632 SLING CONTRIVANCES FOR PROJECTILE WEAPONS. 



dwellings and tombs— for instance, from the munmiy caves of the 

 hacienda del Coyote, in Coahuila," or from San Marco, Fla.,^ Santa 

 Barbara, Cal.,'' Utah,'' and southwestern Colorado, and besides the 

 ordinary ones, several magnificent examples, certainly not intended 

 for use, being richly ornamented with carvings, paintings, and 

 gilding, and representing temple decorations, and probably dedi- 

 cated to the rain goddess Tlaloc,'' as they show her symbol. These 

 beautiful examples come from Tlaxiaco, in Mixtec, in the street of a 

 Pueblo toward Oaxaca.'^ 



The same type still appears at this day in spear slings used in 

 Michoacan on Lake Patzcuaro.^ There is no account from ancient 

 times that this type was in use in Avar, but it is still employed in 

 hunting Avater foAvl -^ on Lake Patzcuaro, the flat shores being cov- 

 ered Avith bamboo thickets in Avhich thousands of diiclvs nest. The 

 spears are about "2 to l\ meters long and Viave a three-pronged 

 point. The spear sling from this area is flat on the upper side and 

 half round on the lower, 60 centimeters long, with round grip, which 

 l)roadens into a flat piece AA'hich has tAVO holes for the third and 

 fourth fingers. (Doctor Seler also mentioned" that the shafts from 

 Patzcuaro Lake, of Avhich Mason gives first notice, had ears cut from 

 shells, tied on AA'ith cotton cord, one on each side, for the third and 

 fourth fingers. According to these Avriters, the shafts are very sijni- 

 lar to those of the ancient Mexicans). The shaft narroAvs outward 

 and has a broad deep groove on the u^jper side, at the end of Avhich a 

 small hook is carved from the shaft. The grip is cut to fit the hand 

 and terminates in a hook Avhich serA^es to draAA' the spear out of the 

 Avater (see pi. iv, figs. 35 and 3()). This type Avas employed in Utah,*' 

 southAvestern Colorado,'' California,' Florida,^ Mexico,^ ' '■ ' especially 

 in Coahuila,'' in Yucatan among the Tutulxiu.'' Isthnnis of Tehuan- 



" Doctor Seler: Globus, 61, No. 7, p. 97 et seq. 



6 Mason : lutein. Arch. XI, 19; Starr, ibid., p. 2:VS et seq. 



c Dalton : Intern. Arfb. X, p. 2l2."» et se(i. 



d Herman Strebel : Intern. Areb. IV, p. 22.5 et seq. ; compare also Doctor Seler: 

 Intern. Arch. Ill, pp. 187-148, wbo considers that tbey are temple pieces dedi- 

 cated to the rain gt)d. 



e Doctor Seler: Intern. Arch. III. p. l."!7 et seq. 



/Starr: Arch. XI, i». 2.''.;i : also (ilobus, 7.S, j). 207; and Indians of southern 

 Mexico, pi. 21. 



i/ Starr: Arch. XI, i». 2:^;^ et seq.; aud Pepper: Cong, of Americanists, 19(»2, 

 J). 107 et seq. 



'' Mason : Arch. XI, p. 129 et seq. 



t Dalton : .\rcli. X, )). 22.'5 ft seq. 



i From tlie Key dwellings ou the Gulf coast and from San Marco in Florida: 

 Mason: Intern. Arch. XI, 19. After Dalton: Proc. Anier. IMiilos. Soc Phila.. 

 1S97, vol. 3.5, PI. XXXV, f. 4. 



1^ Muuuny Cave of the Hacienda del Coyote; Doctor Seler: Globus. CI. i>. 97. 



i Uhle: ^litth. Wiener Antbroii. Gesellsch., 1887, No. XVII, i)art 2, pp. 1U7-114. 



