Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-03-22
INDIAN RELICS.
Interesting Chat with Prof Rutherford
An Indian Battle Ground in Athens.

Interesting Chat with Prof. Rutherford
An Indian Battle Ground in Athens.
From the athens (Ga.) Bonner WGtehUsdH.
A few days since, in taking an exour.
sion on the street cars, we had as COM
panion de voyage that eminent and en-
PERTAINING gentleman, Prof. VIM. Ruther-
ford. 1t is always source OF informa-
ton and pleasure to listen to Prof. R.,
aud we lost no time in starting up con-
versation. Our subject was talk that
he had lately given the Salamagundi Club
on Indian relies.
Prof. Rutherford says that In an old
| field just beyond the old fair grounds,
within the incorporate limits OF Athens,
the land belonging to Mr.. Streckfuss, and
which be has leased as a pasture, was at
one time fought a bloody battle between
| the Creeks and Cherokees, long before this
| country was ever penetrated by the
white man. The ground is admirably
| suited for a scene of Garage, there being
a mill, valley and a branch, the valley at
that time covered with dense growth of
! cane, and it is just such spot as the
| Indians would select for battle field. Ii
/ will be remembered that the boundary
/ between these two powerful tribes of In
| dams was at Cherokee corner, but short
| distance from Athens, and as they were
always at war, 10 Is more than probable
that one OF their engagements took place
mere. And to sutstantiate this claim,
! Prof. Rutherford says he once owned the
| field, and in cultivating it the plOw would
! turn up vast numbers of arrow heads.
| After the property passed from his
] hands 1t was permitted to grow up
I in Bermuda grass, that Of course COW
/ cred the ground. lie short time since
| told some little negroes that he would give
/ them n nickel apiece for all the arrow
heads they could find in that field. The
Professor had no idea that they would tax
his purse very heavily; but TO his sur
prise, few nights afterwards, delega-
tion OF juvenile sutfrage-slingers filed into
his house, each one with both hands filed
with arrOw-heads. The Professor said
IL made quite hole in his finances to
make good his offer. These relics
were evidently not manufactured where
| found as there is no fint rock
near suitable for the purpose, and such
numbers cOula only have been scattered
at one place during considerable battle,
| fought long before the introduction of fire.
arms among the red skins. Near this
branch and a fine spring stood the first
/ Methodist church ever built in Athens,
| but no signs of 1t now remain. Prof.
Rutherford says there was large grave
ward on the land when he owned IL, which
I
! have since been plOwed over and all signs
| OF them Obliterated. Here were buried
many OF the early settlers Of our county.
| We asked the Professor to describe to
us the process by which the Indians,
without tools of any kind, could manage
/ to make their arrow-heads of the hardest
| flint. He says he wrote to Col. G. G..
/ Jones, Of Augusta, who has made the In
! dian character aud habits his study, ask
| ing this same question, and Col. Jones
| wrote him full and satisfactory
answer. The Indians did not cut their
arrow-heads from large bOulders Of flint,
az many suppose, but they scare he'd for
and selected large pieces as near the de-
sired shape as possible. Having neither
| iron nor steel tools TO work with, they Sc
! lected the hardest substance at their
| cOmmand-viz: a sharp piece OF stone 1t
| took two Indians TO make an arrow
! head. One held the piece Of flint that he
desired to shape firmly in the hand. so
| grasped that IL could not move. Against
| this he held sharp piece OF stone,
| that the other workman tapped with
a rock hammer. Thus bit by bit the
| flint was Clipped away and shaped,
until made into a perfect arrowhead. II
had 10 be held in the palm OF the hand, for
the flint would have been broken and
ruined had IL rested on any harder sub
stance while worked upon. The process,
OF course, was very tedious and slow. but
then time was no object TO the aborigi-
nees, and those stone arrow heads were
the most effective weapons they could
make.