Aboriginal Trade of the Northwest. 103 



found in the mounds in close proximity to articles of 

 copper. This fact gives us a clue to the direction of the 

 line of trade and the articles which were exchanged by the 

 Mound-builders of the north and south. 



By ascending any of the several small streams which 

 flow from the south into Eainy Eiver, communication is had 

 without difficulty with the Mississippi, along the banks of 

 which, Mound-builders' remains may be coxmted in thou- 

 sands. Articles made from the Lake Superior copper are 

 found in many of the mounds to the far south, and when we 

 find southern sea shells in the northern mounds, it may be 

 taken for granted that one was exchanged for the other. 



Gold, silver, mica, asbestos, lead, pyrites, etc., appear in 

 the rocks of Lake of the "Woods, close at hand to the mounds 

 on Eainy Eiver, but none of these minerals, so far as 

 reported, have been taken from the tumuli. This is rather 

 peculiar in the matter of the mica, as it is frequently found 

 in the mounds of the Central States, generally in the form 

 of thin sheets covering the interments, though often cut 

 into shapes intended for use as ornaments. 



So far as known, few manufactured articles of copper or 

 pieces of the raw metal have been taken from the mounds 

 on Eed Eiver in Manitoba, in striking contrast to the rich 

 yields of the Eainy Eiver tumuli. So little exploration has 

 been done in the Manitoba mounds, that it is not possible to 

 state with any degree of certainty that copper implements 

 or ornaments will not yet be found in them ; but, if we judge 

 from the data to hand, there must have been a difference in 

 the stock in trade, available for exchange with southern 

 tribes, possessed by the Mound-builders living on Eed and 

 Eainy Eivers. The mound systems of these two rivers 

 merge into one about the head of the Mississippi, and it 

 seems impossible that the residents of the two districts 

 were not in communication with each other. 



The presence of pipes for smoking in some N. Mississippi 

 mounds, makes it apparent that tobacco was an article of 

 exchange, for though the Indians of the present day use 

 various substitutes for tobacco, in the form of bark and 

 leaves, there would be an eager demand for the tobacco of 



