The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1880-03-10
How Arrow.Heads Are Made.

a writer in the american Naturalist
described the process of making arrow
'ads as it was probably conducted
u the prehistoric man in the
lone age, as follows: The mechanic
las Consolulu, the aged chief of the
Wlntoon Indians. His implements
consisted OLA piece of deer-horn prong,
split lengthwise, four inches long, half
an inch thick, with the end 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 square,
sharp pointed file, and piece of we'll
tanned buckskin, thick, soft and plia-
Bile. Laying alump 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 nipple
n1ent SO that the straight side of
one of the ends rested about 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 a fake
of obsidian was severed, we'll adapted
for the arrowhead. If required, he
could split up all of the obsidian in q
few minutes in the same way. On the
Xuckskin in the palm of his left hand
lie 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. Holding in
his right hand the larger of the two
pointed prongs, just as wood engraver
holds his cutting instrument. and rest
ing his thumb on the side of his left
hand, to serve as q fulcrum, he
brought the point of the prong about
one-eighth of an inch within the edge
Of the flake, and then exerting a firm
downward pressure, fragment after frag-
ment was broken off 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 center
of the side. The Indian, however,
rubbed the side of the prong repeatedly
over the sharp edge, turned over the
fake, and, resuming the chipping as be-
fore, brought the cutting edge to the
center. In similar manner the other
side and the concave base of the arrow
head was 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,
apparently the most difficult stage, was,
In reality, the easiest. The point of the
asrow- head was held between the thumb
and finger of the left hand, while the
l.ase rested on the buckskin cushion in
sae palm. The point of the smaller
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 a
minute the slot was cut to the necessary
depth. AS one side was slotted, so was
the other. The arrowhead was finished
in about forty minutes. AS this note
has outgrown the length usually as
signed to single subject in this COL
umn, the compiler refrains from identi-
flying some of the methods employed by
this survival of prehistoric armorers
with those pursued by the recent man
ufactl1rers of the now obsolete fints for
firearms