FLINT IMPLEMENTS AND FOSSIL REMAINS. 247 



The bast' retains nearly its natural form and the other end is slightly 

 rounded off, as is shown in Plate 24. These objects are of the type 

 known as Hint fiakers in the Middle West, and were probably supplied 

 with handles fastened about the middle portion, making them available 

 for roughing out the Hint blades by percussion. 



A second form is such as would be produced by dividing longitudi- 

 nally the implement described above and rounding down the ends and 

 edges. Examples are shown in Plate 25. They were associated with 

 the flint knives in such an intimate way as to lead to the supposi- 

 tion that they may have served as handles. They could have been set 

 together in pairs inclosing the upper edge or back of the knife blade 

 and lashed or cemented firmly in place. In two or three cases pairs 

 were found so nearly matching in size and curvature as to allow suc- 

 cessful employment in this way. It is to be noted that these objects 

 are very like implements used in some regions for pressure flaking 

 in the final trimming and sharpening of flint implements. Such imple- 

 ments would naturally form a part of the set of tools carried by a hunter 

 of the Stone Age when about to set out on a prolonged expedition. 



Among the many partially decayed objects of bone there were speci- 

 mens resembling awls: two of these appear in Plate 26. The larger 

 is made of one of the lower leg bones of deer or antelope, and the 

 smaller of the leg bone of some large bird — a heron or a sand-hill crane. 

 Such utensils were an essential feature of the outfit of the lodge 

 dweller of the Great Plains, whose clothing and dwellings were often 

 made of skins sewed together. 



SIGNIFICANCE OF THE DEPOSIT. 



As has been indicated, the conclusion was reached at the outset that 

 the casting of implements into the spring was not a caching or hiding 

 of these precious objects, much less an idle, meaningless act. Stone 

 implements were the most important possessions of the hunting tribes. 

 Stone was their iron and steel. A vast amount of labor was expended 

 in digging it from its bed in the hills and in reducing it to the forms 

 desired, a work necessarily performed by men possessing particular 

 skill. The placing of these articles in the spring must, therefore, have 

 been an act of great importance to the people concerned, and was doubt- 

 less in response to the demands of superstition. Water, and especially 

 sources of water supply, have ever been regarded by primitive men, 

 and even by some more advanced peoples, as dwelling places for spirit 

 beings, and when sacrifices were believed to be necessary, the most 

 precious possessions were cast in, and no one was sufficiently bold to 

 molest them. In fact, such a spot was generally regarded as sacred, 

 and was avoided by all save those who were properly qualified to 



