Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1879-12-11
How Arrow. Heads Are Made.


Mr.. B. B. Redding has had the good
fortune of personally witnessing the
process of making arrow-heads as it
was probably conducted by the pre-
historic man in the stone age. He de-
scribes the operation with great mi
nuteness in the current number of the
american Naturalist. The mechanic
was Consolulu, the aged chief of the
WintOon Indians. His implements con-
sisted of a piece of deer-horn prong,
split lengthwise, four inches long, half
an inch thick, with the ends at right
angles to the sides, and of course semi
circular; two deer-hOrn prongs, one
smaller than the other, with the ends
ground down to the shape of a square
sharp-pOinted file, and piece Of we'll
tanned buckskin, thick, soft and pliable.
Laying lump of obsidian, about q
pound in weight, in the palm of his
left hand, he placed between the first
and second fingers of the same hand
the semi-cylindrical deer-horn imple-
ment so that the straight side of one of
the ends rested about a quarter of an
inch from the edge of the obsidian.
With small water-wOrn stone, pound
in weight, in his right-hand, he struck
the other end of the prong and flake
of obsidian was severed, well adapted
for the arrowhead. If required, he
could split up all of the obsidian in q
few minutes in the same way. On the
buokskin in the palm of his left hand
he then laid the Obsidian flake, which
he held in place by the first three fin
gers Of that hand, and took himself
such position on the ground that the
left elbow could rest on the left knee
and obtain firm support. Holdingi in
his right hand the larger of the two
pointed prOngs, just as wood engra-
yer holds his cutting instrument, and
resting his thumb on the side of his left
hand, to serve as fulcrum, he brought
the point of the prong about one-eighth
of an inch within the edge of the flake,
and then exerting o firm downward
pressure, fragment after fragment was
broken of until the side of the arrow
was made straight. AS all the chips
came off the lower edge, the cutting
edge was not yet in the centre of the
side. The Indian, however, rubbed the
side OF the prong repeatedly over the
sharp edge, turned over the flake, and
resuming the chipping as before,
brought the cutting edge to the centre.
In SIMILAR manner the other side and
the COnCave base of the arrowhead
were finished. The formation of the
slots in the sides near the base for the
retention of the tendons to bind the
head OF the arrow securely to the shaft,
the most difficult stage, was
in reality the easiest. The point of the
arrowhead was held between the
thumb and finger of the left hand,
while the base rested on the buckskin
cushion in the palm. The point of the
deer-horn prong, not exceeding
one-sixteenth Of an inch square, was
brought to bear on the part Of the side
where the Indian considered the slot
should be. A saving motion made the
chips fly to right and left, and in less
than minute the slot was cut to the
necessary depth, As one side was
slotted so was the other. The arrow
head was finished in about forty min
ltos. AS this note has outgrown the
length usually assigned to single
subject in this column, the compiler
refrains from identifying some of the
methods employed by this survival of
prehistoric armorers with those pur-
sued by the recent manufacturers of
now OhaOlntn nints for firn.nrnna