POLISHED STONE ARTICLES USED BY THE NEW YORK ABORIGINES 27 



small quantities, and soon became quite abundant. It assumed 

 many forms, and was commonly delicately perforated for suspen- 

 sion, often having a double parallel perforation for the purpose of 

 keeping it exactly in place. By this time the Indians had many 

 steel tools, and handled them with native taste and skill, fashioning 

 many simple ornaments for themselves. They became good gun- 

 smiths, good silversmiths, and spared no time to make an article 

 good. Plain circular ornaments, which were often but flat rings, 

 were favorites, and these must have been laid out with compasses, 

 which they had very early learned to use. Many articles were 

 straight sided, and almost pyramidal in outline. Some pieces of 

 stone were wrought into fishes, and others into human masks, often 

 very small in . size. Any ornamental form was useful, and some 

 were derived from the whites. The gradual change in ornament is 

 easily seen, particularly on the historic sites in the counties of 

 Cayuga, Montgomery and Onondaga. 



Fig. 5 is a characteristic example of the red pipestone orna- 

 ment, nearly one and one half inches long and over three quarters 

 wide at the base. It is less than a quarter of an inch wide at the 

 narrow end, and there are small and shallow indentations all along 

 the two longer edges, and on both sides. A double perforation 

 extends from end to end, and is very small. This is from Oneida 

 Lake. Fig. 41 is of the same material, and is of a dagger form, 

 with a long groove on the face. It is a little over an inch in length, 

 and comes from an Oneida site near Munnsville, in the vicinity of 

 which the Oneidas long dwelt. 



Fig. 44 is of an older and more curious article, from a site occu- 

 pied by the Onondagas about A. D. 1600. It is a piece of sandstone 

 almost square; in general appearance like the nut used with a screw. 

 It is perforated like that, and is slightly convex on one side and con- 

 cave on the other. One broad surface is grooved. The diameter 

 is one inch. 



Fig. 46 comprises figures of three stone beads, made of small 

 drab colored concretions, from Chaumont in Jefferson County. 

 Fig. 52 shows more from the same place. They are more com- 

 monly made from some perforated fossil, like the encrinite stems, 



