THE AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST VOL. IX WASHINGTON, D. C., SEPTEMBER, 1896 No. 9 THE IDENTIFICATION OF THE INDIVIDUAL With Special Reference to the System in Use in the Office of the Surgeon General, U. S. Army1 DR C. H. ALDEN, ASSISTANT SURGEON GENERAL, U. S. ARMY My purpose is not to enter into a general discussion of the identification of the individual nor of the various methods proposed for its accomplishment. Time would not permit, for the bibliography alone of this subject would occupy many pages, as an examination of the Catalogue of the Army Medical Library will show. I shall confine myself to a sketch of the system of identification of the individual soldier now in use in the Surgeon General's Office, indicating the necessity for it, the principles upon which it is based, an account of its practical workings and of the results obtained, and incidentally of the Bertillon system of anthropometry, with which the army system is to some extent allied. It will doubtless be remembered what a serious embarrassment to the government the reënlistment of deserters, bountyjumpers, and other undesirable characters in the army became in the later stages of the civil war; how that, stimulated by the enormous bounties paid by towns and county governments and the large prices paid for substitutes, men would enlist and desert, repeating the process many times. As noted by Dr Robert Fletcher in his interesting paper on "Tattooing," read before the Anthropological Society in 1882, an effort was made during the civil war, by marking men on discharge with nitrate of sil 1 Read before the Anthropological Society of Washington, May 5, 1896. 40 (295) containing alabaster vases of perfume, carefully engraved with hieratic characters; the other, sceptres, canes, a mirror, and arrows with their barbs in an astonishing state of preservation. It was almost impossible to determine whether this was the tomb of a man or woman. It contained arms, as well as objects of the toilet. The only indication we could find was the seal used in closing the coffer of perfumes; it bore the name of the family of the king Tesch-Senbet-f. When all the numerous objects found had been sketched in their respective positions we began to open the sarcophagus. The stone being lifted disclosed a wooden coffin covered with gold leaf. An inscription in gold extended the whole length of the lid, giving the name and the title of the deceased, the Princess Noub-Hotep-ta Khroudil. The outer case of the coffin was also ornamented with gold leaf, and was of natural wood, with the bands of gold bearing the inscriptions lined out with a trace of green paint. The mummy had suffered very much from humidity, and nothing remained but a mass of bones and jewelry, inclosed in the ruins of the plaster envelope, which had been entirely gilded. The objects inclosed had never been disturbed. At the left were the canes, the sceptres, and the flagellum, the curious instrument frequently seen in the bas-reliefs of the temples, but never before found in so complete a condition. Upon the head were placed a diadem of silver incrusted with stones, a serpent (uraeus), and a head of a vulture in gold. Upon the breast I found a collar of gold ornamented with fifty pendants, incrusted, and finished at each end with golden hawks' heads of natural size. At the waist was a gold-ornamented dagger, and by the arms and feet golden bracelets, ornamented with pearls, cornelian, and Egyptian emeralds. The head of the mummy was, as usual, turned to the north. At the left of the feet was the caisse à canopes, gilded like the coffin and covered with texts. Among the titles of the Princess Noub-Hotep it has never been mentioned that she had been a queen. I, however, found in her tomb all the attributes of royalty.-Le Temps, Paris. THE AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST VOL. IX WASHINGTON, D. C., SEPTEMBER, 1896 No. 9 THE IDENTIFICATION OF THE INDIVIDUAL With Special Reference to the System in Use in the Office of the Surgeon General, U. S. Army1 DR C. H. ALDEN, ASSISTANT SURGEON GENERAL, U. S. ARMY My purpose is not to enter into a general discussion of the identification of the individual nor of the various methods proposed for its accomplishment. Time would not permit, for the bibliography alone of this subject would occupy many pages, as an examination of the Catalogue of the Army Medical Library will show. I shall confine myself to a sketch of the system of identification of the individual soldier now in use in the Surgeon General's Office, indicating the necessity for it, the principles upon which it is based, an account of its practical workings and of the results obtained, and incidentally of the Bertillon system of anthropometry, with which the army system is to some extent allied. It will doubtless be remembered what a serious embarrassment to the government the reënlistment of deserters, bountyjumpers, and other undesirable characters in the army became in the later stages of the civil war; how that, stimulated by the enormous bounties paid by towns and county governments and the large prices paid for substitutes, men would enlist and desert, repeating the process many times. As noted by Dr Robert Fletcher in his interesting paper on "Tattooing," read before the Anthropological Society in 1882, an effort was made during the civil war, by marking men on discharge with nitrate of sil 1 Read before the Anthropological Society of Washington, May 5, 1896. 40 (295) ver, to secure their detection at subsequent attempts at enlistment, but it had to be abandoned. Probably at that time, in view of the vast army then in service, the frequent changes, the hurry and confusion of actual warfare, no effective plan could have been carried out. Familiar as we were with the existence of the evil during war times, one would hardly think that it could exist to any serious extent in peace and in our present army, yet this reënlistment of deserters and dishonorably discharged men became so frequent that in 1888 it was evident that something must be done to prevent it. The efforts that were being made and have continued to be made to procure men of better character for the army and to elevate the tone of the enlisted men added to the importance of keeping out of the ranks deserters and men who have been dishonorably discharged. I quote one instance of "repeating" which has occurred since the identification system has been in use, else it would not have been known. It illustrates the persistence of these repeaters and at the same time the value of the method which has detected them. Patrick Timlin enlisted February 28, 1891; was dishonorably discharged in the same year. He enlisted as William Swift, January 14, 1892; was identified by outline card and discharged promptly for fraudulent enlistment; again enlisted as James T. Casey, May 2, 1892; was again identified and again discharged for fraudulent enlistment; again enlisted as Thomas J. Casey, September 15, 1892; was identified and discharged for fraudulent enlistment. Lastly, he enlisted as James Pearson, May 25, 1894; was identified and dishonorably discharged, with confinement for one year. The system of M. Alphonse Bertillon had already become known and undoubtedly suggested the army system now in use to Dr Charles R. Greenleaf and Dr Charles Smart, of the United States Army, who were then on duty in the Surgeon General's Office, and to whom the credit of devising and putting it into successful operation is due. Messrs B B. Thompson and Walter S. Kaye, clerks in the identification division of the Surgeon General's Office, are also entitled to much credit for their highly intelligent and efficient services in connection with the successful working of the system. The identification division of the Surgeon General's Office is now in charge of Major Smart. same place and year. Professor Claypole described the geologic relations and exhibited the specimens. The communication was not discussed. Professor Wright followed with "Fresh Geological Evidence of Glacial Man at Trenton, New Jersey." In extension and discussion, Professor Putnam described the recent operations of his assistant, Volk, at Trenton, exhibiting diagrams and specimens produced by many months of labor. Volk's excavations begin in a dark soil or alluvium and pass into a yellow, sandy stratum, tentatively classed with the Trenton gravels; and chipped rock fragments (wasters or rejects) are found in both black and yellow deposits, and appear to be so far distinct as to indicate separate culture stages for the two deposits. Putnam's presentation of the results of sustained operations raised the general question concerning the age of the Trenton gravels and associated deposits and concerning the actual occurrence of artifacts in Pleistocene beds. Brinton pointed out that the archeologic operations of the Philadelphia Academy of Sciences at Trenton had yielded only negative results; McGee added that this was true also of the extended investigations of the Bureau of American Ethnology and the less extensive operations by the United States Geological Survey and the Geological Survey of New Jersey, and suggested that the geologic questions be held in abeyance pending the completion of the detailed surveys now in progress under State auspices. A brief communication by Horatio Hale on "Indian Wampum Records" was presented in the absence of the author. It was illustrated by an interesting series of specimens. On Wednesday morning McGee described "Seri Stone Art." The Seri Indians make little use of stone in their simple handicraft. Stone-chipping is limited to occasional preparation of arrowpoints, and the art seems not to be generally understood and is probably acquired. The prevailing use of stone is for crushing and grinding animal and vegetal substances used for food, for beating out fiber, for making pottery, and for other simple purposes. The stones commonly used are pebbles or cobbles chosen from the beach, and the well-adapted cobbles are preserved, while the ill-adapted are abandoned after a single use. If the stone selected is improved by wear it becomes the property of the user and may be worn through use into a polished discoid implement, serving as muller or hammer, while if |