402 DEPOSIT OF AGRICULTURAL FLINT IMPLEMENTS. 



Some of the shovels, like the specimen of which a drawing is given, measure 

 a foot and more in length, and consequently are among the largest flint tools 

 thus far discovered in any part of the world. Neither the rude hatchet-like and 

 lanceolate implements found in the '' drift " of France and England, associated 

 with the osseous remains of the mammoth, the rhinoceros, and other animals of a 

 bygone fauna, equal them in size ; nor have, to my knowledge, the caves of the 

 reindeer period in southern France and Belgium, once the resorts of savage hunt- 

 ing tribes, yielded any chipped flint articles of the same dimensions. Indeed, 

 they are rivaled, as I think, only by the large flint celts of Scandinavia and 

 northern Germany, which belong to a more advanced stage of the European 

 stone age. 



That the North American flint tools described by me were really used for dig- 

 ging can hardly be doubted. " If the shape of these implements," I stated in 

 my account, " did not indicate their original use, the peculiar traces of wear 

 which they exhibit would furnish almost conclusive evidence of the manner in 

 which they have been employed ; for that part with which the digging was done 

 appears, notwithstanding the hardness of the material, perfectly smooth, as if 

 glazed, and slightly striated in the direction in which the implement penetrated 

 the ground." I further mentioned that this peculiar feature is common to all 

 specimens of my collection as well as to the few which I have seen in the hands 

 of others ; and that they seem to be rather scarce, and merely confined to certain 

 States bordering on the Mississippi river. 



I was, therefore, much interested in the recent discovery of a large deposit of 

 such implements at East St. Louis, (formerly Illinoistown,) in St. Clair county, 

 Illinois, a place situated directly opposite the city of St, Louis, in the so-called 

 "American Bottom," which forms a fertile plain extending for a considerable 

 distance along the Mississippi shore in Illinois. This region, I must state, is 

 very rich in Indian remains of various descriptions,* but particularly interesting 

 on account of numerous artificial mounds, among wdiich the celebrated truncated 

 pyramid called Cahokia Mound, or Monk's Mound, is l)y far the most conspicuous, 

 reminding the beholder of those gigantic structures in the valley of the Nile, 

 W'hich the rulers of Egypt have left to posterity as tokens of their power and their 

 pride. 



The particulars of the discovery to which I alluded were communicated to mo by 

 Dr. John J. 11. Patrick, of Belleville, Illinois, a gentleman to whom I amgreatly 

 indebted for long-continued co-operation in my pursuits relative to the subject of 

 American antiquities. As soon as Dr, Patrick heard of the discovery he hastened 

 to East St. Louis, for the purpose of ascertaining on the spot all details concern- 

 ing the occurrence of those flint tools ; and in order to obtain still more minute 

 information, he afterwards repeatedly revisited the place of discoveiy which is about 

 14 miles distant from Belleville, and can be reached after a short ride, the latter 

 place being connected by railroad with East St. Louis, The removal of ground 

 in extending a street disclosed the existence of the deposit, and Dr. Patrick 

 derived all facts concerning its character from Mr. Sullivan, the contractor of the 

 street work, wdio was present when the tools were exhumed, and therefore can 

 be considered as a reliable authority. The results of my informant's inquiries, 

 communicated in various letters addressed to me, arc contained in the following 

 account : 



In the early part of December 1868, some laborers, while engaged in grading 

 an extension of Sixth street in East St. Louis, came upon a deposit of Indian 

 relics, consisting of flint tools, all of the hoe and shovel type, and of small fossil 

 marine shells, partly pierced, and in quantity about equal to the contents of a 

 bushel. Close by were found several boulders of flint and greenstone, weighing 



* Some years ago I discovered near East St. Louis the traces of an Indian pottery, de- 

 scribed in the Smithsonian report for 1866, 



