the solid stone could be removed to considerable 
depths. 
We are not able to discover just what devices were 
employed in the preliminary quarry work. The earth was 
probably loosened with wooden pikes and with picks 
of stone and antler* and was thrown up with the hands 
or carried out in baskets of bark or cane* or in skins. 
As the quarrying advanced the older pits were filled 
with the debris, and evidences of the operations were 
much obscured. It is only when the pits are fully 
cleaned out that we come to realize the full nature and 
extent of the ancient work. Our excavations brought 
to light surprising evidences of the energy, persever¬ 
ance, and skill of the native miner, and showed the 
practice of an art totally distinct from that carried 
on in the bowlder quarries of Piny branch. 
