The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1901-04-03
PIONEER DRUMMER LOST SAMPLE

county, Kan, says the Kansas ,.itv
Journal, Is an iron arrow point. This
Mr. Hovey says. is the first drunmer,s
sample ever brought west of the Miss.
| issippi
| Inc point was found. Mr.. Hovey saws
on the farm OF Piney Lydey. near the
three Indians mounds I'm Wyandot,o
county. Mr. Lydey discovered Il while
lie was chopping up log that had been
taken from an old cabin which had stood
on MS place Tor forty years The polnt
Was wrapped up In a growth OF l5O rings
Ana as Mr. Hoyey has had the arrow
poiht In ms collection for ten years he
says that u Is at least 200 years old.
who made IL? Who brought n herap
The original inhabitant of this land was
as quick TO adopt a satisfactory substi-
tute Tor stone arrow points as the pres-
eht inhabitants are To adopt "A new mill
nary defence or modern pattern rife"
says Mr.. Hovey. "ln fact. there are 70
pe round how many steel points that have
been used by Indians The reason thai
more are not turned up * that they are
not as proof against time and dampness
as are nnts. For that reason aver,,
steel or iron point should be carefully
preserved, for they win be I'm time OF
more value than the stone or flint
penetrated this country at "A very early
nate-the former 10 preach the cross and
then trade, the latter to seek gold and
lhcldently 10 preach religion. Ii was "a
hrenchman OF some artisanlike ability
that brought with him this point. The
good Jesuits, Marquette and Dublou. had
perhaps already been here 10 preach the
cross Their names we know, but the
man who followed them TO preach trade
we DO not know SO. then, who was
our drummer-called trader in those
days-can not be learned. lie had heard
what the good priests had done; he had
hearu their stories or the people. of their
modes OF life and Of chase and battle
lie, then made up his mind that he
would 20 down among them and try 10
trade on something that he had or for
their furs and hides
The arrow point tells Just as well as
II the trader himself was here To relate
~, tnc STORY now ne was disappointed
Ills failure is In every line of iron.
Statesmen of the present dav may
think that they have a hard time Of A..
lhey complain II the train Is slow. II the
soap IL not properly perfimed AZ the
neeisteak Is tough Yet what did this
ancient knight OF the grip have TO under
go To Introduce his goods? This cour-
aseous drummer started out from some
post on the st. Lawrence. lie went
INTO Wild, unmapped country. the in
hapltants savages and strangers TO him
'hu 10 MS people. He padded a canoe;
'onetimes he must go upstream and
against the current, making portage
'round rails or rapids The weeks ran
nto months, perhaps Is was even years
,cioIe the Journey was finished. He
iNed Dy the game that he could kill or
ne ilsh he could catch. And often from
'earness he went to sleep hungry.
Al last he reached the mouth OF The
<aw' He found here and I'm the neigh
'orhood numerous people he had
'ot had great success so far i'm dispcs-
ng of his arrow points The Indians
would look at them. try them and with
shake of the head hand them back to
i'm. TO tell the truth he could not ex-
city understand H.: he made them after
pattern he had seen In Europe and
hat had been used with more or less
uccess in the Middle Ages by the war
Tor bold Why should the Indians not
ave them? s-,-I
Here he met an old chic of an old fell
Nv, was kind after the Indian fashion
nd he could talk fast with hands, fin
ers and arms. He undertook TO tell
ne Frenchman just where he was of
nd wherein his arrow was all wrong.
ne point the old man said, was ali
sht. lie could ask nothing better; IL
Eat the stone and flint all To pieces
ut that was the best thing about the
row and about it's only good quality
ne blade was too thick; In fact II was
icker than flint arrow The edge
as not sharp enough: an Idian boy
'uid take a flint arrow and grind IL
larper on the edges. Again the barb
as too sharp; an Indian could not ex-
act IL quickly enough from his culver:
could with the proper kind OF n point
'ep ten or "A dozen arrows flying i'm the
T AZ once. But the sharp edges of this
e would be very likely 10 catch every
ne that he sought 10 draw II out
istly, the base could not be neatly at
ched TO the shaft. lie showed the
ummer the reasons for these oblec-
MS and then ended up by driving the
row point into sapling with his tom
awk-the marks of the blows are Vet
be seen upon the base-and so it re-
aimed imbedded until the sapling be-
me tree and fell beneath the strokes
the woodman 10 tell us "A history of
unsuccessful commercial traveller
The hopes OF the drummer were
lshed: he could find no buyers i'm that
be for his arrow points. The only
ng left for us To hope Is that he had
more satisfactory side line with which
interest these early Kansans'