ANCIENT ABORIGINAL TRADE IN NORTH AMERICA. 387 



and master, who frequently lived in a state of polygamy merely for com 

 mauding more assistance in his domestic affairs. 



Such were the occupations of Indian men and women in general. Nev- 

 ertheless, there are indications that the germs of handicrafts already 

 , existed among the North American tribes, or, to speak more distinctly, 

 that certain individuals of the male sex, who were, by natural inclina- 

 tion or practice, particularly qualified for a distinct kind of manual labor, 

 devoted themselves principally or entirely to this labor. I refer, of 

 course, to the period anteceding the occupation of the country by Euro- 

 peans — that period about which so little is known, that a careful exam- 

 ination of the still existing earth-works, and of the minor products of 

 industry left by the former inhabitants, affords the principal guidance 

 in the attempt to determine their mode of existence. The earliest writ- 

 ings on North America are exceedingly deficient in those details which 

 are of interest to the archaeologist, and form, as it were, his points of 

 departure ; and it becomes therefore necessary to adopt here, in the 

 pursuit of archaeological investigation, the same system of cai^eful in- 

 quiry and deduction that has been so successfully employed in Europe. 

 The only difference is, that in the latter part of the world " i)rehistoric 

 times" reach back thousands of years into the remotest antiquity, while 

 in America a comparatively recent period must be drawn within the 

 precinct of antiquarian research. 



Any one who examines a collection of North American chipped flint 

 implements will notice quite rude and clumsy specimens, but also, along- 

 side of these, others of great regularity and exquisite finish, which could 

 only have been fashioned by practised workers in flint. This applies par- 

 ticularly to the iwints of arrows and lances, some of which are so sharp and 

 pointed that they, when properly shafted, almost would be as effectual as 

 iron ones. In fact, the oldest Spanish writings contain marvelous ac- 

 counts of the penetrating force of the flint-pointed arrows used by the 

 Indians of Florida in their encounters with the whites. Not every warrior, 

 it may be presumed, was able to make stone-points, especially those of a 

 superior kind, this labor requiring a skill that could only be attained by 

 long practice. There were doubtless certain persons among the various 

 tribes who practised arrow-making as a profession, and disposed of 

 their manufactures by way of exchange. In reference to this subject 

 Mr. Schoolcraft observes as follows : " A hunter, or warrior, it is true, 

 expected to make his own arms or implements, yet the manufacture of 

 flint and hornstone into darts and spears and arrowheads demanded too 

 much skill and mechanical dexterity for the generality of the Indians to 

 succeed in. According to the Ojibway tradition, before the introduction 

 of fire-arms, there was a class of men among the northern tribes who were 

 called makers of arroicheads. They selected proper stones, and devoted 

 themselves to this art, taking in exchange for their manufactures, the 

 skins and flesh of animals." According to Colonel Jones, the tradition 

 has been preserved in Georgia " that among the Indians who inhabited 



