96 Staten Island Association of Arts and Sciences 



manufacture. Piles of these shells, containing the living animal, 

 were often made, the flesh being allowed to rot. When this was 

 accomplished, the outer whorls were broken away until only the 

 inner column remained. One end of this was ground and polished, 

 a section was then severed from the rest and perforated. Such 

 columella in the process of manufacture are locally called " wam- 

 pum sticks " and, as evidence that they were valued, ninety-six 

 were found in a grave at Tottenville many years ago. 



Inasmuch as the post holes sunk in the midst of the heap proved 

 profitless, and as most of the exposed surface of the shell beds, 

 as well as many sections made by the Keyport trolley line, wagon 

 roads, and an old railroad cut along the summit of the bluff, even 

 where pits were exposed and opened, contained no objects, it is 

 probably not worth while to systematically excavate this site, 

 although many fine specimens might be brought to light. 



The site is probably merely a summer fishing station of the old 

 Angonquin Indians of the region, probably the Raritan, and the 

 remaining shells and debris are merely the refuse of their daily 

 life, and few objects of value would be likely to find their way into 

 such a kitchen midden. 



3. Sites at South River, New Jersey 



Throughout the region along South River, N. J., east from 

 Sayreville, the country is one long series of sandy, wind-swept 

 dunes, surrounded and in some places covered by a second growth 

 of pine and scrub-oak forest. In some localities great portions of 

 the sandy surface soil has been removed to get at the underlying 

 fire clay and kaolin which is rarely or never visible above the sand 

 which covers the surrounding country. 



All along South River, a branch of the Raritan, except where 

 the clayseekers have cut away the original surface, traces of the 

 aboriginal inhabitants may be found on the northern bank of the 

 river, at least as far east as Runyon. 



On June 6, 1907, the writer explored the region between Sayre- 

 ville and Old Bridge, under the direction of the American Mu- 



