874 



PAPERS RELATING TO ANTHROPOLOGY. 



arts, just as the nests of Birmiiigliam brass battered-ware kettles, the 

 Yankee tin -ware, and glass whisky bottles have already almost totally 

 destroyed their crude art of i)ottery making. The rifle is taking the 

 I)lace of the bow and arrow. For boys' practice and for small game the 

 iron points got from the fur traders are preferred to stone. A common 

 jack-knife is worth to them more than all the flint knives and saws ever 

 made." 



After expressing himself in this manner he went on to explain what 

 he had seen. He considered jnaking flakes much more of an art than 

 the shaping them into arrow or spear points, for a thorough knowledge 

 of the nature of the stone to be flaked was essential, as a slight dififer- 

 ence in its quality necessitated a totally different mode of treatment. 

 The principal source of supply for what he termed home-made flakes 

 was the coarse gravel bars of the rivers, where large pebbles are found; 

 those most easily worked into flakes for small arrow-points were chalce- 

 dony, jasper, and agate. Most of the tribes had men who were expert at 

 flaking, and who could decide at sight the best mode of working. Some 

 of these pebbles would split into tolerably good flakes by quick and 

 sharp blows striking on the same point ; others would break by a cross 

 fracture into two or more pieces ; these were preferred, as good flakes 

 could be split from their clean fractured surface by what Mr. Catlin 

 called impulsive pressure, the tool used being a shaft or stick of between 

 2 and 3 inches diameter, varying in length from 30 inches to 4 feet, ac- 

 cording to the manner of using them. These shafts were 

 pointed with bone or buck-horn, inserted in the working 

 end as represented in Fig. 1, bound with sinews, or raw- 

 hide thongs, to prevent splitting. For some kinds of work 

 the bone or horn tips were scraped to a rather blunt point, 

 others with a slightly rounded end of about one-half inch 

 in diameter. He described various ways of holding the 

 stone while the pressure was being applied. A water- 

 worn pebble broken transversely was commonly held by 

 being sufficiently imbedded in hard earth to prevent its 

 slipping when held by the foot as the pressure was applied. 

 Large blocks of obsidian or any easily flaked stones were 

 held between the feet of the operator while sitting on the 

 ground, the impulsive pressure being given to the tool 

 grasped in both hands, a cross-piece on the upper end 

 resting against his chest, the bone end against the stone 

 in a slight indentation, previously prepared, to give the 

 proper angle and to prevent slipping. 



In some cases the stone operated on was secured be- 

 tween two pieces or strips of wood like the jaws of a vise, 

 bound together by cords or thongs of rawhide ; on these strips the oper- 

 ator would stand as he applied the pressure of his weight by impulse. 

 The best flakes, outside of the home-made, were a subject of commerce, 



Fig. 1. 



