THE ST. JOHN'S RIVER, FLORIDA. 39 



^^ g ___ ,— --., .. ~ v With no human remains in the 



^0**^** i-ji .v-^s. (f^ immediate neighborhood were an un- 



^1 '"\ ^-^ ^\^-^ x s wrought river pebble; a fragment of 



^ 8885saBa '' aBaa »^^ I.....,,.-,,,,.^* ^ sheet copper ; a small implement of 



Fig. 19. Pendent ornament (full size). shell that Crumbled upon exposure to 



air, and a pendent ornament of hard polished trap rock (Fig. 19). 



In another portion of the mound was a small copper cylinder with overlap- 

 ping edges, and a piece of sheet copper. 



With a portion of the shaft of a human femur were a number of shell beads ; 

 one bead of calcite ; small pieces of sheet copper ; fragments of decaying wood, 

 upon which the metal had served as a coating ; several small bones of lower ani- 

 mals, dyed a bright green from contact with the copper, and a beautiful hoe-shaped 

 implement of polished trap rock, 7 - 3 inches in length, with a maximum breadth of 

 5-2 inches (Fig. 20). 



The hoe-shaped type of implement is hitherto unreported from Florida. 

 Colonel Jones 1 describes a specimen from Georgia which differs from the attribution 

 of Squier and Davis who classed one of its type among ornamental axes. The 

 implement found by us seems to show slight marks of wear upon the edge, while 

 the specimen described by Colonel Jones has marked abrasions. A somewhat simi- 

 lar implement is figured as from Arkansas, and is described by Professor Holmes as 

 an " implement or ceremonial stone." 2 The Smithsonian collection includes three 

 of these implements from Louisiana, and we read of an object of light blue slate 

 from Canada suggesting this type though the shank is more elongated. 3 



At several points in the mound the crowns of human teeth were found in 

 association with copper which had imparted to them a bright green color. This 

 inhumation of teeth, unassociated with other human remains, we have noticed in 

 but one other mound of the St. John's, namely, Mt. Royal. As we have previously 

 stated, Mt. Royal and the mound under discussion were the only two among all 

 the river mounds investigated by us which yielded copper showing aboriginal 

 design. 



Analysis of the copper from this mound was made by Mr. Garrett, of Booth, 

 Garrett and Blair, who returned the following report : 



" The last sample of copper from an Indian mound which you submitted to us 

 was almost, if not quite, oxidized through and through, and therefore we could not 

 remove the earthy matter from its surface, but treated the whole with acids, etc. 



" The sample consisted almost wholly of copper with traces of lead, and also a 

 little iron and alumina, with a little sand ; these last three substances coming from 

 the earthy coating. We found no silver in the sample." 



The result of this analysis is virtually the same as that of the copper from 

 Mt. Royal. 



1 0p. tit., page 289, el seq., plate XIV, fig. 14. 



2 Third Annual Report Bureau of Ethnology, page 479, fig. 152. 



'Annual Report Canadian Institute, 1887, page 32. 



