ANTIQUITIES OF TENNESSEE. 275 



beads was procured here. They are made of bone, are quite small, and 

 were lying in the grave of an infant. The dead in this cemetery were 

 all buried with their heads toward the east, and some graves contained 

 the bones of three or four persons. It was quite common to find the 

 bones of children and adults in one grave, though occasionally a grave 

 was occupied by several children. The relics, when there were any, were 

 always found by the side of the skull. 



Where they j^ocured the material to make the greenstone axes found 

 among their grave relics I cannot say, as it is a volcanic or igneous 

 rock, and none is found in this State. It is said that a bluff on the Mis- 

 souri River furnished the neighboring Indians with the material for 

 these and many other implements. 



A jar holding about two quarts, and a small pot, were exhumed. In 

 the' latter was found a piece of oxide of iron, weighing about two 

 ounces, which shows a worn spot, where it had been scraped by the 

 owners to obtain paint for their bodies. It readily yields a dusky-red 

 color on being moistened. In one of the graves were found five beauti- 

 ful oblong beads of amber, two inches long, and in the center one-half 

 inch in diameter. They were smoothly bored, and, though showing 

 some cracks, were still entire. Unfortunately, these were stolen. They 

 showed a fine polish, and would have been prized by our ladies very 

 highly. I also saw a bead of the same material raised upon the drill of 

 a well-borer in this town, only differing from the others in the fact that 

 it was round and about the size of a grape. It was accidentally lost by 

 the gentlemen who discovered it. I have a small implement of con- 

 glomerate — iron, silica, and pyroxene — so hard that the best file will 

 make no impression upon it, and tapering both ways from about one- 

 third its length. It is difficult to conceive its use, unless by the aid of 

 sharp sand it was used to bore or drill the bowl and stem-hole of their 

 pipes. It fits those openings in both the pipes which I have. I also 

 procured a large number of axes of every size, from the smallest toma- 

 hawk to the largest choppingax. Flint arrow-heads, harpoon-heads, 

 and spear-heads also are plentiful in my collection, besides many other 

 utensils and implements. On the bluffs of the Big Harpeth many pic- 

 tures of Indians, deer, buffalo, and bows and arrows are to be seen. 

 These pictures are rudely drawn, but the coloring is as perfect now as 

 when first put on. We have also bone awls, buckhorn handles for 

 knives, &g. 



We now have to consider the most interesting relics found with the 

 dead aborigines, viz, the idols ; and, as I have before stated, since it is 

 universally conceded that our Indians are the only known savage race 

 which does not worship idols, it is difficult to define the use to which 

 these relics were put by their owners. I have procured four speci- 

 mens, all of sandstone, except one made of clay and sand and burnt. 

 One of these idols weighs 27i pounds, and is cut from a solid block of 

 sandstone. It is remarkable for its great resemblance to the idols of 



