RELr<JS OF AX INDIAN nUNTINU GROUND, 



IN YORK f'OT'NTY. PA. 



BY ATREUS AVANNEK. 



York County is assuiiu-d to b;ivc been only occasionally visited by 

 Indians and reputed to be comparatively barren of relics. In a re- 

 cently ])ublished liistory of the county, it is said that — 



'• It [York County] was, as it appears from the Indian com[)laints, 

 ])receding" its settlement, a hunting ground, or on the way to hunting 

 grounds, nearly all woods, and claimed by the Indians to have been ex- 

 pressly reserved for them by William Penu, The original settleis here 

 found imnuMise tracts of land entirely deniuled of timber by the annual 

 fires kindled by the Indians for the purpose of improving their hunt- 

 ing grounds." 



Sucli a statement concerning the Indian occu])ation, .vithout calling 

 into question its accuracy, is too general and vague It conveys to us 

 no conception of tlu; extent, cliara<'ter, location, and nninber (»f Indian 

 settlements in the territory. 



Desirous of learning moi-e about these aboriginal settlements, the 

 author sele<;ted a limited area of the county and then proceeded to care- 

 fully search the ground. The object was to ascertain just uhat evi- 

 dences of Indian occupation could yet be found strewn over the fields, 

 many of which ha\o been ciilfivated for more than a hnndred years. 

 That the search was well rewarded isproxcii by the nninbcr and \ariefy 

 of specimens collected. 



The region selected extends along the ('odoiiis Creek, lia\ing a 

 breadth of two miles, and a length of six, with the city of York, (York 

 County, Ta.,) in its center. The area flins located reaches from the 

 forks of the creek, above tJu; city, to two high hills, between which the 

 Codorus Hows. The surface of the, land is undnlatory and well watiircd 

 by numerous runs. It is now a thickly settled and highly cnlfi\ated 

 part of the county. All the relics described in this ])ai)er have been 

 found along the Codorus and its tributary runs, since ISSi'. 



All the implements herein described were collected from the surface 

 in various fields. 



555 



