02 COPPEK IMPLEMENTS AND ORNAMENTS. 



form of cylinders with overlapping, though never soldered, edges. These 

 cylindrical beads are sometimes so long that they may be called tubes, as, 

 for instance, a number of specimens more than three inches long, which 

 were discovered in an Indian grave near Newport, Rhode Island (Fig. 

 234). These tubular ornaments, however, though covered with verdigris, 

 cannot be very old, considering that each of them encloses a tightly fitting 

 piece of reed of equal length, evidently stuck into the cylinders for diminish 

 ing the width of the holes, and even remnants of the narrow thong by which 

 they were connected or attached have been preserved. It is probable that the 

 tubes are of Indian (not European) workmanship, and their appearance bears 

 witness to a comparatively recent origin. For aught we know, the wearer 

 may have been a contemporary of Roger Williams. 



Among the copper finds in various parts of the United States have been 

 noticed curious small objects somewhat resembling spools in shape, consisting 

 of two concavo-convex discs connected by a central hollow axis. Objects of 

 this class are said to have been discovered with thread wound around the axis. 

 The collection contains a number of such relics, most of which were derived 

 from mounds near Savannah, Tennessee (Fig. 235). Their use has not yet 

 been explained. From a mound in the same neighborhood was obtained a 

 piece of copper sheet resting on a fragment of much decayed bark or grass 

 matting, impregnated with the green rust of the copper (No. 9882 of the 

 collection) . 



Farther to the north, in Alaska, some of the aboriginal tribes have long 

 been known to employ in the manufacture of tools and weapons native copper 

 obtained from a locality on the Atna or Copper River, where it occurs in 

 rolled masses, sometimes weighing thirty-six pounds. Copper articles made 

 by natives of Alaska may be seen in the ethnological department of the 

 Museum. 



