Dear Ray,
Sorry I had to cut you off the other evening twice but was in a bind at the time. _____________ was here to pick up a bunch of stuff he left with me for two weeks to authenticate. In case you are interested in several bannerstone performs he has 3. They are good interesting pieces and I don’t think he will ask much for them. Most of the other stuff was ordinary and doubt that you would be interested in them. There were two points I was interested in and finally got, but not very cheap. The reason I bought them was, one for the interest, and the other because I have one like it and never knew who made it. It came from a Caddo grave so this indicates it’s a new type made by some Caddo Indians. The interesting piece is junk in most peoples opinion but several have been found with burials and I would sure like to know more about them. ____________ dug this one at his place. It used to be a large knife that has been completely worn out and the edges are thin and broadly rounded. The edges look like they are a little bit ground and there was a slight attempt at grinding on the surfaces
.
This is a type of point found as dance knives. It is made of Central Texas brown flint from along the Perdenales River and is heat-treated. Some are found min caches of 10 or 12 and all are just strips of flint or worn out knives with the edges highly worn like this one. We need to know more about the use of these knives as they were wornout long before you could not cut with them anymore.
This other knife found with a burial has a broad rounded stem and wide shoulders.
There is a cache of new ones found on Texarkana Lake years ago that we had no idea where they fit. They are big as your hand, and was about 32 of them.
(Over)
Strangely the notches on this point are cut in from one side and not both sides. I need to contact the digger in Arkadelphia and find out what kinds of pottery were associated with it so I can get a date from the pottery type. It cost me $125 which seems high but its made of yellow novaculite and collectors are buying all the novaculite points they can get. It had been heat-treated. Since it’s a rare type when I name it, I should be able to get my money back sometime. Also, there was a large single point of this type in unused condition plowed out on top of the bluff just north of the Roden Site. There are so few of these found they must not have made them very long. I need to fine out what type of arrow points are associated. Looksa much like the Alba points.
The time before when he brought a bunch of stuff to check out I got a Nochta point he had. This is the Agate Basin-like point discovered at McDonough Lake Site that is 1000 years later than Agate Basin.I think I told you about it earlier.
Anyway its nice to be able to got thru things he buys. Sometimes I can get a rare or unuaual pice few collectors know about. Several years ago he sent some points and among them was a very fine Turin point I got for $20(Pike Co. Il). Its an early point a bit wider than the smaller one found at the Koster Site that the pros up there had no idea what it was.I wrote and told them as it came deep down having as date near what was obtained from a buffalo jump in western Iowa. I have seen two or three from Illinois since and one from Nw. Indiana. These Plains people got a long way east. We had the big early bison in Illinois so they went after them.
____ needs to buy more collections so if you ever hear of any for sale let me know. Awhile back he had a 9 inch Etley point made of northeastern Arkansas flint. I had no idea there were Etley people that far south.
He still gets some nice small Daltons from that area, and Hardins. Forgot to tell you this report. Lately in NE. Arkansas two guys were leveling some of those low sandy knolls you see all over the region along U. S. 67 up near Missouri. They had taken off the topsoil and got into pure sand so were afraid they would get bogged down. One guy got off his tractor and stuck his hand down into the san to his elbow and felt something hard. He pulled out a large Dalton point. He reached in a gain and got another and finally got 5 plus Dalton adzes and small points he didn’t count. They got stick and poked around finding 7 more caches like the first one.
Greg
Sept. 29,1993
Dear Ray,
Common Ray dont tell me you didn’t know what that is. Anyone can see it is a perform for a birdstone and its made of slate. It has bee roughed out by pecking and from here on they would have ground it to shape. They would have to grind off a lot as it is well oversized, but the stuff is not hard so it would not take long to complete it.
Maybe I pulled a boo boo. I bought a good typewriter with screen and all but its so damned complicated I’ll have the grandkids learn to use it and teach me. The thing is all plastic and not like my old Royal which in all metal but the buttons on the keys.
Haven’t added much to the collection in some time. Got a 6 inch red and black novaculite knife with Dickson like stem, and a couple Poverty Point stone beads. Beads like this are hard to get but a guy bought a big collection near Poverty Point in Louisiana and had about 20 for sale. He would not sell all but I got two. He also had a bunch of blanks not drilled, from the site and wanted to trade them for a good point but I hesitated. Don’t know what value an undrilled stone bead has.
Forgot – I got a nice Povert Point type plummet found at St. Charles Co., Mo. Made of hematite with a collar around the neck. Its well made but not polished. Had to pay $125 for it. Thought it was a bit high but at the last minute I bought it because I never had a chance before to get one like it before.
A friend here took a new digger with him to dig points on a site the guy knew about and they found several burials. He was supposed to teach the guy how to find graves and he did teach him, but as luck would have it the friend found an 8 inch Mineral Springs knife in the grave he was digging. Well the guy who wanted to learn and took him to the site began bellyaching on how he should have the knife since it was his site. My friend is easy going and thought that since he was teaching the guy how to find the graves he should have the option to keep what he found but in the end he
(Over)
gave the blade to the knew collector to keep peace. The new collector brought it to me to check out and it’s a dandy. I think today it would sell for $2500. I think my friend should have kept what he found but not go back to the site later. Personally, I don’t think he should have taught the guy how to find things as there are too many doing it now and its illegal. Such is life.
Sincerely,
Greg
Nov. 29, 1993
Dear Ray,
I was sent a copy of the article by ________________. It is evident he does not understand point typology. The system he espouses is temporary. Descriptive names are only supposed to be used until someone finds out who made them and how old they are then that person can name them for a local feature, land owner, etc. He does not understand the difference between type and variety. Texas uses some descriptive terms but soon as they know they have it is renamed for the site location, land owner, or something in the area, lake or river or mountain. He is some 100 years behind the times. I expect somebody will rebut him.
If only museum directors hold the line and not cave in to the Indians they could eventually win. Once something is given to them it can’t be retrieved. There are just enough stupid young archaeologists out there who have been brainwashed and will inform some Indian group to come get the things he deems eligible. In _____________ case he got things from old Indians he knew who are now dead and they gave him ceremonial things for him to save in the Museum but these young guys don’t know the deal between the former owner and _________. Taking any of these things would be disloyal to both __________ and the donor. The young archaeologists are disloyal to their Museum in gleefully giving the things away as some have been doing.
Don’t remember if I told you I bought a buffalo skull dating 8/10 thousand years old found in the Canadian River below_________. After heavy floods they find about 4 or 5 washed out of the banks. Also got two Dalton, Plainview, and Agate Basin points found in the river. They have river polish on them. I traded the long 9-inch sugar quartz knife I had for two Union Co. flint spades, one flared from Illinois, and one regular was from the Arkansas River in Muscogee County Ok. That’s only the second spade made of Illinois flint I have ever seen in Oklahoma or Spiro area. Mostly they used that thin layer of quartzy material found in the bed of the Arkansas River in the Spiro vicinity, and the shape is rectangular and/or double-bitted.
(Over)
The Illinois spade has about one season wear on it then a little bit of grinding on the bit to sharpen it. Mississippians flaked their spades to sharpen them, the Caddo ground the bits to sharpen them. This hoe has part of the bit ground, proving it was eventually found in this area. That’s a tiny bit of info nobody knows yet. Last year I got to study 5 Spiro hoes somebody bought out of an old Tennessee collection evidently gotten from the Spiro area years ago, and they were always ground for resharpening, never flaked. Those I have are ground.
A collector brought in 3 interesting Clovis pieces last Sunday he got from an old time collector in west Texas he found during the dust bowl days. The old guy found the small knife lying on the large blade and the clovis point was lying a few feet away all exposed by the wind. These are new knife forms for Clovis. They are very thin. The fluted point has an impact fracture an inch down from the tip that was not all removed by repointing the point. It shows some large Clovis points were used as dart points. Its not as thin as the knives.
Sincerely,
Greg
Note) This drawing accompanied the letter:
May 22, 1995
Dear Ray,
Those points I had from the Chicago area may have been from similar sites those the Barkeep had, and the adze I gave to you from it. You may have to guess which came from the site and which didn’t.
What’s his name (Larry C.) at the University at Macomb buys and sells used books. He may have the book you are looking for among his goods. I sold him two large boxes of what I considered surplus books, like BAE books about 10 years ago. His address is:_________ Phone (evenings) _______.
I bought four large Little River points that had plow damage on them that need restoring. Any chance you might want to practice restoration on them? They are big as your hand. They are made from various colors of novaculite and would be fine points when restored with lots of color. _______ hasn’t picked up his points yet. Sure would like to get them out of here.
Sincerely,
Greg
March 3, 1996
Dear Ray,
I should have looked at the hoes before setting a value. I thought they were all 10 inches or larger but only a few are near 11 inches, the rest are smaller. We might try asking $4000 for the lot since they are Cahokia hoes found just east of Monks Mound about 400 yards on the same terrace the mound is on. ________ put his name on them when he owned them and he also said they were found in St. Clair County. They are just across highway 40 to the north and that is Madison County, same as Monks Mound which is north of the highway which runs in front of it.
Most of the hoes seem to have been used for one season and have little polish on them. None are worn down for use. This was just a cache of medium to small size hoes unlike some caches having larger hoes in them but are smaller caches.
The red blade you return looks very good. Sure beats it have the gap in it. Did you send that item you wanted checked for authenticity? I could not find it in the box. I have been very busy over this weekend also. Seems like just about Thurs/Fri/ 7 or 8 boxes arrive to keep me working on the weekend. I get them out by Monday as usually a bunch will come then too.
Sincerely,
Greg
PS. Just found your note in the pocket in front of your box telling about the point you were going to send. Sounds like you got a good deal on both the hoe and the point. The tracings of the hoes within should help any potential buyer to see what they are like. Most are small so their being from Cahokia needs to be stressed.
Also what do I owe you for fixing the red points. It sure looks more imposing restored. And how much for the postage in sending it.
These tracings were attached:
April 14, 1996
Dear Ray,
I have checked out the two artifacts you sent for authentification and find that the Cahokia point is new. It has new notches and new surfaces. The grooved axe is a kind being made today and in the past few years having peckmarks all over it, then polishing off most the marks till they show just a little all over. I have seen a couple dozen of these and they are all made very similar. None show chopping marks on the bit edge. An Indian rarely left so many peckmarks on his axe. He usually polished it all over as soon as possible. Some axes can weigh up to 5 or 6 points (pounds) and most have very broad grooves.
Sincerely,
Greg
Oct. 22, 1996
Dear Ray,
There is no doubt that the generations are turning over and the people we knew for so long are dying. Who would have thought that Bud Grove, Ed Mieners and Dave Harner would die in a year of each other. They had known each other for many years. They were not all that old either. Time moves on. To me it seems that a week is only three days it passes so fast. Maybe its because I have so many datelines to meet every day getting boxes of artifacts out.
Maybe you can make arrangements to get the Crable pots on time payment. It will be the only time such an offer will arise. If they are sold piecemeal they may never be brought together again. Things are getting very hard to come by these days. Nobody is selling. The few items I get now are by chance. Last week ________ of San Leandro, California sent two pieces to be papered and one was a 5-inch Gary point made of red novaculite. I like novaculite so asked if he would sell it. He said sure. He was visiting a collector of Eskimo materials and the guy had this point mixed in with Eskimo points and thought it came from Alaska. When he found out it was not an Alaskan point he sold it to Pete who is a long time friend of mine and gets good Midwestern points in the San Francisco area. It is a beveled Gary which is unusual although some Hopewell Waubesa points are beveled. He asked what it was worth and I said I would give him $200 for it. He said no, make it $150 dollars. I guess he got it for $100 and thought $200 was too much. I could get $250 for it. Before that a friend in Torrence, Cal. Got a few New Mexico points to paper and he had two Rio Grande points in the group. I offered to buy them a t $75 each as they were half worn down, and he sends them back as a gift for favors I had done for him long ago. It dont hurt to be nice to most people.
Thought you would like to know how fast a Chevy Impala car can go. Well the one in the article included herein went over 350 miles per hour. This article intrigues me. I cant imagine anyone so dumb. What do you think?
Sincerely,
Greg
Note) The article, Greg’s referring to, was about a guy hooking up two jet engines to an Impala to see how fast it would go. However, he forgot about brakes and slammed into a stone bluff at 350 mph.
Jan. 1, 1997
Dear Ray,
_______________ of Maryland is sending ______ to you for the Etley point and the Gorget ($___). I’m sending $--- for the Elora point. I’m returning the discoidal because it seems to have had an extensive acid bath, and the Caddo pipe. You can still get a perfect pipe here for $150 so nobody was interested. You might get it in non-Caddo areas.
We had a lull in the Xmas-New Year weeks and only got one or two small packages a day to work out giving me time to clean up other paperwork I needed to do, and to work on Vol. 3. We need to find about 50 new types not in Vols. 1 and 2. A month ago I sent 10 papers with descriptions, etc. to ___________ to type up the descriptions and complete some that had not been drawn yet. It never got there. If it does not show up we may lose some types as I never kept a record of what I sent to him. A week before Xmas I mailed several books to collectors and one did not arrive in Wisconsin even by Dec. 31. It should have arrived there two or three days before Xmas. From now on I’ll only send stuff to Tucson with a certified certificate. It cost $1.25 more but they can locate lost mail easier with it. Maybe I should do this with all the books too but I don’t lose one in a hundred so it may not pay. But point type papers are hard to come by. You have to go thru a ton of reports to find a newly named type
Got to close now as it looks like I can get a few more point type descriptions completed in the next few days that will decrease the number we lack. I have plenty of point names but cant find the original descriptions to complete them. I have some good ones form New Mexico but again, no original descriptions.
Sincerely,
Greg
Feb. 18, 1997
Dear Ray,
Here it is, February more than half gone already. Looks like we are going to have a short year. The printer in Wisconsin called and said he would have some Vol. 1 point guides to take to the Collinsville show. I get ___ for every book he sells and as I don’t have time nor money to publish the second edition of it this seems like a good deal to me as otherwise I would get nothing. Since there seems to be a shortage of relics to sell or buy, maybe the Collinsville show will get things moving as a lot of people are looking forward to it.
’m getting very few points, maybe one or two every couple months. I did get a small Howard County point recently found at ___________ in N. E. Texas and saw another one from the same area. These points are a puzzle. They are very scarce. I once found one broken in Illinois and it is the only one from there. Most come from the Howard County area of Missouri. I know of none between Howard County and Texarkana Lake so how do you figure this. I also recently saw a large Dovetail from Texarkana Lake and have two Hardins from there so northeastern peoples are getting that far southwest. I even got a Hardin from about 7 miles west of Norman, Okla. Which is just south of Okla City. That’s the farthest west for a Hardin so far. Dovetails just seem to make it into east Texas as far as Houston, south. It’s fun studying the distribution of these early points. I suspect the Howard County points are a variant of Dovetail but are sidenotched, so maybe if Dovetails get that far a few Howards did too. Usually in Missouri, Howard points are never resharpened but are like new. The two from here were resharpened several times and one was very short. Maybe they were trying to make their points last on a long trip.
When you get a chance make for me another embossed-name tool. The letters on this one are getting pretty flat and I don’t want to get left without one in case something happens to it. Will pay in advance if necessary. I have been so busy with this work that I have had no chance to get some work done on Vol. 3. We are down to where we have many unused names or types but no full descriptions. I kept all the info I could get on each but often, who named it, what after, etc. is missing and its hard to
(Over)
come by, so I have to go thru every report I got trying to track down the info. Sometimes they are named in some college report not published, maybe in a students thesis. These, you have to go to the school and check out the report on file which I don’t have the time to do.
Weather is halfway nice and I got some spading done but got lots more to do. If it stays above freezing many more days the fruit trees are going to blossom and then a frost may wipe them out later as it did last year.
Sincerely,
Greg
Mar. 5, 1997
Dear Ray,
Let me know a few days ahead when you are coming down. I have made arrangements with the two boys we were with last time to check out a hill on the ______________ that is made of sand and is full of flint chips. The ________ in Texas has more paleo points on it than any other river. It also has potsherds so maybe there may be some burials.
The plums are in full bloom down here, too early. We may loose them like last year when we got a late frost.
Sincerely,
Greg
April 16, 1997
Dear Ray,
I don’t think these points are good. They look alike and the same person made all 3 of them. The notched one is not a Calf Creek but something someone dreamed up as are the other two items.
We had our 60th. Wedding anniversary weekend of the 5th and 6th. Bobby, our second son organized all sons and daughters and their progeny and came over this weekend as a group. There were 28 individuals down to babies. I guess this group will never get together again like this so it was worth the time. Problem is that my mail began pouring in Thursday to Saturday and I got 11 boxes of relics to work out early this week. I usually get caught up on weekends but not this time. It may take a while before I get on to your papers but you are probably not in that much of a hurry.
It is getting harder to find something good to buy. This has been my slow year. I did get one unusual piece, for a price, that is local and different. It is either an Afton or Standlee point, probably the latter. It has more angles than most of the type, and they are not common.
Tomorrow a man from Tyler Texas is bringing a collection he is buying from an acquaintance in New Mexico that has 8 Clovis and at least 2 Folsom points in it. If the collection checks out he will buy it. The owner knows of 2 Paleo kill sites where he got the 8 Clovises and 2 Folsoms as there was a bison bones scattered about the ground. He will also learn of these locations if he buys the collection, which I think he will. It also has some 200 fine arrow points in it plus many other items. It should be very interesting.
Sincerely,
Greg
The books are in the mail to this address.
(No date)
Dear Ray,
Looking at the photos, looks like you have a few western gem points mixed with local points (arrow points). Yes the big fishhook is as fine as they come. Is the big bi-pointed blade a Paleo or a late blade It seems to have some orange spots in it. The shell pendant made with dots is a Texas piece. That’s how they "engraved" the lines on their shell ornaments. The Bird pot is a dandy. First I have seen where the legs are handles. The bone piece, long and with an elongated hole in it might be a hairpin. If for sale let me know. I’m negotiating with _____________ for 3 he has in fine condition that were found in a rock shelter in Missouri.
I’m returning the arrow points, the "lost" novaculite blade, the Sedalia you send for a second look, it is a Sedalia that had the stem broken off and the Indians restemmed it, and the Ohio discoidal of a type you wanted. ____________ wants to trade it to me for 14 papers. I forgot I papered it so all info is on the paper. That amounts to _______. He says he paid more than that for it but needs the money for a trip west soon. Call it a deposit on something to buy from the _________ Col. Also enclosed is ____ for the small triangular arrow points.
Sincerely,
Greg
Sent the __________ check I got instead of cache, for the Texas point guide I just sold.
Back to: Ray's Letters
Back to: Letters from Greg
Back to: Gregory Perino
