296 



BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 



[bull. 60 



thorofore prosontin^- one acute and two obtu.so anslos, to suit tho points to bo 

 Id-oken. Tliis operation is very curious, botli tlie liolder and tlie striker sinsing, 

 and tlie strokes of tlie mallet uiven exactly in time with the music, with 

 a sharp and rchoundinL: blow, in which, the Indians tell us, is the yreat 

 medicine (or mystery) of the operation. 



According to B. B. Redding, the Wintoons of Clond River, Oreg , 

 employed a somewhat remarkable method (fig. 158) : 



Iloldin.i;- the piece of obsidian in the hollow of tli(! l(>ft hand, he placed be- 

 tween the lirst and second fingers of the same hand the split jiiece of deerhorn 



Fig. I.'jT. Indirect porcussioii ; tliroc hnnds omployoil. 



first descrilted, the straipht edge of tlie si^lit deerhorn restins aiiainst about 

 one-fourth of an inch of the edge of the obsidian — tins l)ein^^ about the thick- 

 ness of the Hake be (U>sired to split off; then with a small round water-worn 

 stone which he bad selected, weighing perhaps a pound, he, with his right hand, 

 struck the other end of the split deerhorn a sharp blow. The first attempt re- 

 sulted in failure. A flake was split ofC, but the blow also shattered the Hake at 

 the same time into small fragments. He then repeated the operation, appar- 

 ently holding the split deerhorn more carefully and firmly against the edge of 

 the large piece of obsidian. The next blow was successful. A perfect flake 

 was obtained showing the conchoi<lal fracture peculiar to obsidian.* 



1 Redding, IIow Our Ancestors in the Stone Age Made Their Implements, p. <;70. 



