DAVIS: ANCIENT FLINT-USERS OF YORKSHIRE. 
421 
skins, are tied in the end of a piece of stick and used for marking 
their shields or other wooden objects. They never use them for 
dressing skins, because they go absolutely naked. The various tribes 
cany on a good deal of barter, and frequently exchange with others 
at a distance of a hundred miles or more, not only implements and 
gums, but also red ochre and white pipe-clay for the ornamentation 
of their bodies. 
Interesting accounts of the methods employed by the Mexicans 
have been given by Torquemada and Motoliuia, and more recently a 
communication was made by Mr. Sellers,* giving his experience on 
the banks of the Saline River. He found a few miles above its junc- 
tion with the Ohio, that the land on the banks of the river extended 
for some distance quite flat, and when these lands were cleared of 
wood and the plough had loosened the surface soil, it was not an 
uncommon occuiTence during periods of great flooding from the river, 
for 2 or 3 feet of the surface soil to be washed away from large areas 
and leave the remains of ancient flint or stone workshops exposed. 
Cores and waste chips were abundant, and fi'om a careful examination 
of these, together with a vast accumulation of finished and unfinished 
implements and tools, Mr. Sellers was able to deduce a tolerably 
succinct idea of the method of working pursued. The most abundant 
material was chert from the mountain limestone. Flint is very rare 
in America, from the fact that it does not occur in the strata. Jasper, 
chalcedony, and agates are also used, and have been principally 
obtained fi'om the beds of the rivers. Considerable information was 
derived by the author frum ^Ir. Catlin, who devoted many years of 
his life to painting portraits of Indians, which are now in the National 
Museum. During his sojourn amongst the Indians for this purpose, 
he had opportunities to study the way in which they make their 
implements. Most of the tribes had men who were expert at flaking 
and possessed a knowledge of the character of the material used, 
which enabled them to proceed directly to the best mode of working. 
The tools used consisted of a piece of pointed bone or buck-horn 
inserted in the end of shaft of wood, 3 or 4 feet in length, and 2 or 
* Smithsonian Report, 1885. Pt. I., p. 871. Observations on Stone-chipping, 
by G. E. Sellers. 
