HORN AND BONE IMPLEMENTS 293 



the one in the Hild burgh collection. As Hochelaga was an Iroquois 



village less than 400 years ago, its articles closely correspond with 



those of New York. 



Harpoons 



Few early articles of bone or horn were more widely used than 

 harpoons of various forms. Dr Charles Rau ably discussed and 

 illustrated these in his Prehistoric fishing. ■ One remark of his 

 made as late as 1884: may well be quoted here, to show how import- 

 ant have been the acquisitions of the last few years. One barbed 

 hook only had been reported then ; now we have many, and the 

 gain in harpoons has been yet more surprising, for most of these 

 are older. Dr Pau said : 



Considering that bone, on account of its toughness, was an excel- 

 lent material for pointing fishing darts, the comparatively small 

 number of old bone heads thus far discovered in the United States 

 would be surprising, if their scarcity could not be accounted for by 

 their frequent loss in the water, j&au, p. 142 



That they were lost in this way is certain, for they are sometimes 

 found in the water now, but their destruction by small animals and 

 their rapid decay when away from preservative materials may be 

 more important factors. That more had not then been found was 

 also partially due to imperfect modes of search. Dr Stewart of 

 Lock Haven Pa., in a letter to the writer says of a harpoon found 

 near the Susquehanna river, "It is the only point of bone found in 

 this valley to my knowledge." Yet there are earthworks and vil- 

 lage sites in Pennsylvania where the spade might be exoected to 

 reveal many. This is a matter to be tested. 



Out of 28 bone harpoons figured by Dr Pau from the United States, 



16 were from New York, and five from Onondaga county. Several 



came from the northwest coast. A. G. Richmond in a letter to the 



writer under date of Nov. 8, 1897, observed : 



I think Dr Hinsdale is doing remarkably. He has an immense 

 number of things in the way of harpoons ; the most I ever saw any- 

 where. I thought I was rich in the harpoon business, but he cer- 

 tainly goes away ahead of me. His are entirely different from mine. 

 Mine are the one-sided ones, one, two and three barbs, all quite large ; 

 about 7 or 8 inches long and 1 inch wide. We don't seem to find 

 the double-barbed pieces here. There is one place at Wagner's hol- 

 low, where I took you, where a great many of those large, flat har- 

 poons are found. Some of them are broken, but mine are quite 

 perfect and very good indeed. 



