FLINT IMPLEMENTS AND FOSSIL EEMAINS. 239 



so strongly that it requires quite steady dipping 01. the part of a 

 single workman to keep the flow down. It is clear and so slightly 

 impregnated with sulphur that it is used by the people of the vicinity 

 for drinking purposes. The flow is steady, not changing winter or 

 summer, a fact which indicates the great depth of the source— prob- 

 ably in the reservoirs from which the artesian water of the region is 

 obtained. 



TRADITIONS REGARDING THE SPRING. 



In the neighborhood of Af ton the relic-bearing spring has the repu- 

 tation of possessing unusual medicinal qualities, and it is said that the 

 aborigines of the region were formerly in the habit of gathering from 

 all directions and camping near it for the purpose of drinking the 

 water. This tradition refers, apparently, to the Cherokees; but since 

 these people are recent arrivals in the West and appear to have no 

 definite knowledge of the matter, I was inclined to believe that the 

 'tradition related to the tribes who preceded them in the Indian Terri- 

 tory, and that the qualities of the spring were not medicinal, as we 

 understand the term, but were magical— such qualities as are com- 

 monly associated with sources of water supply by primitive peoples. 

 This point will receive attention later. Careful search in the vicinity 

 of the springs failed to bring to light even the most meager traces of 

 aboriginal occupancy. 



FIRST CLEARING OUT OF THE SPRING. 



At an early date a barrel was set into the soft ground to receive and 

 •retain the water, and about fourteen years ago this was superseded 

 by a strong box, but as the boards were sharpened and driven down 

 the deposit of flints in the spring was not seriously disturbed. Later 

 a new box was set inside of the old one, and in the cleaning out of the 

 reservoir many implements and bones were found. It is said that at 

 that time a bushel or more of the flints were thrown out and distrib- 

 uted among various persons/' It is much to be regretted that none of 

 these have been preserved. Subsequent cleanings out yielded addi- 

 tional implements, and in the summer of 1901 Dr. Harper obtained 

 about 150 specimens and some fossil teeth, which have been pre- 

 sented to the Smithsonian Institution. In June, 1901, Mr. Stewart 

 visited the place and made the slight excavations already referred to, 

 but did not penetrate deep enough to discover the deposit of imple- 

 ments. 



«It should be noted that the stories relating to this period of the history of the 

 spring vary considerably. 



