34 RELICS OF THE STONE AGE IN NOVA SCOTIA PIERS. 



Mr. Henry Sorette, of Bridgewater, N. S., has sent me a, 

 drawing of a very remarkable implement of unusual length 

 which was found with other relics while excavations were being 

 made for a canal at Milton, Queen's County, N. S. The imple- 

 ment may be likened to a poniard blade. Apparently it had 

 been ground into shape. It is 18 inches long and tapers 

 regularly from 175 inch in width at the base, to about 75 of an 

 inch (according to the drawing) in width at a distance of about 

 three-quarters of an inch from the end, where it suddenly 

 diminishes to a point. Mr. Sorette's drawing seems to indicate 

 a central line or elevation from base to point. My informer 

 thinks it is made of hard slate. While being taken from the 

 ground, it was broken into four pieces. Doubtless this relic was 

 a ceremonial implement, such as some of the exquisitely flaked 

 blades, long and delicate, which have been found in California.* 

 Its fragile character would forbid any rough usage such as that 

 of war or sport. Strange to say, one or more other implements 

 of this type were discovered with it at Milton. Mr. John S. 

 Hughes of the Milton Pulp Company, in a letter to me relative 

 to this discovery, says, " quite a number of relics were found 

 when we were excavating for the canal ; they consisted of stone 

 chisels, gouges, and ' swords or fish-spears ' about 20 to 2*4 inches, 

 long [i. e., poniard-shaped stone blades, one of which has just 

 been described]. The articles were generally kept by the finders. 

 Out of the lot 1 got one gouge, and Mr. Sorette has one of the 

 swords." 



In the McCulloch collection already referred to, there is a 

 polished slate " spear-head " with a stem notched on the sides to 

 facilitate the attachment of a handle or shaft (Fig. 83). A 

 portion of the point, probably about three-quarters of an inch, is 

 missing. It measures nearly 6 50 inches in length, by T35 inch 

 in width at the base of the blade, from which place it tapers. 

 very gradually to the broken point. The central portion of the 

 blade is flat. This flat part is bordered on both sides by con- 



* See Report of U. S. Geographical Surveys west of 100th Meridian, vol. vii,. 

 (Archeeology), page 49 et seq. 





