﻿12 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  down 
  trees 
  with 
  villainous 
  axes, 
  which 
  they 
  sometimes 
  got 
  in 
  war^ 
  

   and 
  others 
  of 
  stone, 
  and 
  fortified 
  themselves 
  very 
  securely.' 
  

  

  Usually, 
  according 
  to 
  David 
  Cusick, 
  fire 
  was 
  applied 
  to 
  trees, 
  

   and 
  when 
  these 
  were 
  felled, 
  fresh 
  fires 
  were 
  kindled 
  where 
  these 
  

   were 
  to 
  be 
  cut 
  off 
  in 
  lengths. 
  The 
  fire 
  was 
  the 
  active 
  agent; 
  the 
  

   celt 
  or 
  stone 
  axe 
  was 
  employed 
  in 
  scraping 
  away 
  the 
  charred 
  wood. 
  

   Each 
  woman 
  had 
  several 
  fires 
  to 
  attend, 
  and 
  the 
  work 
  was 
  done 
  

   quite 
  rapidly. 
  At 
  Onondaga 
  now, 
  the 
  Indians 
  use 
  the 
  same 
  means 
  

   in 
  hollowing 
  out 
  the 
  large 
  wooden 
  mortars 
  still 
  used 
  by 
  them. 
  Burn- 
  

   ing 
  and 
  chipping 
  go 
  on 
  alternately, 
  a 
  process 
  familiar 
  to 
  our 
  own 
  

   early 
  settlers. 
  

  

  The 
  mode 
  of 
  handling 
  is 
  of 
  interest, 
  but 
  was 
  not 
  always 
  the 
  same, 
  

   and 
  many 
  ways 
  have 
  been 
  described. 
  Fig. 
  i 
  presents 
  one 
  remarkable 
  

   and 
  antique 
  example. 
  It 
  is 
  a 
  celt 
  of 
  the 
  common 
  rounded 
  form 
  found 
  

   in 
  the 
  peat 
  and 
  muck 
  at 
  Chittenango 
  Creek 
  long 
  ago, 
  seven 
  feet 
  

   under 
  ground. 
  It 
  is 
  the 
  only 
  ancient 
  handle 
  locally 
  preserved, 
  and 
  

   has 
  suffered 
  much 
  from 
  age 
  yet 
  it 
  is 
  still 
  fifteen 
  and 
  one 
  half 
  inches 
  

   long 
  by 
  two 
  and 
  one 
  quarter 
  broad. 
  . 
  It 
  tapers 
  from 
  the 
  axe 
  to 
  the 
  

   end 
  of 
  the 
  handle. 
  The 
  orifice 
  in 
  this 
  is 
  shown 
  at 
  b, 
  and 
  has 
  evi- 
  

   dently 
  been 
  fi.nished, 
  at 
  least, 
  by 
  heat. 
  In 
  this 
  the 
  fine 
  greenstone 
  

   celt, 
  elliptical 
  in 
  section, 
  exactly 
  fits. 
  This 
  is 
  five 
  and 
  three 
  eighths 
  

   inches 
  long 
  and 
  two 
  wide, 
  the 
  form 
  being 
  quite 
  common. 
  It 
  was 
  

   dug 
  up 
  in 
  excavating 
  for 
  the 
  canal 
  feeder. 
  

  

  Fig. 
  2 
  is 
  an 
  angular 
  form 
  of 
  brown 
  sandstone, 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  town 
  

   of 
  Cicero, 
  four 
  and 
  five 
  eighths 
  inches 
  long 
  by 
  two 
  and 
  one 
  eighth 
  

   wide. 
  This 
  form 
  seems 
  more 
  frequent 
  in 
  New 
  York 
  than 
  else- 
  

   where_, 
  and 
  is 
  from 
  four 
  to 
  six 
  sided 
  in 
  its 
  varieties^ 
  the 
  angles 
  

   never 
  being 
  rounded. 
  One 
  of 
  the 
  surfaces 
  is 
  always 
  broad 
  and 
  

   flat, 
  and 
  two 
  of 
  them 
  meet 
  the 
  others 
  at 
  a 
  broad 
  angle. 
  They 
  are 
  

   somewhat 
  common 
  at 
  Onondaga 
  and 
  Oneida 
  lakes. 
  

  

  Fig. 
  4 
  is 
  of 
  an 
  unusual 
  form 
  and 
  material, 
  being 
  a 
  very 
  broad 
  and 
  

   flat 
  celt 
  of 
  green 
  striped 
  slate, 
  three 
  and 
  three 
  quarters 
  by 
  three 
  and 
  

   one 
  eighth 
  inches. 
  The 
  outline 
  is 
  much 
  like 
  that 
  of 
  a 
  modern 
  axe, 
  

   and 
  it 
  is 
  much 
  twisted 
  in 
  section. 
  This 
  was 
  found, 
  with 
  a 
  similar 
  

   one, 
  at 
  Jack's 
  Rifts, 
  on 
  the 
  Seneca 
  River. 
  

  

  Fig. 
  6 
  is 
  a 
  chisel 
  of 
  brown 
  sandstone, 
  almost 
  cylindric, 
  but 
  with 
  

   several 
  flattened 
  sides. 
  These 
  sides 
  are 
  nearly 
  parallel. 
  It 
  is 
  five 
  

  

  