122 



THE MUSEUM. 



are found in great abundance and of 

 exquisite workmanship. Denmark, 

 also, abounds in fine specimens of 

 these relics. France has furnished 

 some of the finest specimens ever seen, 

 and Switzerland, also, gives many fine 

 examples from her caves, and from 

 the lakes, where lived, in unknown 

 ages, the Lake Dwellers. These 

 weapons are found in caves, associat- 

 ed with the remains of extinct animals, 

 as well as those which live at the pres- 

 ent time. 



Of the many kinds of stone imple- 

 ments found, arrow heads are by far 

 the most numerous. They are of all 

 sizes and shapes and made of many 

 different kinds ot material, but fiint is 

 the favorite with all and in every 

 country. Fine specimens are made of 

 jasper, quartz, and, in some instances, 

 slate is used. 



In England these arrows are com- 

 monly called elf arrows, from an old 

 tradition, and in Germany they are re- 

 ferred to as thunder stone and are 

 often looked for after a heavy rain by 

 people who are uneducated. This is 

 accounted for in the fact that you 

 would naturally find the points after a 

 heavy, dashing rain had washed them 

 free from the soil in which they were 

 enclosed. 



In the United States, and particu- 

 larly on the Atlantic side of the conti- 

 nent, they are found in great numbers 

 and of many different kinds and sizes, 

 and, while they occur more abundant- 

 ly along the rivers, they are occasion- 

 ally met with far from any stream of 

 importance. Large numbers are 



found along the Connecticut, the Del- 

 aware — both in New Jersey and Penn- 

 sylvania — the Susquehanna and the 

 Ohio. The points from Ohio, Indi- 

 ana, Tennessee, and, in fact, from all 

 the interior states, are generally flint 

 and of superior workmanship. Be- 

 sides arrow heads, large numbers of 

 spear heads, axes, celts, and other 

 objects are found in nearly all the lo- 

 calities mentioned. Spear heads from 

 two to six inches long, are often found 



and at the Museum of Natural History 

 at Central Park can be seen some fine 

 specimens, eight, ten, and, in one 

 case, eleven inches long, a splendid 

 specimen, found at Lake Luzerne. 

 And one was found in a grave ia 

 Georgia which is fourteen inches long. 



Axes are found in great variety, 

 both in shape and size, but near- 

 ly all have the one distinguishing feat- 

 ure which consists of a groove for 

 fashioning the handle. 



In some cases the axe consists mere- 

 ly of a water-worn pebble with a 

 roughly chipped edge, while in other 

 cases they are finely finished and evea 

 polished, showing a great amount of 

 patient labor in their manufacture. I 

 have a specimen from Puma, on whicfi 

 scarcely any labor has been bestowed, 

 and I also have one from New Jersey, 

 which is seven and one-half inches 

 long and six and one-half inches in di- 

 ameter in the largest place, which is a 

 beautiful specimen of the skill dis- 

 played by the makers of these imple- 

 ments. 



In digging a cellar in Trenton, N. 

 J., a few years ago, 125 stone axes, 

 were found huddled together about 

 three feet below the surface, and oth- 

 er lots have been found under about 

 the same conditions in other parts of 

 this state. At the museum of Rut- 

 gers College may be seen an axe 

 which weighs over nine pounds and is 

 about ten inches in length. This axe 

 was found in the city of New Bruns- 

 wick, and is a very finely finished 

 specimen. Celts are also abundant in 

 nearly all localities where other stone 

 relics are met with. 



The size and style of all tliese ob- 

 jects vary in different localities, also 

 in the material of which they are 

 made. On Long Island nearly all the 

 specimens are made of milky quartz 

 which is abundant on that island. In 

 New Jersey many are made of the 

 trap rock, which abounds in that lo- 

 cality, but by far the larger number of 

 those from the interior are made of 

 flint. New Jersey is not noted for the. 



