8 
THE NATURAL SCIENCE JOURNAL. 
and none other; for it is only God that, 
by ruins, would perpetuate history. 
It is one of the inscrutable w^ays of 
Goci, that signs of his omnipotence 
should be given, not alone in worlds 
tossed in profusion from his hands ; but, 
also, in that enduring records may be 
traced in shifting sands. 
SOME BEAUTirUL MATERIAL USED lU 
TEE MAUUPAOTURE OF PREHIS- 
TORIO STONE IMPLEMENTS. 
Frederic Gardner Hillman. 
EAUTY of form and perfection of 
workmanship in Archaeological 
specimens often have their value en¬ 
hanced or detracted from, by the material 
of which they are made. 
AVe are all familiar with the beautiful 
“ gem ” arrow points of the western part 
of the L) lilted States of America which 
have been so highly prized and sought 
for, tliat they are now counterfeited to a 
large extent. However, man of to-day 
with all his facilities and superior tools, 
has not and cannot produce better work¬ 
manship that did the aborigine with his 
crude appliances. I have in my posses¬ 
sion minute points, which I know to be 
genuine, made from the most fragile 
obsidian, and fashioned in the most 
slender and delicate forms imaginable. 
What the practical use of these tiny 
arrow' points really w'ere is a source of 
much conjecture, wdiich has never been 
satisfactorily explained to the writer. 
Tliese points were made of all sorts of 
beautiful material, too numerous to men¬ 
tion in detail, but which include quartz, 
striped agate, moss agate, earnelian, 
onyx, chalcedony jasper, semiopal, hya¬ 
lite, obsidian and marekanite. 
One of the finest arrow points I ever 
saw' is in my collection. It is of clear 
limpid quartz crystal wdth base of black 
rutile. It wms found in Lassen County, 
California. I also have Horn the same 
locality a knife ten inches long, made of 
translucent black obsidian with bands of 
brilliant red running through it; another, 
smaller, of moss agate, and some of the 
most beautiful and delicately-formed ob¬ 
sidian arrow points imaginable. 
Among a large number of arrowheads 
from southern Mississippi and Louisiana, 
I have noticed many of a peculiar brown¬ 
ish jasper, tipped w'ith brilliant red on 
point, ddie frequency and manner of 
w'orking it out made it obvious that the 
aborigines had a purpose in so fashion¬ 
ing it. Did the Natchez Indians have 
any ceremonial reason in doing this, or 
was it just the result of a popular fancy? 
New England arrowheads are usually 
rather crude and rough, although occa¬ 
sionally some very fair specimens are 
found, made of the many-colored por- 
phyiy, or petro-silex, so abundant in the 
seashore ledges north of Cape Cod. 
The finest collection of spearheads in 
the w'orld is undoubtedly that of Rev. E. 
C. Mitchell of St. Paul, Minn., which 
contains many beautiful specimens. 
Mr. G. B. Frazar of West Medford, 
Mass., has a very finely-shaped knife 
made of beautiful translucent white 
quartz. It Avas found on the shore of 
Sebago Pond, Maine. 
The best spearhead that ever came to 
my notice came from Peru. It was made 
of very handsome greenish chalcedony, 
almost a chrysoprase. 
Some of the jasper spearheads found 
in Illinois and Missouri are very showy. 
Mr. Wallace Thatcher of Yarmouth- 
port. Mass., is the owmer of a splendid 
