1883.] 437 (Haynes. 



General Meeting, November 7, 1883. 



The President, Mr. S. H. Scudder, in the chair. Thirty per- 

 sons present. 



The President announced the deaths of Mr. Joachim Barrande, 

 Prof. Oswald Heer, Honorary Members ; and of Dr. J. Lawrence 

 Smith, a Corresponding Member of the Society. 



It was voted that the Honorary Secretary be requested to 

 express to their families, the Society's sympathy. 



Messrs. Frank O. Carpenter and George R. A. Hiss were elected 

 Associate Members. 



The following papers were read : — 



AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS OF THE NEW ENGLAND 



INDIANS. 



BY HENRY W. HAYNES. 



When the little band of sixteen Pilgrims " with every man his 

 musket, sword, and corslet, under the conduct of Capt. Miles 

 Standish " had set out upon their first exploration of the new 

 country where their lot had been cast, upon the 15th day of No- 

 vember, 1620, we are told that very soon they " found much plain 

 ground, about fifty acres, fit for plough, and some signs where the 

 Indians had formerly planted their corn." x The account goes on 

 to tell how shortly afterwards they came upon a large quantity of 

 this same corn carefully stored in underground repositories, which 

 they forthwith proceeded to " borrow," although they afterwards 

 paid for it most conscientiously. In like manner we find all the 

 earliest narratives of the first settlers filled with statements in re- 

 gard to the large quantities of maize that the natives were in the 

 habit of raising ; 2 although Governor Bradford, it is true r has 

 stated that "they have nothing so much corne as they have since 

 ye English have stored them with hoes." 3 However that may 

 have been, the latest investigator of the "Indian question," Rev. 

 Dr. George E. Ellis, tells us that " the early European colonists in 



1 Mourt's Relation (Young's Chronicles of the Pilgrims) pp. ]25 and 130. 



2 Wood's New England's Prospect, chap. v. (Prince Soc. ed. p. 75); Id. chap, xx 

 (p. 116); Morton's New English Canaan., chap, xm (Prince Soc. ed. p. 160).. 



3 Historv of Plymouth, p. 102 (Deane's ed.). 



