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 

 mall here defcribe them. 



Their hatchets were made of ftone. 

 Their fhape is fimilar 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 mull be fixed on a handle, there 

 was a notch made all round the thick end. 

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

 put the flone 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, 

 almofl in the fame way as fmiths fatten the 

 inflrument with which they cut off iron, 

 to a fplit flick. Some of thefe flone-hatcheti 

 were not notched or furrowed at the upper 

 end, and it feems they only held thofe in 

 their hands in order to hew or flrike with 

 them, and did not make handles to them. 

 Mofl of the hatchets which I have feen, 

 confifled of a hard rock-flone : but fome 

 were made of a fine, hard, black, apyrous 

 flone. When the Indians intended to fell 

 C 3 a thick 



