132 FOSSIL MEN. 



for handling, on the other hand, are smooth and some- 

 times pointed at the top, or have a groove or grooves 

 worked round them to give a more firm attachment by 

 thongs or withes. In most cases the stone axe has 

 not been furnished with a socket, but was fastened 

 into a hole or cleft in the handle, or was merely tied 

 to it with thongs. Those with holes or sockets were 

 usually small, elaborately worked, and often made of 

 soft kinds of stone. There is no good reason, how- 

 ever, to believe that they were merely ornamental. 

 They were, no doubt, unsuited for cleaving wood, but 

 they could as already explained, be used as toma- 

 hawks for killing fish and small animals, or even in 

 war, and the Indian had the art of throwing them 

 with great force and precision. They were, in short, 

 to the American what the boomerang is to the 

 Australian. Sir John Lubbock conjectures that such 

 axes were not used till after metallic tools were in- 

 troduced ; but this will not apply to America. 



The hollow chisel, or gouge, is a very common im- 

 plement among the Northern Indians, but less com- 

 mon apparently in the south. It was always long, 

 smooth, and often broken by hammering at the upper 

 end ; but some specimens have the upper end worked 

 into a sharp edge. Like the hoes already referred 

 to, these chisels are often found in groups or nests, 

 indicating that they were used by parties or companies 

 of people. This accords with the prevalent belief 

 already mentioned, that they were the implements for 

 tapping the maple-tree in spring to extract its sap. 



