222 CERTAIN SAND MOUNDS OF 



A portion of a piercing implement of hammered sheet copper from Mt. Royal, 

 Florida, was submitted for analysis to Booth, Garrett and Blair, with the following 

 result : — 



"Copper .... 99 - 897 per cent. 



Lead ..... None. 



Bismuth 

 Iron 



Gold 

 Silver 



None. 

 0057 

 None. 

 00012 



99-9039 " " 

 They state that the sample was much corroded and although cleared with acid 



before analysis there was probably a little oxide remaining which they did not 



attempt to determine. 



A second and smaller fragment of the same implement was submitted to A. R. 



Ledoux, M. S., Ph. D., whose determination was as follows: — 



" This sample consisted of a pure copper core coated with a film of oxide and 



carbonate. We removed the film by dissolving in dilute acid until only the unoxi- 



dized core remained. This was analyzed and showed : — 



"Copper .... 99 - 85 per cent. 



Silver .... Trace. 



Iron ..... Trace. 



" No arsenic, antimony, lead, tin, zinc, nickel or cobalt is present. This is a 

 very pure copper indeed." 



The reader's attention is especially called to the great purity of this copper 

 and to the absence of arsenic and antimony ; and in this connection we introduce a 

 portion of a letter from Dr. A. R. Ledoux, who has had the widest experience in 

 such matters : " I now authorize you, if you wish, to quote me for publication to 

 the effect that in my opinion the smelting processes of two or more centuries ago 

 could not have turned out as pure an article as this from copper ores, and that in 

 my opinion the piercing instrument was made from native copper of exceptional 

 purity as is found in some of the Lake Superior mines and at a few other points." 



A number of fragments of various ornaments of sheet copper from all parts of 

 Mt. Royal mound were analyzed as a whole by Ledoux and Company, with the 

 following result : — 



"Arsenic ..... 0-038 



Iron ...... 0-170 



Nickel and cobalt .... 0-030 



Silver ...... Trace. 



" Note : The sample contains very little metallic copper — not sufficient to make 

 a satisfactory determination — consisting practically of a crust of carbonate and 

 oxides of copper. 



