REPOET OF THE SECRETARY. 41 



Inasmuch as, at the time, no quarry of this kind had been discovered,* 

 and as, moreover, aboriginal methods of mining and working pot-stone 

 were entirely unknown, it was thought advisable to have a careful ex- 

 ploration of the place undertaken, which was intrusted to Mr. F. H. 

 dishing, who visited the locality in June last, causing excavations 

 of sufficient extent to be made to reveal a large portion of the rock- 

 surface worked by the Indians. Again, in August and September, fur- 

 nished with suitable instruments, and a complete photographic outfit, 

 he continued these investigations, and, with the sanction and kindly aid 

 of Mr. Wiggin, was enabled to greatly extend the diggings, thus making 

 his examination very thorough and sufficient. 



The surface indications of aboriginal quarrying were found to be shal- 

 low circular depressions, from ten to seventy feet in diameter. Mr. Cush- 

 ing began operations by causing a space of earth, 60 feet in length 

 by 40 in width at the base, to be cleared away from the center of the 

 largest of these depressions. Everywhere over the rock-surface, thus 

 exposed he found grooves and hollows made by the Indians in taking 

 out sugar-loaf shaped masses of the rock ; and throughout the soil re- 

 moved he found numerous fragments of these masses mostly hollowed 

 as the beginning of pots, together with equally numerous rude quartz- 

 picks, some broken axes and mauls, and a few hammers of soapstone, 

 which had been used in quarrying and working the material. 



From the base of the triangular excavation a cutting was made, about 



17 feet in width by nearly 40 in length. This was extended to the left 



18 feet, to remove the earth from around a large out-cropping bowlder, 

 from the base of which it was found that the Indians had cut the rock 

 away piece by piece, until only a slender stem remained as its sup- 

 port. Another extension, nearly 40 feet to the right and 30 feet wide, 

 laid bare one side and the center of a second quarry almost as much 

 worked as the first. From this last a ditch 3 feet wide was carried for- 

 ward more than 80 feet, all along the course of which were found Indian 

 cuttings wherever the rock-surface was exposed. Thus the area worked 

 over by the aborigines in one direction was shown to be not less than 

 180 feet. How far to either side of this their work extended can only 

 be conjectured. The number and extent of those depressions not exca- 

 vated, however, seemed to indicate that less than one-third of the In- 

 dian work was exposed by the diggings just described. Mr. dishing 

 not only procured from the earth removed, a collection of several hundred 

 specimens, but also made and brought away photographic views and 

 accurate plaster models of portions of his diggings. 



Attention being drawn to these explorations while in progress by no- 

 tices in some of the Washington newspapers, Mr. Elmer E. Eeynolds, of 

 the city, brought to notice some similar specimens of vessels which he had 

 found within the District, on Soapstone Run, a branch of Rock Creek, 



* Intelligence had been received of some surface workings in Chester County, Penn- 

 sylvania ; so slight, however, that they could hardly be regarded as quarryings. 



