Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1871-08-04

Though more rarely found now, Indian lclcs
were formerly very abundant ia msEy parts Of
Vermont. Especially fiv0rtl 30 this ., spect are
the lorierg of streams emptyiug into Lake
Champla'n, sud the higher lands near by, Is
well As the shores Of the lsse and It's islands
In few localities the number Of domestic im-
plemeuts found indicate the site Of yillsge. or
AZ least Of a frequently occupied camping
ground. Near some Of these, huryiuz grounds
have been founl, ia which the dead we're plAcel
in sitting posture sc,oiliag 10 the lulian
custom.
Remains of ancient fortifca,ious have been
found, uear which multitu1es OF flint stones and
arrow ald spearpoints sireWod the ground
Here and there the number Of unfinished arti-
cles. as well as the trimmings of stoEe, show
Whera they were manufactured On Grand Isle
in the lake there VAS such e place, and in this
case the stone used BY these primitive workmen
was unlike any existing in tie neighho-hooi.
We are tod that the country about Like
Chsmpl4in was occupied mainly by the Ircquois
and Co0sucks, though undoubtedly other tribes
visited these regions not unfrcoueitly. How
many Of the implements found were mAie by
members Of these tribes is TO; known. hat
some Of them must date farther baci. than the
occupation OF the ground 10y thssc tribes. as the
style and character OF the work is unlike any
they lave produced.
The greater portion Of the relies which have
been discovered were maze from stone found
in Vermont, either in place or az dTih, but
few are Of different material from anything
found in New England
Pestlcs and mortars for pounding corn are
no, uncommon the latter being usually mere
shallow cavities il some hsri rock but some
times they ere deeper. The pestles are usually
well msde snl taper from the middle, toward
each end, though the larger ones taper only
toward one end They are usually Of compact
material. as trap or granite. but some are of
softer MATERIAL as slate or schist | have seen,
only one that hal any kind Of ornsment upon
IT, This is large one. over two feet long, in
the Museum Of the University Of Vermont II
is cylindrical as usual, and is rounded at one
end, while the other is carved to resemble the
head Of some animal, it may De a wolff
Small triangular articles are found, which,
from the roundness and smoothuess Of the eices,
seem made to rub down the seams il garments
Here, as in every locality in which Indian
relics are found, great numbers OF arroWponts
aud spesrheads have been picked up. Many
are made Of milky quartz Sud many more Of
iint or ebert. They vary greatly in form snd
workmanship.
Gouges and chisels are rather common all
over the state The former vary in shspe,
some being rounded On esch side and sor.e
angular ; some are grooved throughout the
whole length, and some only fer a short dis
tsnce. They are from sx inches to foot in
length, and are usually Que and one-hslf inches
to two inches broad. The ohisels sre smaller
and less common. Both sre made Of various
kinds Of stone, some being of trap. others Of
granite or syenite. while others are of talcose
and mics-schist, and could be Of use only in
working quite soft substances, CT in dressing
skins.
Axes and hstchtts Of various kinds are found,
but not very often Ornaments or amuleiE Of
stone, ditc-shsped, with a hole in the centre,
are sometimes met with They are an inch or
so in diameter, and ope-iourth Of sn inch thick.
A very pretty pipe is in the Museum Of the
University at Burlington. and was dug up not
far from Burlington. 1t is shaped like CON
mon clay pipe, but the bowl is smaller and
thicker. and the stem shorter. Il is wrought
from piece Of dark clouded gypsum, ani is
nicely polished. The stem is two and two
ffths inches long, and one-third Of an inch
thick at the erd, and three fourths Of an inch
thick next the bowl The sides sre somewhat
angular, and the bore quite large, being one
fifth OF an inch in diameter at the end, and
growing very gradually smaller towards the
bowl The bowl is one and one-hslf inches
high and nine-tenths Of an inch in diameter
II is encireed iy two rows Of OhlOng cavities,
about one-fourth of an inch broad, and from
three-tenths TO one-half Of an inch long, and
one-eighih Of an inch deep, no two being ex-
actly alike. There are seven of these in the
lower row and eight in The upper, and they
we're probably inlaid with some ornamental
substance.
Pots Of various sizes and shapes have teen
found one holding twenty quarts. All these
are made Of burnt clay. There are few ar
ticles Of Indian workmanship in the Museum
of the University Of Vermont which are pecu-
liar and worthy Of special notice One of the
most interesting Of these is the jar Zig. -.
This curious relic was found about six miles
from Burlington, in the town of Colchester,
in 1925. 1t was found some distance below
the surface and covered by a stone over which
a root Of large tree had grown this tree
Was quite dec.yed, and the stone itself con-
sderaby decomposed. The jar is made of
-These long Implements of slft or clay stone genr
ally called "pestles," were probably used Tor mash
grain on fat stone or log, by a rolling process
rather than by p { dig rs the scf material from
which they are made. would, II used q peste
give rather mere grit To the Indian cake' than
even Indian would be likely to rellsh.-s. " p.
tin the collection Of the New York state Mu.eum
at Albany. there is long pestie !" OF identcal pat
tern and sane rough carving as the ono described
from the Burlington Nuseum. These the only
on=s that have core under nv observation, having
the hand eaived 10 represent an animal though
the LONGER pieme5ts this character have
knob at the handle II the purpose Of suspen-
stony. W. z.