POLISHED STONE ARTICLES USED BY THE NEW YORK ABORIGINES 73 



that the drill was hollow. Dr. Rau thought that such an 

 implement might have been made from the southern cane, 

 now used for fishing-rods and pipe-stems, which varies greatly 

 in size, and is hard enough for such a purpose. In any case, sand 

 and water were employed, but the work was slow. The stone was 

 picked into shape, a little polishing done, and this was followed by 

 the drilling and general grinding and polishing. 



Of the varieties usually described nearly all occur in New York, 

 though sometimes in a fragmentary condition, and this is true of 

 Canada also. They vary much in form, size and material, but are 

 usually of some ornamental stone, quite frequently the striped slate. 

 Out of 209 banner stones in Mr. Douglass' collection but five are 

 from New York, where they are of frequent occurrence, but rarely 

 on village sites. They are sometimes pick-shaped, like a broad 

 double axe, heart and butterfly shaped, like reels, and sometimes 

 make a double crescent with four points. 



Fig. 184 is of light green slate, slightly banded, and is of an ex- 

 panded double hatchet form, which might be called that of a butter- 

 fly. It was found not far from Three River Point. As in most of 

 the others, the orifice is a little larger at one end than the other, 

 and the average in this one is five eighths of an inch. The extreme 

 width is four and three eighths inches, and it is two and three fourths 

 deep. 



Fig. 185 is a straight, pointed, and elliptical article of green striped 

 slate from the Oneida River. It is here represented in profile, which 

 is the narrow way, an unusual feature, and thus the perforation is 

 made through the narrower central diameter. It is four inches 

 long, one and one eighth wide, and three fourths of an inch deep. 

 The material is fine. Fig. 186 is very different, generally circular, 

 but a little angular. It is of green striped slate, and one side has 

 been broken. The depth is four and one half, and the original width 

 five and three eighths inches. A deep rectangular indentation meets 

 the orifice above and below, thus shortening it; and it has the usual 

 central expansion of the thinner forms. It comes from Onondaga 

 Lake. 



