THE HAMILTON ASSOCIATION. 93 
glass beads and other ornaments, undoubtedly obtained from 
Europeans. 
_ Some Indian relics from Ontario were submitted for examina- 
tion to an Irish Antiquarian several years ago. To my friend’s 
surprise he stated that nearly all the so-called “ Indian Wampum ” 
- was made by the whites, as also the more highly finished stone im- 
plements. The early adventurers and traders noticed the great 
value attached to these articles by ‘the Red Men,” due perhaps to 
the difficulty of procuring a suitable sea shell and the tedious pro- 
cesses pursued in finishing. The. Aborigines formed the shell 
money by breaking up the material into fragments and rounding, 
these on heated stone But ‘‘ the whites ” turned out such immense 
quantities by machinery that the Red Men ultimately purchased it 
by strings six feet long. 
The Ossuaries opened in this portion of Ontario cannot be very 
ancient. As far as I can learn they all, like the ones at Lake 
Medad and the Beach, contained ornaments and utensils made by 
white people. Wecan produce no proof that man has existed for 
any long period at least in this part of the continent. However, 
wandering hunters, living chiefly by the chase, were not likely to 
leave behind them many permanent. records of their existence. 
Had undoubted implements of human make been found 7 the un- 
disturbed gravel, etc., of Burlington Heights (the old Lake Ontario 
Beach), it would merely take us back to a time subsequent to the 
withdrawal of the great glacial ice sheet, for you may remark the 
Tile underlies it. ; 
The United States Geological Survey and its able chief, Mayor 
Powell, are deserving of the highest praise for the thorough investi- 
gation of the Mounds all over the United States, and their contents. 
They certainly are entitled to very great credit for clearing up the 
mystery regarding the copper marks and ornaments so frequently 
discovered in burial places in the South. ‘They are ceremonial 
ornaments of various designs,” remarks the Director of the States 
Survey. “I had several of them mounted on glass, and on studying 
them with a powerful magnifier I ascertained that they were made 
by machinery and struck with dies.” Here we have what we may 
consider a truly original discovery. It is also satisfactory to find 
additional confirmation that the Mound-builders of Florida and the 
