Indian Mounds at Broken Kettle Creek. 99 



are used at the present. Being easily worked, it was 

 esiDeeiallj adapted for the purposes for which they were 

 intended, requiring very little labor to make them serv- 

 iceable. 



The bone implements, tools and miscellaneous in- 

 struments taken from this mound during the past sum- 

 mer amount to over two hundred, consisting of needles, 

 awls, fish hooks, scrapers, drills, flint scrapers, rattles, 

 whistles, etc. There are three kinds of needles, the flat, 

 the round and the half-round. The latter ones are made 

 by splitting the round ones. The round and the half- 

 round ones are hollow, while the flat ones are solid. 

 There could be no regular size or shape for these needles, 

 as their fashion would depend upon the size and shape 

 of the original bone, the industry of the maker and the 

 use for which they were intended. The round needles, 

 or, as the}' might be more properly designated, 

 "punches," were found upon experiment to make a much 

 larger and better hole for the purpose of drawing raw- 

 hide through than the flat ones, and were evidently used 

 where heavier work was to be performed, such as sewing- 

 tepee covers, robes, etc. The points of these punches are 

 on one side of the instrument, the^^ being as round as the 

 original bone down to where it begins to taper to the 

 point. In the flat needles and awls the point is in the 

 center, being worked down from both sides like the 

 point of a paper knife. Those of the half round variety 

 are pointed like the full round. In point of number 

 the flat ones are more numerous, the semi-round next 

 and the round ones the rarest. 



These instruments are the ancestors of the modern 

 steel needle, and from these crude bone tools our civili- 

 zation, has evolved the modern one used in making the 

 fine laces and building the beautiful fabrics so common 

 to us. These bone tools Avere once used by our ances- 

 tors. In many instances these needles show signs of 

 liaving been tempered in the fire. This made the bone 

 hard, but very brittle, and required an expert operator 

 to keep it from snapping into pieces when being used. 

 There was another method of dealing with the bone to 

 make it serviceable (and a much better one, although it 



