746 Catlinite. [July, 
portion of the dividing ridge between the Minnesota and Missouri 
rivers, denominated by the early French settlers, Côteau des Prat- 
vies. There has been some discrepancy in the statements of 
travelers in regard to the exact location of this source of aborig- 
inal supply. Carver informs us that near the Marble river “isa 
mountain, from whence the Indians get a sort of red stone, out of 
which they hew the bowls of their pipes.” Dr. Charles Rau, in 
an article entitled “ Ancient Aboriginal Trade in North America,” 
quotes from Loskiel,? principally in reference to the pipes of the 
Delawares and Iroquois: “Some are manufactured from a kind of 
red stone, which is sometimes brought for sale by Indians who 
live near the Marble river, on the western side of the Mississippi, 
where they extract it (sic) from a mountain.” Du Pratz errone 
ously located the quarry “on the bank of the Missouri,” but, for 
obvious reasons, he was, in all probability, misinformed by the 
natives. : 
- Catlin, who was the first white man permitted by the Indians to 
visit the place, describes it as being situated between the St. 
Peters and Missouri rivers, “ in a direction nearly west from the 
Fall of St. Anthony, at a distance of three hundred miles.” 
According to Dr. C. A. White, the quarry lies in Minnesota, 
about thirty miles from its south-western corner, and three or four 
miles from its western boundary® Dr. F. V. Hayden, who visited 
the locality some years ago, writes of it as follows: “ On rea ng 
the source of the Pipestone creek, in the valley of which the pipe 
stone bed is located, I was surprised to see how inconspicuous 4 
place it is. Indeed, had I not known of the existence of a 
in this locality so celebrated in this region, I should have pa 
it by almost unnoticed. * * * * The pipestone layer, a 
‘seen at this point, is about eleven inches in thickness, only about 
two and a quarter inches of which are used for manufacturing — 
pipes and other ornaments. The remainder is too impure, 317, 
fragile, &c. * * * * A ditch from four to six feet wide añt 
about five hundred yards in length, extending partly across 
1 Travels through North America, Dublin, 1779, p- 95. 
? Smithsonian Report, 1872, p. 372. 
3 Ib. p. 369. 
` 4 Illustrations of the Manners, Customs and Condition of the N 
dians. Ninth ed., London, 1857, p. 171, Vol. 11, Letter 54. 
5 Vide AMERICAN NATURALIST, Vol. 11, p. 644. 
orth Americal sad i 
