12(> STONE IMPLKMKNTS [ethasnIS 



jiits. but there are a uuinber of irregular depressions iu a jirove ou the 

 hillside Just above the mill that may be regarded as of aboriginal* 

 origin. Masses of ste^itite ai>i>ear at many jioiuts. and some of these 

 bear evideuee of the use of stone pirks in detaohing masses of the 

 rock. A nuHiber of broken jwts were ob.served, including several varie- 

 ties of form. One is a lla^ bottom basin or pan of circular outline 

 and vertical i>eriphery, about 13 inches in diameter and from .'» to 4 

 inches deep, the bowl being roughed out to about half that depth. The 

 entire surface retains the marks of the roughing-out pick, which has 

 been boldly handled. Another specimen, half of which was found, 

 represeuts an oblong shallow basin with projections for handles at the 

 ends. Auother api>eared to be i)art of a deep, almost hemispherical 

 bowl, neatly worked but retaining no traces of handles. 



In an hour's search two fragmentary tools were found. They are 

 ordinary chisel picks, one showing the point and the other the head or 

 roumled end. The surfaces have the ajipearaiice and feel of ordinary 

 sandstone, but on cxamiiKUion the material is found to be a very tine- 

 grained argillite. Part of the surface of the larger si>eciuicii has lieen 

 shaped by i>eckiug. the remainder having been flake<l. 



Tliompxoii <]ii(trrii — The region about T>rowns briilge over the I'atux- 

 ent abounds in deposits of steatite, and the ancient workings are exten- 

 sive. The first outcrop encouutered after leaving the Laurel and Sandy- 

 sjiring pike is on the farm of !Mr IJenjamin Thompsou. midway between 

 the tollgate at Ednor and the bridge. A grove of trees with nuich 

 undergrowth borders the road on the right, covering an area of 2 or 3 

 acres. In the grove the soapstone outcrops at many points: numerous 

 large masses ]>rotTude from the beds of leaves and mold, and present 

 the deeply excoriated surfaces characteristic of weathered steatite. At 

 the roadside and in the lanes, as well as in the neighboring fields, frag- 

 ments and i>rotruding masses of the rock are seen. A careful -search 

 reve^ded no very definite traces of ancient pitting, but an interesting 

 feature was encountered near the entrance to the wood at the right. 

 An angular mass of the rock rises about 2 feet above the ground, and 

 the highest corner of this has been partially encircled by a deep, wide 

 groove, which still shows the pick marks as seen iu jtlate xn. It 

 seems remarkable that pick marks exi>osed to the weather .should have 

 been preserved for so long a jieriod. yet the work must undoubtedly be 

 attributed to the aborigines whodisajipearcd from this region a century 

 and a half ago. 



The fragments of pots observed here are of ordinary types. A fine 

 medium-size chisel yb. jdate xciVi was found iu a field adjoining the 

 grove, and other fragments were picked up at different points in the 

 vicinity. A boy living near by had found two fine picks, made by 

 renuideling grooved axes, illustrated in h and c, plate XCII. 



liroiDi qiuirri/ — On the farm of Mr T. E. Brown, within about half a 

 mile of the last-mentioned bridge over the Patuxent. steatite is quite 



