Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1880-02-13

FRIDAY, FEB. .l3, 1880.
terrace bank. The deposit opposite at the line
of junction between the slope and the terrace
bank, and runs back from this line horizontal
ly eastward into the terrace. The spot like
wise forms tho bottom of On irregular north
and south notch in the crest of the terrace
bluff the ground incliniug gently toward it
not only from the east, but also from the
south and north. The place indeed consti-
'tutes a>sort of natural spout through which
good deal of drainage is effected. By this lat
ter agency the surface soil has been gradually
eaten away from the spot nearly down to the
hard pan; the present depth Of earth there
fore over these quartzes affords no criterion of
their age. These quartzes, as far as yet OBJ
served, occupy an irregular stratum a few
inches in thickness which ia from sixteen
inches perhaps to three or four feet below the
turf at top, this according to distance north OF
south of the spot at present exposed where the
soil above is thinnest. The'quartzes lie upon
q bed of soil of the same character with that
above them, both of which contain occasional
water worn stones, but DO angular material
whatever. The quartzes when exposed are of
the color Of the soil and they ha>e edges SO
fresh and sharp. that one often cuts ones fng-
ers with them In digging them out. Some few,
very few of them, bear minute dark colored
crystals up on the surface. The contents Of
tho stratum are of different varieties ofmassive,
opaque quartz much of which has quite evi-
IDENTIFY been selected with On eye to rude esthet-
ic effect being mottled, spotted aud otherwise
variegated. Some of these varieties at pres
ent abound in the immediate neighborhood
while others occasionally appear in the coarse
river wash along the shore, and in erratic
boulders. The compact varieties retain their
natural luster unimpaired, but those of the
looses structure look dull and corroded. A
wagon track leading down to the river cuts
the deposit into north and south sections, it
having broken down and carried away strip
through the midst from one to two feet in
depth and some seven to nine feet wide, the
debris of which are scattered about immedi.
ately below to the distance of between one and
two rods. In the wagon. track itself, which
is only used occasionally, lie small imple-
ments more or less in fragments, and some
larger ones, as hammers and the like, in an
entire state, together with Jumps of unworked
and partially worked material. These all lie
closely intermingled and compacted with wat
er-worn rubbish, which corresponds in posi-
ton and general appearance with that char
probably belonging to the first glacial epoch"
They are found at the bottom of (2) immedi-
ately overlaying (). See Geological Survey
Of Minnesota for 1877, page SIS, fig. 6. The
wagon-track above mentioned is here worn
down to level below that of the original
quartz stratum, and exposes the latter on eth
er side, but not conspicuously. The quartz
implements are crudely shaped and are ex-
ceedingly rude and apparently undiferentiat-
ed as to design. The limits of this deposit
are not yet exactly defined in any direction.
Over it at one point is the stump of good
sized tree, decayed to the ground. In prod
ding in at the side among its roots at the
level of the quartz workings I came upon a
nest of round water worn stones all of similar
shape and size.. They were lying loosely
piled together with that of their position
made it seem as if they might once, previous
to the growth of the tree have formed an ar
tihcial heap. They must have numbered
twenty and perhaps many more. It would
appear possible tia they might at some time
have been placed upon the site for the. plr-
pose Of marking it. 1t cannot be doubted by
any intelligent student of the situation that
the quartzes sealed up within this horizontal!
issure in the soil, belong to an ancient manu-
factory of such objects, in stu. This view of
the case is substantiated by variety of cir
cumstances, prominent among which are the
following: First-the presence upon the
ground Of tools sui table to manufacturing
purposes. have found among the angular
quartz Jumps lying on the bardpan, lap
stone roughly followed out upon the upper
surface, and probably fashioned from some
convenient water-worn slab. It corresponds
pretty we'll in size and general appearance
with spec linen 1877, fguered in Abbott's Stone
Age in New Jersey as portable corn mill.
The latter implement is, however, more alb
ruptly and conspicuously followed than the
Little Falls specimen. The latter appears to
be slaty material and should like to see it
submitted to inspection under microscope.
I also picked up near the lap stone angu-
lar club or hammer of similar stone. The
latter had been Clipped to its present shape
without rounding off It's surfaces. likewise
took out of the quartz stratum itself "a stone
hammer Of another description and one finds
in the workings numbers of quartz hand
tity and shape Of the chips upon the ground
point to the same conclusion. Most of the
finer chips contained in that part of the STRAIT
um which has been broken down by the wag-
on track, and which is, of course, most Access
sible, have indeed been either quite washed
away, or plunged into the interstices of the
hardpan. Yet one finds occasional spots
where chips stick in the soil as if they had
just been faxed of. At one place I observed
the chips were all thin and small, as though
derived from objects finished up at that
point. At other spots appear triangular
fragments which have clearly been struck
from the backs of knives, and the like, as well
as chips from the pointed and rounded ex-
t,emities of implements. Third-The exist
eace among these objects Of a great amount Of
material in actual process of manufacture, is
q circums tance Of similar import.
The quartz fake blocks mentioned above
constitute an important element of the unfn-
ished work, and are most interesting objects Of
archaeological researches. sto the surface
clippings, it Is to be remarked, that there is
good deal of boulder quartz, which has been
pounded up and strewn about the shores by
boys and other idlers. Besides this, however,
there are worked implements and chips scat
tered aoundantly in spots here and there up
on the river slopes and terrace banks. Yet I
find but few Of these upon the terrace tops
proper. Indeed, just within the radius of my
own merely local and altogether unskiled ob-
servations. these clippings only appear as far
Is L can Judge at points upon the terrace top
which seem to have had the surface soil
washed away, or disturbed in some manner.
At such spots one may often pick up few