Report of the State Geologist. 



439 



number, there seems little doubt that they were never fully com- 

 pleted, but corresponded to what modern workmen call "blanks." 

 In other words, they were pieces of flint, roughly shaped into the 

 desired form and designed to be completed at some future time. 

 None were provided with a shank or other means of attachment to a 

 shaft; soaie were nearly circular in form ; many were three or four 

 inches long, with the roughest suggestion of a point, while in a few 

 instances, chips, which had nearly the proper shape, were not worked 

 at all. On the other hand, many specimens were carefully worked to 

 a condition where they might be used as heads, with the exception of 

 the broad base, which was always left unfinished. The average size of 

 the specimens in this collection was much above that of the completed 

 points found in the vicinity. No chips or other debris, incident to 

 the manufacture of flint instruments, were found in the excavation or 

 near it, proving, conclusively, that they were not made on the spot. 

 The piles of flint chips found on all plowed fields near the lake, 

 although containing an occasional large piece, do not, in general, con- 

 tain such fragments as would naturally be made in shaping these 

 blanks. On the contrary, they are rather such chips as would be 

 formed in working the blanks down to the arrow-heads of the usual 

 size. Moreover, chert like that used in making these arrow-heads is 

 not found near Silver Lake, except as drift specimens, and the quan- 

 tity is too small to furnish any such a number of weapons as the exist- 

 ing remains bear witness to. Bringing any considerable quantity of 

 crude material from Le Roy or Avon, the nearest accessible localities 

 for chert in situ, would be a slow and laborious process with any means 

 savages could command. It seems most probable, therefore, that the 

 flints were roughly shaped where material was plenty, presumably 

 at some point on the Corniferous limestone belt near Le Roy, and that 

 the half-completed points were then taken to Silver Lake, where they 

 were finished as they were needed. Possibly, this pile was some 

 warrior's supply of ammunition for a campaign against the enemy, or 

 a winter's hunting, buried for concealment, and forgotten, or aban- 

 doned because of some sudden change of location. 



Mr. J. "W. Chamberlain, who owns the land bordering upon the north 

 end of the lake, informs me that a similar collection of flints was 

 plowed up on his farm a number of years ago. He said there was 

 <c about a peck " of them according to the best of his recollection. 

 Unfortunately none of these have been preserved. He described 

 them as being roughly made from a white waxy chert which was 

 almost translucent. Two finely-worked flints of this material were 

 found by me on Mr. Chamberlain's farm and are now in my private 



