River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1902-12-11
AN INDIAN WEAPON FACTORY.
Place i'm Maine Where AbOrigineB
Used to Meet and Make
Arrowheads, Etc.

ArrOwheadS, EXC.
The most remarkable find" of In
dian relics ever made in Maine has
been unearthed at Kineo by men en-
gagged in grading near the Kineo
| house.
They have found hundreds of ar
rowheads, spearheads and many other
articles made of the flint which made
this place a famous rendezvous for
the aborigines, reports local eX-
change.
Tradition says that the ground be-
ing broken up for tennis courts was
once an Indian burial place; also that
it was place of the gathering of the
tribes for pow-wows and perhaps
| fierce battles. For years relics have
| been picked up about Kineo frequent
| ly, but the excavations now in prog
ress seem to have hit veritable
pocket" of relics.
The ground being broken up is on
the high bank backed by the pine
| Trees" known to all Kineo visitors.
It is evident that the Indians in
| former times camped on this point,
which was then covered with forests,
| and here worked the flint which is
still found in considerable quanti-
ties.
The ground from six to eight
inches below the surface bears evil
dence of this ''arrow factory" Here
are found chips of flint, half-made
heads, immense pieces of flint show
| ing marks of some tool, and spear
heads nearly finished but abandoned,
evidently for some flaw. Many ar
rowheads are found with one side
partially shaped.
The arrowheads average in length
from one to one and half inches, and
are generally triangular in shape.
| Some are long and slim, made with
great care, no doubt fancy type,
while there are others much smaller
| than the average, which the local
guides say were made for children.
Then. there are number of very
rude knife-shaped stones, which were
probably used for splitting off the
flint, and smaller pieces of the same
shape, said to have been used for
working skins. The best specimens
are oval in shape, about six inches
long, and brought down to a sharp
edge from a high center on each side.
A few fragments of tomahawl1s
have been secured, and it is expected
that more will be found in deeper
digging. AS the tomahawk is one of
the oldest of the Indian weapons, it
is supposed that at the time of the
arrow making the Indians had toma-
hawks of iron, clinging to the use of
flint for arrowheads.
An interesting feature of the dis
covery is the various stages of pres
ervation of these relics and frag
ments. Some are comparatively mod
ern, as shown by the color of the
| flint, which is of dark slate, closely
resembling the color of the Kineo
mountain formation. Other pieces are
dark brown, showing the action of the
earth upon them for many years.
Still others, especially the spearheads,
are almost white, and literally honey
combed by this action.
1t is estimated that these pieces
must be from 1900 to 1000 years old.
as flint stubbornly resists the action
of the earth, century making hardly
a perceptible impression. Perfect ar
row and spearheads are usually
found upon old battlefelds and at
much greater depth.
The presence of the relics seems to
demonstrate the fact that the flint
formations here drew Indians from
all over the eastern section of the
country, as it is we'll known that ar
rowheads of the Kineo flint have
been picked up as far west as the
MisSisSinni