MACCURDY— CULT OF THE AX 



According to a letter 1 from Leander S. Davis, also employed by 

 Professor Marsh to collect fossils, the mound was built of loose basal- 

 tic rocks, was "perhaps 20 feet in diameter at the base, 6 or 7 feet 

 high, and conical in shape." There were a great many ashes "mixed 

 all the way through the rocks," also 

 fragments of bones and relics, al- 

 though most of the remains were near 

 the bottom of the mound. He says 

 the mound had the appearance of be- 

 ing originally built on the top of the 

 ground, but when seen by him was 

 about half buried in the soil. It was 

 in heavy pine timber and was dis- 

 covered by Jesse Warfield while herd- 

 ing sheep. 



i\ll three specimens are of vol- 

 canic rock, the first being a fine- 

 grained porphyry, and the other two 

 probably a highly indurated volcanic 

 ash or tuff. 2 The rather high fusi- 

 bility of one of the latter is evidenced 

 by its altered condition due to heat. 

 The smaller two specimens were each 

 broken in two pieces when found, 

 and both show the effects of fire. In 

 the case of the second specimen, one 

 piece is much more altered by heat 

 than the other, the change in color 

 (to a reddish brown) being quite pro- 

 nounced. Each specimen therefore 

 might well have formed part of some 

 sacrificial pyre. 



All three axes are animal effigies, 

 the last being so distorted by heat as to make impossible a profile 

 view of the head and body at one and the same time. The last two 

 are so nearly alike in this respect that a description of one almost 

 fits the other. The fore and hind legs are represented by the two ax- 

 blades. In order to emphasize the effigy idea, there is nothing to 

 suggest the method of hafting; neither do the polls project beyond 

 the back of the handle, which in this case is likewise the back of the 



Fig. 7.— Monolithic ax from the West 

 Indies. ]/i. (Musee de La Rochelle. 

 After Cartailhac.) 



1 From Canyon City, Grant county, Oregon, under date of July 23, 18K0. 

 * Determinations by Prof. Joseph Barrel! 



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