260 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



awl comes from a site near Munnsville. Most of the relics there 

 are of the historic period. In the Richmond collection is a nice 

 awl from a burial mound (?) at Mannsville, Jefferson co., which is 3 

 inches long, and in the same collection is a curious flattened one of 

 the same length. This is curved, having a single convex curve on 

 one side, and two concave curves on the other. This comes from 

 Madison county. Many fine and sharp awls have been found by 

 Dr Hinsdale on what is called the Kaneencla site, north of Syracuse. 

 Many also occur on the mixed sites at Brewerton. Dr Hinsdale 

 also collected slender and flat awls on the Sheldon site, lot 69, 

 Pompey. Among those from Brewerton is a fine double-pointed 

 horn awl, 4-| inches long, and another of the same material, very 

 slender and a little curved, not unlike a dentalium shell in outline. 

 This is 1|- inches long. Another of bone is 2 inches long, curved, 

 polished and very slender. 



Fig. 44 is a sharpened fish spine from Brewerton. These are 

 frequent and of many sizes. Fig. TO was made from the bill of a 

 sheldrake, and is from the Atwell site and in the L. W. Ledyard 

 collection. These also are frequent, with the bills of other birds. 



Among the larger awls, as we may call them for the sake of a 



name, many of the same forms appear, often grading into those 



which might be differently classed. Some which have a distinctly 



narrowed and sharpened point, have also broad blades suggestive of 



knives. Another use is even more probable. In the League of the 



Iroquois, p. 363, L. H. Morgan illustrates the " gd-ne-tc '-ga-o-dtis-ha, 



or deer horn war club." After describing the common club of hard 



wood, he says of the one just named : 



This species of war club was also much used. It was made of 

 hard wood, elaborately carved, painted and ornamented with feathers 

 at the ends. In the lower edge, a sharp-pointed deer's horn, about 

 4 inches in length, was inserted. It was thus rendered a dangerous 

 weapon in close combat, and would inflict a deeper wound than the 

 former. They wore it in the girdle. At a later period they used 

 the same species of club, substituting a steel or iron blade resem- 

 bling a spearhead, in the place of the horn. War clubs of this descrip- 

 tion are still (1851) to be found among the Iroquois, preserved as 

 relics of past exploits. It is not probable, however, that these two 

 varieties were peculiar to them ; they were doubtless common over 

 the continent. The tomahawk succeeded the war club, as the rifle 

 did the bow. 



