127 
they were able, supposing that the disease was either exhaled or 
dispersed." 
A 49. 
Nos. 14 to 33*' are stone ''gorgets." Nos. 17, 29, and 32 
are from Alabama. The locality of No. 26 was not given ; the 
remainder are from Ohio. 
It will be observed that the perforations in the ''gorgets" 
have been made, in some instances, with a tool made upon the 
principle of a modern centre-bit ; for the drilling was effected 
by a central point, which did not project from the base 
of the tool more than a quarter, or from that to three-eighths 
of an inch ; as may be seen from the circular striae left by the 
base of the tool when the point had penetrated to this depth. 
Judging from the marks upon No. 14, this base of the tool had 
a diameter of about seven-eighths of an inch. The Swiss 
lake-dwellers appear to have employed, in some instances, a 
similar form of drill. The holes in the gorgets are bevelled 
from one or both surfaces, and at the narrowest part are 
seldom more than one-eighth of an inch in diameter. The 
circular striae left by the tool are to be seen in nearly every 
specimen. 
"Gorgets" found in the Ohio mounds have been chiefly 
associated with inhumed burials. The specimen upon Tablet 
26, Case C 37, is, however, an exception. 
These " gorgets " may have been worn suspended round the 
neck, resting upon the breast. It is remarkable, however, that 
none of the holes, as has been already mentioned,! show 
elongation from wear, and the greater part of the " gorgets " 
have been found by the side of the skeleton, near the bones of 
the hand, which does not accord with the idea of their use as 
neck ornaments. A stone gorget in Dr. Hildreth's collection, 
obtained from a mound near Chillicothe, is said to have been 
found resting upon the breast of a human skeleton. 
Schoolcraft has suggested that the "gorgets" were used in 
* The "gorgets" are of the following materials : — Nos. 14 to 16, and 23, 
rather soft slate; No. 17, ferruginous claystone ; Nos. 18, 26, 27, 30, 
whetslate ; No. 26 is characteristic as to hardness, and contains a high per- 
centage of silica ; No. 19, slightly micaceous sandstone ; Nos. 20, 33, clay 
slate; Nos. 21, 22, 31, slate; No. 24, sandstone; No. 25, limestone; No. 
28, coral ; Nos, 29 and 32, micaceous slate. 
t See page 123. 
