330 DISCOVERT OE INDIAN EELICS NEAE BEOCKVILLE. 



The following description of such of the relics as have come into 

 my possession, will serve, with the aid of the accompanying illustra- 

 tions, to convey some idea of their various forms and special char- 

 acteristics. The most mas- 

 sive of the copper imple- 

 ments, figured here, is an 

 instrument in which will 

 be observed a hollow or 

 socket for a handle : the 

 back, which is here repre- 

 sented, being convex, cor- 

 responding to the opposite concavity. The chisel-shaped termi- 

 nation is now blunt, but it retains sufficient indications of its 

 having originally had a sharp edge. This instrument might per- 

 haps answer the purpose of a chisel or gouge for hollowing 

 out wood ; but I was struck at first sight of it, with the resemblance 

 it bears to the coulter, or point, of the old Jewish plough. The pre- 

 cise use for which it was designed can now only be surmised ; and 

 this might be an interesting matter for further inquiry, as one means 

 calculated to throw light on questions in connexion with the origin of 

 the native American tribes. The subject has been reverted to in 

 relation to another discovery of copper relics found about the same 

 time as those now described, at Penetanguishene, and the speculations 

 thus originated, even if they lead to no very definite or practical re- 

 sults, are at least curious, and suggestive of interesting reflections. 

 The dimensions of this ancient implement are six inches in length, 

 fully two inches in breadth at the edge, and two and four-fifths at 

 the broadest part of the socket. A second object may be described 

 as a copper knife, of full size, with the edge still tolerably sharp, and 

 bearing marks of considerable use. The point was broken off when 

 it was first discovered ; and the handle, which must have been of 

 wood or some other material less durable than the metal blade, had 

 yielded to the ravages of time. In its present mutilated state this 

 instrument measures five inches and three quarters long, and when 

 the blade was perfect was probably not less than eight inches in 

 length. 



A third implement, figured 

 here, may be described as a 

 knife, or small dagger, nearly 

 five inches long, and with a 

 hooked extremity, as represented in the annexed wood-cut, de- 



