It would hardly seem at first glance that shells or shell substance
could be utilized for weapons to any advantage. A close examination,
however, of some of the more massive varieties will convince us that
they could be made available. The specific gravity of some varieties,
such as the _Strombus_ and _Busycon_, is equal to that of moderately
compact stone, and with their long, sharp beaks they would, with little
modification, certainly make formidable weapons.
Dr. Charles Rau seems to have been the first to call attention to the
use of shells as club-heads by the tribes of Florida. In his valuable
paper on the archæological collections of the National Museum he gives a
very good description, which I copy in full:
"It further appears that the Florida Indians applied shells of the
_Busycon perversum_ as clubs or _casse-tetes_ by adapting them to be used
with a handle, which was made to pass transversely through the shell.
This was effected by a hole pierced in the outer wall of the last whorl
in such a manner as to be somewhat to the left of the columella, while a
notch in the outer lip, corresponding to the hole, confined the handle
or stick between the outer edge of the lip and the inner edge of the
columella. The anterior end of the canal, broken off until the more
solid part was reached, was then brought to a cutting edge nearly in the
plane of the aperture. A hole was also made in the posterior surface of
the spire behind the carina in the last whorl, evidently for receiving a
ligature by means of which the shell was more firmly lashed to the
handle."[48]
Mention of these objects is also made by Knight in a recent pamphlet,
the method of hafting being illustrated.[49]
Professor Wyman, in the Naturalist for 1878, describes and illustrates
an object of this class, made from a _Busycon_, which he is inclined to
regard as one of the conch-shells said to have been used by the Indians
for trumpets. It is presumably from one of the shell heaps on the St.
Johns River, Fla.[50]
In Fig. 4, Plate XXVII, I illustrate one of the National Museum
specimens. The posterior point is much reduced by grinding, the apex and
nodes are somewhat battered, and the whole surface of the shell is worn
and discolored. There are about a dozen specimens in the National
collection; in nearly all cases they are made from heavy walled
specimens of the _Busycon perversum_, and range from three to eight
inches in length. They are described as coming from three localities,
St. Johns River, Clearwater River, and Sarasota Bay, Fla. All were
probably obtained from shell heaps, and although ancient, two of the
specimens still retain rude and insignificant-looking handles of wood.
It will be seen from the foregoing that shells have actually been
employed as weapons, a use, however, which would probably never have
been suggested but for the great scarcity of stone along the southern
coast.