ANCIENT ABORIGINAL TEADE IN NORTH AMERICA. 353 



half inches to two iuches in diameter, which have been likened to the 

 bosses observed on harnesses. Concerning- their use, nothing is defin- 

 itely known, but it is presumed that they were destined for purposes of 

 ornament. The manipulation of pressure was likewise employed in mak- 

 ing smaller articles of decoration resembling the convex metal buttons 

 still seen on the clothes of the peasantry of Germany and other Euro- 

 pean countries. However, in minutely describing these remarkable 

 products of aboriginal art, I would merely repeat what already has 

 been stated, detailed accounts being given in the well-known work of 

 Messrs. Squier and Davis. 



Although the fire on the hearths or altars now inclosed by the sacri- 

 ficial mounds* was sometimes sufficiently strong to melt the deposited 

 copper articles, it does seem that this proceeding induced the ancient 

 inhabitants to avail themselves.of fire in working copper ; they persisted 

 in the tedious practice of hammering. Yet one copper axe, evidently 

 cast, and resembling those taken from the mounds of Ohio, has been 

 ploughed up near Auburn, in Cayuga County, in the State of New York.t 

 This specimen, which bears no traces of use, may date from the earlier 

 times of European colonization. It certainly would be wrong to place 

 much stress on such an isolated case. The Indians, moreover, learned 

 very soon from the whites the art of casting metals. For this we have 

 the authority of Roger Williams, who makes the following statement in 

 reference to the New England Indians ; ^'-Tliey have an excellent Art to 

 cast our Peivter and Brasse into very neate and artificiall FipesPX 



In the Lake Superior district, resorted to by the aboriginal miners, 

 there have been found, besides many grooved stone hammers (sometimes 

 of very large size) and rude wooden tools, various copper implements, 

 such as chisels, gads, &c., and some spear-heads in which, in lien of a 

 socket, the flat sides at the lower end are partly bent over,§ a feature 

 also peculiar to certain European bronze celts, which, on this account, 

 are denominated "winged" celts. 



The copper-lands of Northern Michigan, it has been stated, were 

 visited by the aborigines for the sake of obtaining copper at a period 

 anteceding the arrival of the whites. It is probable that small bands of 

 various northern tribes made periodical excursions to that locality, return- 

 ing to their homes when they had supplied themselves with sufficient quan- 

 tities of the much-desired metal. The indications of permanent settle- 

 ments, namely, burial-places, defensive works, traces of cultivation and 



*For a precise description of the remarkable stratified mounds denominated "sacri- 

 ficial," I must refer to ttie "Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley." Burned 

 human bones being often discovered in them in connection with manufixctured objects, 

 Sir John Lubbock suggests that these mounds are of a sepulchral rather than a sacri- 

 ficial character. (Prehistoric Times, first ed., p. 219, »&c.) 



t Squier, Aboriginal Monuments of the State of New York, Washington, 1849, j). 78. 



X Roger Williams, A Key into the Language of America ; Providence, 1827, p. 55. (Re- 

 print of the London edition of 1643.) 



§ Whittlesey, Ancient Mining, &c. 

 23 8 



