was known to the Mound-Builders of
Ohio than that the raven was. What possible suggestion of a toucan is to
be found in this head it is not easy to see.

Turning to page 266 (Fig. 178) another and very different bird is held
up to view as a toucan.

[Illustration: Fig. 16.--Toucan of Squier and Davis.]

Squier and Davis remark of this sculpture:

From the size of its bill, and the circumstance of its having two
toes before and two behind, the bird intended to be represented
would seem to belong to the zygodactylous order--probably the
toucan. The toucan (Ramphastos of Lin.) is found on this continent
only in the tropical countries of South America.

In contradiction to the terms of their description their own figure, as
will be noticed, shows _three_ toes in front and two behind, or a total
of five, which makes the bird an ornithological curiosity, indeed.
However, as the cast in the Smithsonian collection shows three toes in
front and one behind, it is probably safe to assume that the additional
hind toe was the result of mistake on the part of the modern artist, so
that four may be accepted as its proper quota. The mistake then
chargeable to the above authors is that in their discussion they
transferred one toe from before and added it behind. In this curious way
came their zygodactylous bird.

This same pipe is figured by Stevens in Flint Chips, p. 426, Fig. 5. The
wood-cut is a poor one, and exhibits certain important changes, which,
on the assumption that the pipe is at all well illustrated by the cast
in the Smithsonian, reflects more credit on the artist's knowledge of
what a toucan ought to look like than on his fidelity as an exact
copyist.

The etchings across the upper surface of the base of the pipe, miscalled
fingers, are not only made to assume a hand-like appearance but the
accommodating fancy of the artist has provided a roundish object in the
palm, which the bird appears about to pick up. The bill, too, has been
altered, having become rounded and decidedly toucan-like, while the tail
has undergone abbreviation, also in the direction of likeness to the
toucan. In short, much that was lacking in the aboriginal artist's
conception towards the likeness of a toucan has in this figure been
supplied by his modern interpreter.

[Illustration: Fig. 17.--Toucan as figured by Stevens.]

This cut corresponds with the cast in the Smithsonian collection, in
having the normal number