150 



river, mention woiikl be made of numerous relics, ^vl]ich they 

 or their fathers before them had found, when this or that field 

 was first broken up ; which relics had since been either lost or 

 destroyed, with the exception of such as had been occasionally 

 given to some curious traveler. It seemed therefore to be a 

 debt due to the Aborigines and to those intelligent persons of 

 the present and future generations, who take an interest in the 

 few remains of an ancient and departed people, to make as 

 thorough a collection as was practicable, with the view of de- 

 positing it in some institution accessible to the public, where 

 they might be forever safe from injury or loss by Vandal 

 hands or unappreciative spirits. In our intercourse with the 

 farmers we strove to afibrd such information as would lead 

 them to attach some interest to relics of the ancient lords of 

 their soil, and for the future preserve them from loss or de- 

 struction. 



Of the relics of the Connecticut Valley, most of the 

 implements and utensils which one would infer would be likely 

 to be kept stationary, — such as the pestles, gouges, baking 

 pots, hatchets and the like, — are found on the high swells of 

 land within two miles of the banks of the Connecticut river ; 

 Avhile the great proportion of the hoes and arrow points abound 

 on the alluvial meadows bordering on the river. We therefore 

 infer that the high lands were their favorite places for encamp- 

 ment and burial ; while the river bottom was their favorite 

 hunting ground and tillage land. 



At frequent intervals along the drift-hills in the vicinity of 

 this river are sand "dunes," or deposits of pure sand ; — these 

 dunes are fertile in relics. As the law of progress to which 

 these deposits are subject is to advance onward in the direction 

 towards which the prevailing wind blows, relics are often laid 

 bare after high winds ; and though these have been famous for 

 relics from time immemorial, yet some of them still yield 

 rich returns to the antiquarian. From the shifting character 

 of these sands, it is obvious that a day will soon come when 

 they will have yielded their last relic. Of these sandy knolls 

 there is a large one located about two miles from Amherst, 

 Mass., on the road to Hadley, which has proved exceedingly 

 rich in relics ; it is known as " Pine Hill," " Fort Hill," or 

 " Indian Hill," and is situated a little to the left of the road, 

 when one is going towards Hadley. 



The finest relics found in the Connecticut Valley, judging 

 from the specimens in our own collection and in several large 

 ones that have come under our notice, were found in the town 



