holmes | FROM THE CHEROKEE INDIANS. 437 



G3058. Arrows used with the blow-gun. The shafts, which are made of 

 hickory wood, are 2 feet in length and very slender. The 

 shooting end has a conical point; the feather end is dressed 

 with thistle down, tied on in overlapping layers with thread 

 or sinew. The tip of down completely fills the barrel of the 

 gun ; and the arrow, when inserted in the larger end and 

 blown with a strong puff, has a remarkable carrying and 

 penetrating power. 



63085. Thistle heads, probably the (Jnicvs lanceolatus, from which the 

 down is obtained in preparing the arrows of the blow-gun. 



63001. Ball-sticks or racquets made of hickory wood. Eods of this 

 tough wood, about 7 feet long, are dressed to the proper 

 shape, the ends having a semicircular section, the middle 

 part being flat. Each is bent and the ends united to form a 

 handle, leaving a pear-shaped loop 6 inches in width by about 

 12 in length, which is filled with a network of leather or bark 

 strings sufficiently close to hold the ball. 



63061. Ball, 1£ inches in diameter, covered with buckskin, used with the 

 racquets in playing the celebrated ball game of the Cherokee, 

 Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole Indians. 



ANIMAL SUBSTANCES. 



03071. Shell, probably a Unio, used by potters to scrape the surface of 



clay vessels ; seen in use. 

 03081. Comb made of horu. The teeth are 2 inches in length, and have 



been made with a saw. It is used in dressing the hair. 

 63085. Charm made of feathers and snake rattles; worn on the head 



or on some part of the costume. 

 63082. Awl of iron set in a handle of deer's horn. 



