PRIMITIVE MANUFACTURE OF SPEAR AND ARROW POINTS. 377 



far more replete with animal life than they are at present. Then, the 

 Savannah was a limpid river. At regular times the shad and sturgeon 

 ascended and descended the river in countless numbers, while all the year 

 round, perch, bream, catfish, trout, suckers, gar-fish, sun-fish, eels, and 

 other varieties of fishes were found in i t in abundance. These waters teem ed 

 also with turtles and mussels, which constituted favorite articles of food 

 among the primitive peoples of this region. The buffalo, the black bear, 

 the deer, the raccoon, the opossum, the wild-cat, the wolf, the mink, the 

 otter, the beaver, and other wild animals, the turkey, the eagle, the fish- 

 hawk, owls, and various birds had here their habitat. Eeptiles, some sorts 

 of which were utilized as articles of food, crawled beneath the shadows 

 of the forests. The mulberry, plum, haw, crab-apple, and other native 

 fruits yielded their annual tribute, while from the nuts of the walnut 

 and hickory trees were obtained generous supplies of oil. It was a re- 

 gion attractive to man in a state of nature. Here, under temperate 

 skies, the battle for life was not severe. Intermediate between the 

 mountain ranges of Upper Georgia and the sterile pine barren belt to 

 the south, running parallel with the coast, this territory was well suited 

 for the abode of primitive peoples. Many are the indications that it was 

 occupied for an indefinite period by a by no means insignificant abor- 

 iginal population. 



That the Indians resorted in considerable numbers to the banks of 

 the Savannah and its tributaries to hunt and fish is attested by frequent 

 and large refuse piles, still existent at many well-selected points, by 

 ancient burial-grounds, by occasional tumuli, and by the sites of aban- 

 doned villages upon the islands, and the high grounds adjacent to the 

 streams. 



With a view, therefore, to easy subsistence, companionship, and a 

 ready sale at home of the manufactured articles, it must be admitted 

 that the primitive arrow-makers were wise in here locating their most 

 extensive open-air workshops. Surrounded by multitudes engaged in 

 the capture of birds, animals, and fishes, the demand for stone darts 

 was necessarily continuous and very general. The loss and destruction 

 of such projectiles must have been constant and great, and hence ex- 

 tensive manufacture was requisite, especially during the seasons set 

 apart for hunting and fishing, to supply the waste thus occasioned. In 

 exchange for them food and skins were freely offered. While to the 

 women was mainly committed the fabrication of fictile ware and domes- 

 tic utensils, and while nearly all the male members of the community 

 were able, on an emergency, to chip implements of hunting and fishing, 

 the manufacture of spear and arrow points was in large measure mo- 

 nopolized by certain men in each tribe. In such labor were they con- 

 stantly and professedly engaged, acquiring a degree of skill born only 

 of an accurate knowledge of material and continual practice. Day by 

 day were these chipped barbs bartered away for food, clothing, and 

 ornaments, and when the products of manufacture accumulated beyond 



