[From _The Prehistoric Men of Kentucky_ (Louisville, Kentucky,
1910)]
The life of prehistoric man, judging from the large number of
fortifications existing in Kentucky to this day, must have been one of
constant and general warfare. His weapons were all constructed for
conflict at short range.
First was his ax of two kinds, grooved and grooveless. The indications
are that these were used contemporaneously, and though this is not
certain, their proximity to each other in so many places would tend to
show that they were made during the same period. The grooved ax would
be more reliable either in domestic use or in war than the grooveless
ax, because of the grip of the handle, aided materially by the groove,
permitting it to be held much more closely and to admit of heavier
strokes and more constant action. The battle-axes vary in weight from
one to thirty-two pounds. They were doubtless so variant in weight by
reason of the conditions that surrounded the makers, and also by
reason of the ability of the user to carry either light or heavy
weight. With handles from three to six feet and firmly bound with
rawhide, which could be obtained from several animals, these men were
enabled to fasten the handle tightly around the ax, either grooved or
ungrooved. These axes would require close contact in battle. They had
flint saws or knives which enabled them to cut the hickory withe or
sapling from which these handles were made. After soaking the handle
in hot water, or for that matter in cold water, it could easily have
been bent around the ax and tied with rawhide, which, by its
contraction when drying, would press the handle closely in the groove.
They also used what is known as a battle-ax blade, that is, a thin
piece of flint, oval in shape, about five by three and a half inches.
By splitting the handle and placing the flint blade between it, and
then binding with rawhide, they were enabled to fasten it very
securely. These handles were about two or two and a half feet in
length, and with the blade projecting on either side, became a
dangerous weapon at close range.
The most damage, however, done by these prehistoric people was doubtless
accomplished by the bow and arrow. The bows were about six feet in
length, judging by the strings which we have seen and one of which the
writer has been able to secure from Salts Cave. They would be made of
many woods, preferably of hickory, cedar, or ash, but hickory usually
possesses greater strength than other timbers of similar size. It is not
probable that they had any tools with which they could split the hickory
trees. They would, therefore, be compelled to use the hickory saplings
in the manufacture of bow staves.
The penetrative force of the stone-tipped arrow, driven by the strong
and skillful arms of these prehistoric men, must have been very great.
Quite a number of instances are known and specimens preserved in which
they were driven practically through the larger bones of the body. The
author has a human pelvis found in a cave in Meade County. Imbedded in
this is a portion of a flint arrow-point, the position of which shows
that it had been driven through the body, penetrating the bone on the
opposite side from which it entered. The point reached into the socket
of the hip joint. There it remained, causing necrosis of the bone,
until by processes of Nature the wastage was stopped, and the point
remained in the bone until the death of the individual, which the
indications show occurred long after receiving the wound. In one
instance an arrowhead was driven three inches into the bone of the leg
just below its union with the hip, and evidently caused the death of
the party into whom it had been shot. A number of instances are known
in which these arrowheads penetrated several inches into bone, and it
was no unusual thing that they attained sufficient penetrative force
to drive them through both coverings of the skull.
Three of these arrowheads that have come under the immediate
observation of the author are not sharp at all, but rather blunt. The
smaller triangular arrowheads, if sufficiently strong--and probably
they were--could have been driven readily into bone without the use of
any great force, but an arrow-point about three inches in length, and
with a blunt point, thus driven into the bones of the body,
demonstrates beyond all question that the power which was used in
their propulsion must have been comparatively very great.
The wooden or cane shafts probably were tipped with many kinds of
points, some beveled, some serrated, some triangular, some blunt,
being fastened thereto with the sinew of the deer or other animal.
There are some evidences, although not entirely conclusive, that these
arrow-points were often tipped with poison. It is said that at one
time the Shawnees in Western Kentucky were so well versed in the use
of poisons that they could place them in springs and thus destroy
their enemies, and also that quite large streams of water were
impregnated with these dangerous elements. We sometimes comment upon
the savageness of the methods of these people, but the poisoned arrow
is no worse than the soft-nose or explosive bullet, which has been
used by civilized nations in the memory of living people.
The next weapon was the spear. These carried points so large that they
could not have been used with the ordinary bow. They must have been
attached to a larger piece of wood or cane than the arrow-shaft. They
were probably mounted upon cane or pieces of wood from four and
one-half to seven feet in length. They were doubtless used also in the
destruction of the larger animals, either bears or buffaloes, during
the buffalo period in Kentucky. The spear would be much more
formidable in close quarters with an animal even as large as the
wildcat than the bow and arrow. It would be comparatively as efficient
as the bayonet of modern times.
Many of the flint knives were mounted on wooden handles. These
sometimes measure from one to ten inches in length, and at very close
range would become formidable weapons--not as formidable, however, as
the battle-ax blade which has been described above.
In Kentucky there are no evidences of the cross-bow having been used.
The five weapons which we have described completed the military
accoutrement of these men, who must have spent a large portion of
their lives in warlike scenes and exploits.