, 1885-10-29
I AN INTERESTING COLLECTION
or Implements, Arrow and Lance
Eeads. Ornament and Utensils.


or indian Implements, Arrow and Lance
Eeads. Ornaments and Utensii..
One of the largest and most interest
ing collections of Indian relics in Amer
lea is now on view in this city. They
are the property Of DR.. l.. G. Washburn,
and embrace over 1000 different rare
and valuable specimens. Probably the
most interesting pieces in the collection
are tho axes. These are of all kinds
and 8izes, from the small, well preserved
Ratchet to the huge, clumsy affair used
in telling trees. One, a small bat
%tle-ax, Is Of apparently recent
make. The edge being quite sharp,
while another. large. Of the
very hardest granite and containing
%hornblend, is at least 200 years old.
There are two wood-axes Of Oriental
shape, Ike those the Arabians used.
The majority Of the axes are Of gray or
black granite. with grooves or crcasUs
near the head. \ number If them are
Of flint so hard that nothing but Il dia-
mond can make an impression. They
resist alike files and drills ono IS a
double bitted AK Of large size. Another,
and probably the handsomest TX IN the
Npili'llDilt ~ NlhA - AAAitA IA iNABAN lflAsNA
granite. a very rare stone.
There are arrow and lance heads by
the hundred. all Of the hardest material,
and many Of the most beautiful work
manship; so beautiful. in fact. that il is
doubtful If artisans Of the pres mt day
could produce one of them. Most
Of the arrows are Of flint aud
chirt. They range in size from a
sH..t.n 80 a.. fnaI, .. t4tt.. sttsl,.a -
length, and from an eighth Of an inch TO
four inches in width. There are war ar
rows, game arrows ami fish Tho
war arrows have sharp boards on them,
SO that the flesh will be lacerated in their
extracting; the game arrows nays little
or no beard, allowing OF easy extraction,
and the fish arrows have boards like the
harpoon, calculated TO resist all effort at
extraction. These fish arrows are bent,
also. so as to 20 directly into the water
without CHANGING of. some Of the fine
arrows have serrated edges, wonderfully
done, with convex and cOncave sides.
How the Indians could work such ma
terial in two different ways, as shown in
the serrated edges, is a mystery. II must
have been done with jewels, rs if Clipped
there would have been a straight fract-
urc.
But the rarest of all the arrow-heads
are II score or more made of sand, car
nelian, chalcedony and moss agate.
precious stones. These are really gems,
and were no doubt the property of chiefs
if, rs is not impossible. they were not
worn as ornaments. Someo these arrow,
spear, and lance points are very old.
The caleareous deposit in more than one
indicates their age. Many Of the pieces
are of tinted flint. while some have been
painted with n mineral paint. A collec-
ton of broken lance heads was found
on an old battlefield. The fight had evil
IDENTIFY been a short, sharp one, as there
were no ar%row-points about and as so
many of the lance-heads were broken.
A barrelful of the osseus remains OF
prehistoric warriors is a part of the col
lection. The craniums of the skulls are
thick, and the skulls are not larger than
those Of 1O-year-old boys Of the present
day. The foreheads are low and reeed-
ing. On one Of the skulls is a marlI
showing the impression Of an arrow.
one of the femurs exhibited has the
fragment of an arrowhead in it. The
doctors find that the wound must have
turned into n running sore, from the eff
fects of which the owner Of the femur
died. There are Indications OF the at
tempt of nature to reject the flint and
then to absorb it.
Pipes of various kinds are in the col
lection. The bowl Of one pipe is so hard
that it is impossible to make an impress
sion on it. A genuine c%igar-holder is
shown also, showing that the lndiags
sometimes twisted their tobacco and
smoked it,. Then there ARE agricul-
tural implements OF all kinds,
spades and hoes, and a great many
which have no names now. There are
mortars for pounding things in, smooth
granite balls. Hat stones highly polished,
w%hetstones, myils and trowels, all 50
smooth and hard that they must have
been cut with a jewel and worn smooth
with use. There are drills and avis Of
queer design; and lastly and really the
mosi remarkable, plummets. The plum
NETS are ~ smooth as bullets, and their
density may be imagined when it is
stated that they are made Of mctcoric
iron ore. They are Of perfect form and
must have been used by the mound
builders in architectural work. In ad-
dition to these there are n number Of
queer ornaments and toys. ono 0 fthese,
and the second found in the United
States, is q turtle Clipped out of flint.
Another, the only one in existence, is an
Indian profile in flint -ISt. Louis Cor.
New York Mail and Express.