774 



TOMAHAWK 



[b. a. e. 



applied to various forms of the club, as 

 indicated in the following citations. 



Describing a clandestine visit to one of 

 the houses of worship of the Virginia 

 Indians, Beverley says: "We found large 

 Shelves, and upon these Shelves three 

 Mats, each of which was roll'd up, and 

 sow'd fast. These we handed down to 

 the light, and 

 to save time in 

 unlacing the 

 Seams, we 

 made use of a 

 Knife, and 

 ripp'd them, 

 without doing 

 any damage to 

 the Mats. In 

 one of these we 

 found some 

 vast Bones, which we judg'd to be the 

 Bones of Men, particularly we meas- 

 ur'd one Thigh-bone, and found it two 

 foot nine inches long: In another Mat, we 

 found some Indian TomaJtaivks linelv 



TOMAHAWK DESCRIBED AND ILLUSTRATED BY BEVERLEY 



Globe-headed Club, Sometime 



grav'd and painted. These resembl'd the 

 wooden Faulchion us'd by the Prize- 

 fighters in England, except that they have 

 no guard to save the Fingers. They were 

 made of a rough heavy Wood, and the 



Spike, Some- 

 i tomahawk 



shape of them is represented 

 in the Tab. 10, No. 3. 

 Among these Tomahawks 

 was the largest that ever I saw; there 

 was fasten' d to it a Wild Turky's Beard 

 painted red, and two of the longest 

 Feathers of his Wings hung dangling at 

 it, by a string of about 6 Inches long, 

 ty'dto the end of the Tomahawk." 

 ( Beverley, Virginia, 29, 1 705. ) 



The tomahawk was very generally em- 

 ployed in ceremony, and the matter of 

 its use and embellishment are well set 



forth by Rogers: "Another instrument 

 of great esteem and importance among 

 them is the tomahawk. This is an an- 

 cient weapon universally used by them 

 in war, before they were taught the use 

 of iron and steel; since which hatchets 

 have been substituted in lieu of them. 

 But this instrument still retains its use 

 and importance 

 in public trans- 

 actions; and, 

 like the pipe, is 

 often very sig- 

 nificant. This 

 weapon is 

 formed much 

 like a hatchet, 

 having a long 

 stem or han- 

 dle; the head 

 is a round ball or knol) of solid wood, 

 well enough calculated to knock men's 

 brains out, which on the other side of 

 the stem terminates in a point where the 

 edge would be, if made a hatchet, which 

 point is set a little hooking or coming 

 toward the stem; and near the center, 

 where the stem or handle pierces the 



*K-PIPE OF TRADE 



head, another point projects for- 

 ward of a considerable length, 

 which serves to thrust with like 

 a spear or pike jiole. 



"The tomahawk likewise is ornamented 

 with feathers and paintings, disposed and 

 variegated in many significant forms, ac- 

 cording to the occasion and end for which 

 it is used, and on it they keep journals of 

 their marches ancl most important and 

 noted occurrences in a kind of hiero- 

 glyphics. When the council is called to 

 deliberate war, the tomahawk is painted 

 all over red, and when the council sits it is 



CELT-HATCHET, COMMON 



Regarded as the Typical tomahawk 



laid down by the chief, and if war is con- 

 cluded upon, the captain of the young 

 warriors takes it up and with it in his 

 hands dances and sings the war-song, as 

 before mentioned. When the council is 

 over, this hatchet, or some other of the 

 kind, is sent by the hands of somewar- 

 rior to every tribe concerned, and with it 

 he presents a belt of wampum and de- 

 livers his uiessage, throwing the hatchet 



