New Jerfey, Raccoon. 37 



and which they always get from the Euro- 

 peans : Of this I fhall be more particular, 

 in its proper place, But having had an op- 

 portunity of feeing, and partly collecting a 

 great many of the ancient Indian tools, I 

 fhall here defcribe them. 



THEIR hatchets were made of ftone. 

 Their fhape is iimilar to that of the wedges 

 with which we cleave our wood, about half 

 a foot long, .and broad in proportion ; they 

 are made like a wedge, fharp at one end, 

 but rather blunter than our wedges. As 

 this hatchet muft be fixed on a handle, there 

 was a ootch made all round the thick end. 

 To faften it, they fplit a flick at one end, and 

 put the ftone between it, fo that the two 

 halves of the flick come into the notches of 

 the ftone ; then they tied the two fplit ends 

 together with a rope or fomething like it, 

 almoft in the fame way as fmiths faften the 

 Inftrument with which they cut off iron, 

 to a fplit flick. Some of thefe ftone-hatchetf 

 were not notched or furrowed at the upper 

 end, and it feems they only held thofe in 

 their hands in order to hew or ftrike with 

 them, and did not make handles to them. 

 Moft of the hatchets which I have feen, 

 confifted of a hard rock-ftone : but fbme 

 were made of a fine, hard, black, apyrous 

 ftone. When the Indians intended to fell 

 C 3 a thick 



