322 Use of Copper and Silver by the American Aborigines. 
Henry, who penetrated to Lake Superior at the period of the 
second French war, assures us that the Indians obtained copper 
here, which they “made into bracelets, spoons,’ ete.* As we 
rom ‘‘a province called Chisca, far toward the North 
All the copper found in the mounds appears to have been 
worked in a cold state; and although the axes and other instru- 
ments appear to be harder than the copper of commerce, they 
have been found, upon analysis, to be destitute of alloy. The 
superior hardness which they possess over the unworked metal, 
is doubtless due to the hammering to which they have been sub- 
jected. Some of the sculptures in porphyry, and other hard 
stones found in the mounds, exhibit traces of having been cut; 
but as they now turn the edge of the best tempered knife, we 
are at a loss to conjecture how they were so elaborately and deli- 
cately worked. The lack of cutting implements, among most 
rude people, is partially met by various contrivances, the most 
common of which is attrition, or rubbing or grinding on hard 
stones. It was thus the stone axes, etc., of the early Indians 
were slowly and laboriously brought into shape. It however 
