26  SMITHSONIAN    MISCELLANEOUS    COLLECTIONS  VOL.    96 
contact  during  the  seventeenth  century.  He  wrote"  (vol.  i,  pp. 
343-344)  : 
The  old  boilers  or  kettles  of  the  Indians,  were  either  made  of  clay,  or  of  dif- 
ferent kind  of  pot-stones,  (Lapis  ollaris).  The  former  consisted  of  a  dark  clay, 
mixt  with  grains  of  white  sand  or  quartz,  and  burnt  in  the  fire.  Many  of  these 
kettles  have  two  holes  in  the  upper  margin,  on  each  side  one,  through  which 
the  Indians  put  a  stick,  and  held  the  kettle  over  the  fire,  as  long  as  it  was  to  boil. 
Most  of  the  kettles  have  no  feet.  It  is  remarkable  that  no  pots  of  this  kind  have 
been  found  glazed,  either  on  the  outside  or  the  inside.  A  few  of  the  oldest 
Swedes  could  yet  remember  seeing  the  Indians  boil  their  meat  in  these  pots. 
They  are  very  thin,  and  of  different  sizes ;  they  are  made  sometimes  of  a  green- 
ish, and  sometimes  of  a  grey  pot-stone,  and  some  are  made  of  another  species  of 
apyrous  stone ;  the  bottom  and  the  margin  are  frequently  above  an  inch  thick. 
The  Indians,  notwithstanding  their  being  unacquainted  with  iron,  steel,  and 
other  metals,  have  learnt  to  hollow  out  very  ingeniously  these  pots  or  kettles 
of  pot-stone. 
Four  fragments  of  soapstone  vessels,  recovered  from  the  site  of 
Pissaseck,  are  shown  in  plate  7.  The  specimen  in  the  upper  right 
corner  is  a  bit  of  a  rim,  worn  smooth  from  use ;  it  closely  resembles 
the  example  from  Nandtanghtacund,  figure  8.  The  period  of  occu- 
pancy to  which  the  specimens  from  the  Rappahannock  sites  should 
be  attributed  has  not  been  determined,  but  the  statements  by  Kalm. 
although  treating  of  the  country  farther  north,  suggest  the  possibility 
that  soapstone  may  have  been  used  in  the  Rappahannock  villages  as 
late  as  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
Many  of  the  heavier,  cruder  forms  of  implements  are  still  to  be 
found  scattered  over  the  site  of  the  ancient  village.  Typical  examples 
are  illustrated  in  plates  8  and  9. 
Plate  8. — Specimen  a.  An  implement  made  of  diabase,  surface 
slightly  weathered,  and  resembling  many  specimens  found  on  sites 
above  the  falls.  The  groove  had  been  formed  by  pecking  and  is 
smooth  from  long  use. 
Specimen  h.  Axe  made  of  diabase,  so  greatly  altered  that  it  is  not 
possible  to  distinguish  the  flaked  from  the  natural  surface  of  the 
stone. 
Specimen  c.  Pestle,  made  of  diabase,  with  condition  of  surface 
similar  to  that  of  h.  This  was  evidently  a  natural  boulder  which  had 
been  shaped  by  pecking  rather  than  by  flaking.  Both  sides  are 
roughly  pitted. 
Specimen  d.  Hammerstone ;  a  natural  quartzite  pebble  with  the 
greater  part  of  the  surface  showing  effect  of  use. 
Kalm,  Peter,  Travels  into  North  America.   2d  ed.,  2  vols.  London,  1772. 
