﻿ABORIGINAL 
  CHIPPED 
  STONE 
  IMPLEMENTS 
  OF 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  55 
  

  

  Mohawks, 
  the 
  Rev. 
  Johannes 
  Megapolensis 
  says, 
  ' 
  When 
  their 
  corn 
  

   is 
  ripe, 
  they 
  take 
  off 
  the 
  ears 
  and 
  put 
  them 
  in 
  deep 
  pits, 
  and 
  preserve 
  

   them 
  therein 
  the 
  whole 
  winter.' 
  A 
  fuller 
  account 
  will 
  be 
  found 
  in 
  

   the 
  New 
  England 
  prospect. 
  ' 
  Their 
  corn 
  being 
  ripe, 
  they 
  gather 
  it, 
  

   and 
  drying 
  it 
  hard 
  in 
  the 
  sunne, 
  conveigh 
  it 
  to 
  their 
  barnes, 
  which 
  be 
  

   great 
  holes 
  digged 
  in 
  the 
  ground 
  in 
  forme 
  of 
  a 
  brasse 
  pot, 
  seeled 
  with 
  

   rinds 
  of 
  trees, 
  wherein 
  they 
  put 
  their 
  corne.' 
  

  

  The 
  origin 
  of 
  indian 
  corn 
  is 
  a 
  question 
  of 
  much 
  interest, 
  and 
  a 
  great 
  

   deal 
  has 
  been 
  written 
  upon 
  it. 
  Besides 
  what 
  has 
  been 
  said 
  above, 
  

   Roger 
  Williams 
  gave 
  the 
  New 
  England 
  tradition 
  : 
  ' 
  The 
  crow 
  

   brought 
  them 
  at 
  first 
  an 
  indian 
  grain 
  of 
  corne 
  in 
  one 
  eare, 
  and 
  an 
  

   indian 
  or 
  French 
  beane 
  in 
  another, 
  from 
  the 
  great 
  god 
  Kautantouwit's 
  

   field 
  in 
  the 
  southwest, 
  from 
  whence 
  they 
  hold 
  came 
  all 
  their 
  corne 
  

   and 
  beanes.' 
  Corn 
  hills 
  were 
  large, 
  and 
  stood 
  well 
  apart. 
  They 
  are 
  

   still 
  to 
  be 
  seen 
  in 
  some 
  New 
  York 
  woods, 
  and 
  the 
  cultivation 
  was 
  

   very 
  simple. 
  Roger 
  Williams 
  has 
  a 
  note 
  on 
  what 
  he 
  thought 
  a 
  

   curious 
  preference 
  in 
  tools 
  : 
  ' 
  The 
  indian 
  women, 
  to 
  this 
  day, 
  (not- 
  

   withstanding 
  our 
  howes,) 
  doe 
  use 
  their 
  naturall 
  howes 
  of 
  shells 
  and 
  

   wood.' 
  Spades 
  are 
  not 
  mentioned, 
  and, 
  bearing 
  this 
  fact 
  in 
  mind, 
  it 
  

   is 
  quite 
  likely 
  that 
  those 
  stone 
  implements 
  of 
  New 
  York 
  which 
  resem- 
  

   ble 
  what 
  are 
  called 
  spades 
  elsewhere, 
  are 
  to 
  be 
  considered 
  hoes, 
  if 
  

   they 
  were 
  really 
  digging 
  tools. 
  The 
  question 
  admits 
  of 
  reasonable 
  

   doubt, 
  but 
  the 
  classification 
  may 
  be 
  allowed 
  for 
  present 
  convenience. 
  

   It 
  may 
  be 
  added 
  that 
  less 
  was 
  needful 
  for 
  digging 
  than 
  is 
  often 
  sup- 
  

   posed. 
  In 
  an 
  emergency 
  the 
  writer 
  has 
  been 
  surprised 
  to 
  see 
  how 
  

   much 
  excavating 
  he 
  could 
  do 
  on 
  an 
  indian 
  site 
  with 
  a 
  sharp 
  stick, 
  

   or 
  a 
  broad 
  and 
  pointed 
  stone. 
  With 
  improvised 
  tools 
  and 
  plenty 
  of 
  

   muscle 
  a 
  great 
  deal 
  could 
  be 
  easily 
  accompHshed, 
  but 
  the 
  necessity 
  

   for 
  this 
  was 
  so 
  rare 
  in 
  indian 
  life 
  that 
  little 
  faith 
  need 
  be 
  placed 
  in 
  the 
  

   New 
  York 
  stone 
  spade. 
  

  

  Fig. 
  147 
  represents 
  the 
  finest 
  of 
  these 
  articles 
  known 
  to 
  the 
  writer. 
  

   It 
  is 
  a 
  leaf-shaped 
  implement 
  of 
  a 
  bluish 
  grey 
  stone, 
  and 
  came 
  from 
  

   Oneida 
  lake, 
  where 
  it 
  was 
  plowed 
  up 
  in 
  1877. 
  The 
  average 
  thickness 
  

   is 
  three 
  eighths 
  of 
  an 
  inch, 
  and 
  the 
  length 
  is 
  1 
  1 
  J 
  inches, 
  with 
  a 
  breadth 
  

   of 
  five 
  and 
  one 
  quarter 
  inches. 
  This 
  and 
  the 
  two 
  following 
  figures 
  

   are 
  reduced 
  to 
  about 
  two 
  thirds 
  of 
  the 
  actual 
  size. 
  It 
  is 
  sharpest 
  at 
  

   the 
  broad 
  end.- 
  This 
  article 
  seems 
  much 
  too 
  large 
  for 
  either 
  spear 
  or 
  

  

  