Minnesota weekly times. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1854-1859, 1855-11-03
ANTIQUITIES or LAKE SUPERIOR.

In excavating near the mouth Of Carp Rw-
er, Marquette County, in what appeared to be
the ancient bed Of the river, (situated abou,
ten feet above the present bed,) various im-
plements and tools OF copper have been found,
such as knives, chisels, bodkins, Cor tool SIM
liar to bodkin,) also arrow-heads or barbs,
such as are used by the Indians in their wild
state where they cannot get guns, also chips
and pieces of copper, apparently lett from the
manufacture of the above named tools. We
have examined some Of the tools and imple-
ments, and have in our possession knife OBJ
tanned from the excavation referred to. Large
pine trees stood over the place where the knife
was obtained, al least one hundred years old.
How long the knife and other implements have
lain there is hard to TELL but suppose it must
have been several hundred years, as long
time must have elapsed before the river bed OF
gravel could have been formed, and subsequent
ly changed, the soil deposited on the gravel
bed to the depth Of two feet, and the pine 10
take root, and row TO be one hundred years
old. The knife referred to is about seven inch
es long. shank aud all, the shank two and a
half inches and the blade four and half inch
es long. 1t is made Of copper, with pieces oil
silver attached as we see i'll specimens procur-
ed from the mines now being worked i'll the
country. In shape the knife corresponds very
we'll to those generally used, and preferred by
the natives OF the country, viz: with an oval
blade. 1t also appears to be fancy knife, tip
ped off with silver from point to shank it is al
so very hard for copper, so much so that it is
difficult to bend it without, breaking. This fact
goes to show that the manufacturer, whoever
he may have been, understood the process of
hardening copper. The same fact holds good
in relation to the other implements. To prove
the fact that these implements had been har-
dened, and that their hardness is not due to any
chemical change that might have taken place
subsequent to their deposte in the river bed,
we have only to compare them with the shaw
ings and chips found with them, and probably
a part Of the original piece from which they
We're manufactured. These chips or shavings
are perfectly malleable, the same as we find
the native copper obtained from the present
mines. Consequently. if any change had ia
ken place, it must have, or probably would have
produced corresponding change in the chips
OF shavingS. In fact the existence of these
shavings proves that they must have had some
tools harder than the inalleable copper, and
thinner than those ordinarily made Of stone, as
some Of these shavings are very thin, and have
the appearance of being cut with some sharp
tool. The socket of the chisel or bodlin for
We know Of no better name to call it, was
formed by hammerng the copper out fiat, and
turning this, from the socket. The sock is
neither welded nor soldered, proving that the
manufacturer did not understand that art.
The present native races in the country have
no knowledge of the people who manufactured
these implements, and worked the Copper
Mines of Lake Superior hundreds of years ago.
AT the mouth of the river above referred to are
abundant evidences to show that there has been
town or village there many years ago. These
evidences consist in the fact that lines ofhouses
can be traced by the stone and clay inermin-
gled that formed their chimneys and fire places
The outlines Of the buildings are traceable in
the ridge of clay that las fallen from their de-
cayed walls. These were probably composed
Of logs and painted or plastered with the clay
that now indicates their existence. These in
dications exist on ground where the forest few
years since waved in its majesty Of a hundred
years growth, but now have given away to 9TH
err occupants, hitherto unknown in that land
The strong probability is that the inhabitants of
these dwellings were the manufacturers of
these Implements above referred to- and that
they were lost in the river by them, while en-
gagged in the common avocations of lile.-Lake
Superior Journal.