132 ISLAND CULTURE AREA OF AMERICA [eth. Ann. 34 



" Now, since the strata of the Lesser Antilles do not contain the 

 material used in some of these celts, it is certain that they were 

 not made where they were found. Should we not, therefore, infer 

 from this that they all have the same origin, that they all come 

 from the continent or from the Greater Antilles^ 



"I have in my possession a club {baton) from the Galibis of 

 Dutch Guiana. This club has a certain age. The wood, of a red 

 color when freshlj' cut, has assumed a veiy deep black hue. The 

 cotton thread around the handle is very dirty. The weapon has 

 seen service. This club is exactly like those used by the Caribs of 

 the islands, and which Father Dutertre has described; but the 

 peculiar part of it, the thing that gives it an enormous interest, is 

 the green celt fixed in its lower extremity. Now, this celt resembles 

 all those which I have found in Guadeloupe and the other islands. 

 Is it of modern manufacture? Is it not rather the work of the 

 first inhabitants of tlie continent? Has it not been found in the 

 soil and used by its discoverer? I would decide without hesitation 

 in favor of the latter hypothesis, for it is covered with a patina, 

 which only a long continuance in the soil could give it. 



" Here is another fact which seems to prove that the Caribs of 

 Columbus and of Father Dutertre are the same as those of Guiana. 



" The exterior distinguishing color is not always that of the 

 stone of which they are made. The color, which is black, red, yellow, 

 brown, or bluish, partakes essentially of that of the soil from which 

 they were taken. Those from Grande-Terre, whose calcareous soil 

 is covered with a thin layer of black and compact vegetable earth, 

 all have the colors more or less dark — brown, red, black — while 

 those from Guadeloupe proper, whose soil is covered with a thick 

 layer of more or less ferruginous red earth, have the tints lighter. 

 Yellow specimens are numerous there. Many of them have preserved 

 their normal tint. These are the ones found near rivers. Contin- 

 ually washed by their waters, they have not acquired the coating 

 of rust with which those buried in the ground are covered. 



" So true is the above that every fresh break shows the interior 

 of the stone to be of a different color from the exterior. 



"All these rocks are volcanic, and are naturally either black, 

 blue, or green. 



" This peculiarity does not generally exist in polished celts. The 

 glazing has unalterably fixed the color of the stone. They have, in 

 consequence, remained free from all oxidation, and appear as if just 

 from the hands of the workman. 



'■''Axes. — Axes are more numerous than all the other pieces. That 

 may be readily understood, the ax being of prime utility to man. 

 Some are long and narrow, others short and wide; some are very 



