OBJECTS OF COPPER
Mr. Charles E. Brown, Dean of the Museum of the Wisconsin Historical
Society, Madison, has prepared for me this chapter on copper objects.
Mr. Brown’s long association with the Milwaukee Public Museum, and his
knowledge of copper collections throughout the United States, have made
him an authority on this subject.
I have added a few concluding paragraphs to Mr. Brown’s able paper.
_The Native Copper Implements of Wisconsin_
The number of native copper articles already recovered from Wisconsin
fields, village-sites, mounds, and graves is very large, possibly
exceeding that already obtained from the balance of the United States. A
careful estimate places the total number of such articles collected in
the state up to the present time at not less than twenty thousand.
Although the collecting of these implements in Wisconsin has already
continued for nearly forty years the supply has not yet become
exhausted.
The opening to cultivation of new lands in the central and northern
portions of the state, the increase in the number of collectors, and the
more careful examination of old sites, cause each passing year to add
its large number to the total already in collections.
In an address delivered in 1876 before the Wisconsin Historical Society,
Professor James D. Butler made the statement that the Society was then
the proud possessor of 109 native copper implements. The Smithsonian
Institution then owned 30 specimens; the Wisconsin Natural History
Society of Milwaukee, 14; Dr. Increase A. Lapham, 11; Milton College, 4;
and Beloit College, 1. At the present day there are in the combined
collections of the State Historical Museum, Logan Museum at Beloit,
Milwaukee Public Museum, and of Mr. H. P. Hamilton and of Mr. S. D.
Mitchell nearly four thousand specimens.
[Illustration:
FIG. 568. (S. 1–4.) A group of copper nuggets and implements owned by
S. D. Mitchell, Ripon, Wisconsin.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 569. (S. 5–8.) Copper beads and small cylinders. Collection of S.
D. Mitchell, Ripon, Wisconsin.
]
A very large number of other specimens are in other public and private
collections in Wisconsin and other states. To the activity of the
Wisconsin Archæological Society and of its members is due the very great
increase in recent years of the number of copper implements in local
educational institutions.
[Illustration:
FIG. 570. (S. 2–3.) Copper gorget, W. H. Ellsworth’s collection.
Copper beads, H. P. Hamilton’s collection. The gorget came from the
banks of Silver Lake, Kenosha County, Wisconsin.
]
There is evidence to show that in pioneer days a very considerable
number of such implements, their value being unappreciated, found their
way into the hands of roving pedlers and junk dealers and afterwards
into the founder’s crucible. In several institutions are implements
which have been rescued from such a fate.
[Illustration:
FIG. 571. (S. 1–2.) Copper and stone pendants from the cemetery at the
mouth of the Wabash. Andover collection.
]
Others have been found useful by their original finders and wholly or
partially destroyed.
I continue: The conclusion now universally accepted among archæologists
is that there is no reason for attributing the working of the copper
deposits or fabrication of the implements to any other people than the
Indians. The early explorers found both the northern and southern tribes
in this country using implements and ornaments of native copper often in
common with those of stone. From South America almost to Canada various
travellers refer to this metal being in the possession of or employed by
the natives. Many of these accounts have been so often quoted by writers
on North American archæology that they are entirely familiar to the
student, and there is therefore no necessity of repeating them here.
There is no doubt that some of these accounts refer to European metal
obtained from earlier visitors or traders, or possibly from shipwrecks
along the coast. Thus the natives soon became quite proficient in
fashioning it into articles adapted or better adapted to their needs
than the ruder articles which they then employed.
[Illustration:
FIG. 572. (S. 1–2.) Copper ornament and discs from the Hopewell Group,
]
Ohio.
It is equally certain that other accounts refer to the native metal or
to objects fashioned therefrom.
[Illustration:
FIG. 573. (S. 7–8.) Copper axe, Harness Mound, Ohio. Professor Mills
states: “This axe was taken from a mound belonging to a group eight
miles south of Chillicothe. Both sides of the object are greatly
corroded and covered with a finely woven fabric. Beneath the fabric
there seems to have been the skin of some short-haired animal. The
axe was found near the left knee of an uncremated skeleton.”
]
Whether the working of the copper deposits or the fabrication of copper
implements in this section of the country, thought to have been begun at
least several centuries before, was discontinued before the coming of
the white man, or whether the industry was continued or at least to some
extent resumed by the descendants of the pre-Columbian miners and
artificers during and after his intrusion, is still in dispute. It is
doubtful whether this matter will ever be satisfactorily settled.
The accounts of the Jesuits, as given in the “Relations,” give the
impression that while the Wisconsin Indians of that period were
evidently familiar with the sources of the metal, they regarded it with
superstition and employed it only in a reverential way. Radisson,
however, found native copper ornaments in use among the Bœuf (or
Buffalo) band of Dakota, in Minnesota in 1661–62. Alexander Henry, as a
result of his visit to Lake Superior in a later day, stated that the
Indians there obtained copper for the manufacture of implements and
ornaments. In recent times, Indian agents testified to the use of copper
implements among the Wisconsin Winnebago and Chippewa. Native copper
implements have also occasionally been recovered from local mounds,
where they were found in association with metal kettles, glass beads,
and other articles of European manufacture.
[Illustration:
FIG. 574. (S. about 1–1.) From a mound on the banks of Black Snake
River, Utah. Milwaukee Public Museum collection.
]
The evidence of the mounds and of the earlier village-sites is to the
effect that before the coming of white man the use of copper had become
quite general among the Indian tribes of the upper Mississippi Valley.
[Illustration:
FIG. 575. (S. 1–4.) Copper spuds or axes. Collection of Logan Museum,
Beloit, Wisconsin.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 576. (S. about 1–3.) Collection of S. D. Mitchell, Ripon,
Wisconsin.
]
It is very probable that the native metal first became known to them
through the accidental discovery of small nuggets among the debris of
the glaciers, and as it quickly came into demand, was traced to its
source in the Lake Superior region. These deposits they mined, cutting
it into shapes convenient for transportation to their villages, where it
was fashioned into articles for their own use, or for the purpose of
trade with distant tribes.
Nowhere in this entire valley do copper implements, however, appear to
have entirely replaced those of stone, the use of which was continued
until quite recent times. The manufacture of copper implements doubtless
extended through several centuries. The Siouan Winnebago and Dakota of
Wisconsin, being nearest the source of supply, possessed of course the
greatest quantity. Even among them the use of copper artifacts did not
in prehistoric times equal the use of others. Among the outlying tribes
in other states copper implements were yet probably somewhat of a
luxury, when the intrusion of the Algonquian tribes into Wisconsin made
more and more difficult, and finally altogether shut out access to the
Lake Superior mines. It appears certain that the Chippewa after their
occupation of the copper region, did do at least a small amount of
digging for the metal which for purposes of trade, or for other uses,
they found of value. This continued until the arrival of the traders
laden with desirable articles caused a suspension of mining operations,
and diverted the attention of the Indian from mining to other
pursuits....
[Illustration:
FIG. 577. (S. 5–11.) Copper awls and chisels. Collection of S. D.
Mitchell, Ripon, Wisconsin.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 578. (S. 1–4.) Copper axes. H. P. Hamilton’s collection, Two
Rivers, Wisconsin.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 579. (S. about 1–2.) Copper chisels; the left and central ones
were found near Clintonville, Waupaca County, Wisconsin. The
right-hand one, near Chilton, Calumet County, Wisconsin. Milwaukee
Public Museum collection.
]
_Fabrication_
[Illustration:
FIG. 580. (S. about 1–4.) Three copper punches and seven chisels. H.
P. Hamilton’s collection, Two Rivers, Wisconsin.
]
Our native copper implements were fashioned by being hammered into shape
while the metal was in a cold or heated state with such rude implements
as were at the command of the natives, the finishing touches being given
by cutting and trimming the uneven edges with sharp flints and smoothing
the surfaces by rubbing or grinding with stones. Successful experiments
in reproducing the various forms of implements from the native or
nodular copper by these primitive processes have been made by the late
Frank H. Cushing, and by other archæologists. Mr. Gerard Fowke is
authority for the following statement:—
“So far as its working qualities are concerned, copper at ordinary
temperature is much more malleable than pure soft iron; and it is much
more easily worked into shape when at a red heat than when cold. If
hammered cold it must be annealed occasionally, otherwise it becomes
brittle. It is somewhat hardened by pounding, which will account for the
harder edge of celts and other aboriginal specimens beaten out
thin.”[26]
[Illustration:
FIG. 581. (S. 1–5.) Collection of J. T. Reeder, Houghton, Michigan. 13
copper spuds, 4 pick-pointed knives, 4 knives. All except one from
Michigan.
]
The theory that any of these implements may have been cast is now
discarded by archæologists. There is no evidence to show that our local
aborigines possessed any knowledge of the working of this metal in the
broad sense.
“Even if copper could be melted in an open fire, which is very doubtful,
it must not be overlooked that Indians had no materials of which to make
crucibles or moulds capable of withstanding such heat. Admitting they
had clay receptacles which would have answered these purposes, there is
no way of handling the molten metal with safety.”[27]
While it is probable that many copper implements were fabricated in the
vicinity of the workings, it is now perfectly clear that fragments of
the native ore were also carried away to be cut up and fashioned into
implements elsewhere. The possession of such masses by the aborigines
was noted by the early explorers and missionaries. On the extensive
village-sites at Two Rivers, Sheboygan, Green Lake, and elsewhere have
been obtained numerous small chips, scales, and fragments of copper,
plainly indicating that the manufacture of implements was carried on
there. Elsewhere in the state have been found lumps of the metal
exhibiting tool-marks, and other indications of working.
_Distribution_
To fully discuss this phase of the subject would require many pages. The
student must therefore content himself with such information as can be
condensed into a comparatively limited space.
Implements and ornaments of native copper are distributed commonly or
sparingly throughout a large portion of the eastern half of the United
States and in some states west of the Mississippi River. Outside of our
own state, numbers of them have been recovered in Minnesota, Iowa,
Illinois, Ohio, and West Virginia, and also from the mounds and stone
graves and village-sites in the states of Kentucky, Tennessee, North
Carolina, and Georgia. Mr. Clarence B. Moore, whose explorations have
been very extensive, has reported their existence in the mounds of
Florida and elsewhere in the extreme South. From five mounds on the St.
John’s River in Florida he obtained ornaments of sheet-copper with
repoussé designs, beads of sheet-copper, beads of wood, shell, and
limestone copper coated, copper effigies of the turtle and the serpent,
and piercing implements of copper. Dr. C. C. Abbott long ago recorded
the existence of copper implements in the Delaware Valley.
[Illustration:
FIG. 582. (S. 3–4.) Copper gouges. The one to the left was found near
Westford, Dodge County, Wisconsin. The one to the right was found
near Chilton, Wisconsin.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 583. (S. 1–1.) Copper spud from Mercer, Iron County, Wisconsin.
Loaned to the Milwaukee Public Museum by Mr. R. L. Ball.
]
As a result of his researches, Rev. W. M. Beauchamp recently issued
under the auspices of the University of the State of New York, at
Albany, two finely illustrated bulletins, one descriptive of the
metallic implements and the other of the metallic ornaments of the New
York Indians.
[Illustration:
FIG. 584. (S. 5–6.) Copper axe. Found in a mound on Green Bay Road,
one mile north of Milwaukee. Milwaukee Public Museum collection.
]
Professor G. H. Perkins states that objects of this metal are far more
numerous in New England than those of bone or shell. They are found not
only on the surface, but in the graves as well. They are similar in form
to Wisconsin artifacts, and he believes it probable that all are made of
metal obtained from the Lake Superior district. Dr. David Boyle and
others have called our attention to the presence of native copper
implements in both eastern and western Canada.
There is no longer any doubt that much of this metal was thus
distributed, either in the unworked state or as finished artifacts, in
the course of the trades or regular exchanges known to have been carried
on between the aborigines holding possession of the copper district and
those of other regions.
A description of the Wisconsin districts from which the greatest number
of such artifacts have been recovered up to the present time may be
given as extending from about the middle of Milwaukee County, northward
along the west shore of Lake Michigan to Door County, thence westward to
the Wisconsin River or slightly beyond, thence southward along this
stream to Dane County and eastward to Milwaukee County, the
starting-point. Embraced within this territory are the extensive lake
shore village-sites, from which thousands of articles have already been
recovered, and certain well-known sites in Green Lake and adjoining
counties, the Rush Lake, Lake Chetek, and similarly productive regions.
The amount of copper implements obtained from the mounds and graves of
Wisconsin is very small when compared with the quantity obtained from
the village-sites and fields.
_Classes and Functions_
The native copper artifacts of Wisconsin admit of separation into two
principal classes, designated as implements and ornaments. Of these the
former class is by far the more numerous. Mr. Henry P. Hamilton
estimates that articles of utility constitute fully 95 per cent of the
copper artifacts found in Wisconsin.
It is but natural that on account of its proximity to the source of
supply we should find in our own state not only a more bountiful supply
of implements, but a greater range of classes, types, and varieties as
well. The correctness of this conclusion is proven beyond doubt. In the
matter of the number and artistic excellence of its copper ornaments and
objects of a ceremonial nature, Wisconsin, while possessing some types
apparently peculiar to itself, cannot properly be said to lead. The
artistically cut or embossed sheet-copper discs, gorgets, and plates,
the spool-shaped objects and copper-sheathed stone and wooden ornaments
of Ohio, Illinois, and the South, are here conspicuous by their almost
total absence.
[Illustration:
FIG. 585. (S. 1–1.) Copper spud with incised zigzag decoration. Fond
du Lac, Wisconsin. Milwaukee Public Museum collection.
]
No one Wisconsin collection contains all of the classes and types of the
implements described in this bulletin. An examination of almost any
local copper cabinet, however small, is almost certain to reveal the
presence of some object that is original or peculiar; or some variation
of a well-known type not elsewhere to be seen. The difficulties
attending the making of a proper classification are therefore apparent.
Especially among the objects classed as arrow- and spear-points the
number of well-established types, of varieties and infrequent forms, is
particularly numerous. In a somewhat lesser degree this is also true of
other classes of implements.
Among spear- and arrow-points especially, there appears to be a gradual
development from the primitive leaf-shaped, through the stemmed, to the
numerous and well-executed socketed forms. In this case the important
element in the transition from one form to another is in the manner of
hafting. A gradual transition in some instances from well-marked types
of one class into those of another may also be noted. The uses of many
of these implements, because of their close resemblance to modern
articles, are readily understood. The precise function of others is not
so readily ascertained.
An examination of a large series of any of these should convince us that
each had its special function, although probably also employed for such
other exigencies as might arise.
In the following pages the various classes of local copper implements
and ornaments are described and such information and suggestions
concerning their workmanship, purposes, frequency, and distribution
given as is now obtainable.
_Axes_
Large numbers of these implements have been recovered from Wisconsin
soil and are to-day represented by one or several examples in nearly
every local copper collection. They vary in weight from half a pound to
three pounds, rarely more, and in size from three to ten inches. So far
as is known no hafted copper axe has yet been recovered. Probably the
usual and most satisfactory method of hafting one of these implements
was to insert it between the parts of a cleft stick, to which it was
afterwards secured by winding the stick above and below it with strips
of hide, a number of turns being also taken around or across it. There
are at least three well-established types of these implements, which may
be briefly described as follows:—
[Illustration:
FIG. 586. (S. 2–3.) Copper axe, Washington County, Wisconsin. Copper
chisel, near Charleston, Calumet County, Wisconsin.
]
1. Those which are oblong or nearly oblong in outline, having the edges
parallel or nearly so, and whose breadth is such as to exclude them from
the class of implements known as chisels. Specimens range from less than
four up to seven or more inches in length. They are generally of nearly
uniform thickness throughout. (See Figs. 576, 578.) A variety of the
above type has the margin at the edges slightly elevated, thus giving a
depressed or concave surface in the centre, and from end to end, on one
or both broad faces of the axe. In some examples this margin is fully
one half inch in width at or near the middle of the axe. A curious
feature of some examples of this uncommon form is the concave cutting
edge. Such implements are to be seen in a number of the larger public
and private collections in Wisconsin. So far as can be ascertained no
examples of these curious axes have been obtained in surrounding states,
where the normal form also occurs.
2. Axes with straight, tapering edges. They are widest at the cutting
edge and become gradually narrower towards the head, which is either
square, rounded, or pointed. The cutting edge is straight or convex.
This appears to be the most common type of copper axe. The largest
example known is fourteen inches in length and the smallest only two
inches. The large specimen comes from Neillsville, Clark County, and is
in the State Historical Museum. (See Fig. 578.)
3. A third and less frequent type has the edges curving equally from the
cutting edge to the head. Most examples are quite thin, broad and flat.
The head is square and sometimes nearly as broad as the cutting edge. By
reason of their broad, expanding cutting edges, some of these axes may
be appropriately described as bell-shaped. Fine specimens of this type
are to be seen in the Milwaukee Public Museum, and in other collections.
These axes approach the modern axes in form. In the H. P. Hamilton
collection is a notched copper axe which comes from the vicinity of
Horicon. It is rather rude and is irregularly oval in outline. Mr. M. C.
Long has in his Kansas City collection the only grooved copper axe
known.
[Illustration:
FIG. 587. (S. 1–1.) Copper spud, Island Lake, near Gagan, Oneida
County, Wisconsin. Milwaukee Public Museum collection.
]
Copper axes were well adapted alike for peaceful and warlike pursuits.
In the hands of the Wisconsin aborigines they were undoubtedly useful
implements, superseding at best the clumsy stone axe or hatchet, and
possibly being in their turn laid aside for the more serviceable iron
axe of the fur-trader.
Employed in warfare or the chase they would be terrible weapons. As
tools they were probably especially useful in the felling of trees, the
shaping of log canoes, the erection of dwellings, barricades, and
stockades.
They may have been employed in connection with or without fire. It has
been suggested that some of the smaller implements may have served as
wedges.
_Chisels._ (_See Figs. 577, 579, 580._)
The aboriginal copper implements known as chisels are of nearly as
frequent occurrence in local cabinets as the implements of the foregoing
class. In the H. P. Hamilton collection there is to be seen an
especially fine series of at least a dozen or more examples, ranging in
size from five to fifteen inches and in weight from five ounces to five
and three fourths pounds. An equally fine series is in the Field Museum.
The office of these fine implements probably included the excavating of
wooden canoes, mortars, and other vessels. Their employment in
connection with the mining operations of the Indians has been mentioned.
Some specimens exhibit upon their heads the flattening which would
result from their being used in conjunction with a wooden mallet, club,
stone, or other weighty object. Others show no such marks and were
probably employed without such agencies. Rev. W. M. Beauchamp states
that a large proportion of the copper articles found in New York are of
the celt (axe) or chisel form. Professor G. H. Perkins has described
similar implements from New England. At least three distinct types of
these implements are known to occur in Wisconsin:—
1. The first of these is broadest at the cutting edge. The edges taper
gradually upward from the cutting edge to a pointed, rounded, or squared
head. They are usually thickest at or below the middle, the flat or
convex surface sloping toward the narrow extremity. Some of these have
the upper surface convex and the lower surface flat. The broad or narrow
sides may be either convex or flat. Fine implements of this form are to
be seen in the H. P. Hamilton, State Historical Museum, and other local
collections. A few approach fourteen inches in length. (See Fig. 579.)
[Illustration:
FIG. 588. (S. 1–1.) Back view of Fig. 587. Milwaukee Public Museum
collection.
]
2. A second type is of nearly uniform width throughout, with straight,
parallel edges. A specimen in the S. D. Mitchell collection has a
cutting edge at either extremity. Implements of this type are to be seen
in various Wisconsin cabinets. They range from about five to ten or more
inches in length, and from one and one half to two inches in width. (See
Fig. 580.)
3. A third and less frequent type is characterized by a more or less
prominent median ridge, which traverses its upper surface from within an
inch or more of the cutting edge to the opposite extremity. From this
ridge the surface bevels off evenly on either side toward the edge. The
lower surface is usually flat, thus giving a triangular section. The
edges are generally parallel for at least three quarters of the distance
back from the cutting edge, whence they taper or curve gradually to the
rounded head. A few are of nearly uniform width throughout, with an
angular or squared head. Several of these implements have the upper
extremity abruptly narrowed and prolonged into a short tang, as if
intended to be set into a wooden handle. A few are curved or bowed from
extremity to extremity. Some specimens have an expanded, curved cutting
edge. One of the largest of these ridged chisels is fourteen and three
fourths inches in length. It is in the H. P. Hamilton collection and
comes from the town of Oshkosh, Winnebago County. (See specimen to the
left, Fig. 579.)
_Spuds._ (_See Figs. 581, 583._)
In northwestern Wisconsin have been obtained a limited number of copper
implements bearing a close resemblance in form to some of the so-called
stone spuds or spade-shaped implements, after which they were probably
patterned. They are rather broad, flat implements, of nearly uniform
thickness throughout, and from six to eight or more inches in length.
The broad, narrow blades are semicircular or crescentic in outline. From
them the handle tapers backward to a squared or slightly rounded
extremity. The narrow sides are flattened. The author is indebted to
Professor T. H. Lewis for sketches and information in regard to some of
these, which were obtained by him at Lake Chetek, Barron County,
Wisconsin; at St. Paul, Minnesota, and at Ontonagon, Michigan.
[Illustration:
FIG. 589. (S. 6–7.) Copper spud from near Pewaukee Lake, Waukesha
County, Wisconsin.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 590. (S. 3–5.) Copper spear. S. D. Mitchell’s collection, Ripon,
Wisconsin.
]
The conclusion, probably correct, in regard to these implements is that
they were employed, like the stone and modern iron implements which they
resemble, in stripping bark from trees and for similar purposes.
_Gouges._ (_See Figs. 582, 585._)
These implements are closely allied to the chisels, from which they are
distinguished by the presence on their lower surface of a concavity
sometimes reaching quite to the middle. They are well adapted for
working out rounded or oval holes or hollows, and in Wisconsin are
generally considered to have been wood-working tools. Elsewhere they
were probably also employed like the more common stone gouges in
quarrying and working steatite, catlinite, and similar deposits useful
to the aborigines. Such implements are to be seen in the H. P. Hamilton,
Field Museum, and one or two other collections.
[Illustration:
FIG. 591. (S. about 1–1.) Copper spears. Found on Bluff Point, near
Penn Yan, New York. Collection of L. G. Ogden, Penn Yan, New York.
]
Several specimens known to the author approach seven inches in length.
Professor Perkins mentions copper gouges as being rare in New England,
where stone gouges are a common and characteristic implement. Neither
stone nor metal gouges are of frequent occurrence in Wisconsin.
_Adzes_
These implements have also been called spuds, winged chisels, and hoes.
Of these the term “spud,” though unsatisfactory, appears to be that in
most general use at the present time. This name, as has already been
shown, is likewise applied to a rather numerous class of stone
implements of quite different pattern and use. Several theories as to
the possible function of these implements have been advanced. It has
been suggested that they were ice-cutting tools, or agricultural
implements.
An examination of a large series of them suggests the correctness of the
now prevailing opinion that they were employed in shaping wooden canoes
and executing tasks of a like nature. Properly hafted, their general
adaptability to such service is plain.
[Illustration:
FIG. 592. (S. 1–2.) Various copper implements. University of Vermont
collection.
]
A somewhat similar tool is also employed by modern woodworkers.
1. There are at least two well-marked types of these implements. The
first of these is generally nearly square, less frequently oblong in
outline. The flanges of the implement are turned inward to form a
socket, at the base of which is a hip or shoulder, against which the tip
of the wooden handle abuts. The blade is elevated above the socket and
is provided with a straight or slightly curved cutting edge. The back of
the implement, opposite the socket, is flat or transversely convex, and
slopes or curves downward to the cutting edge. This is certainly the
most common type, and has been obtained in many parts of Wisconsin,
Michigan, and Minnesota. Examples have also been collected in Ohio,
Illinois, and Iowa. The average specimen appears to be about three
inches in length by two and a half inches in width. The smallest known
is only one and a fourth inches and the largest six and a fourth inches
in length. Fine series of these implements are to be seen in the Logan
Museum, Field Museum, State Historical Museum, Milwaukee Museum, H. P.
Hamilton, and other collections. In weight adzes of this type vary from
a few ounces to one and a half or more pounds. (Fig. 581.)
2. A second type differs from the preceding mainly in the fact that the
extremity of the socket is angular in outline and that the flanges are
bent straight upward or inward, instead of curved. The hip at the base
of the socket is also often absent. The back is generally flat or
transversely rounded, and in some specimens traversed from the top to
the cutting edge by a pronounced median ridge. A specimen in the
Milwaukee Public Museum has the middle of its back ornamented with a
double row of zigzag incisions. Its blade is also ornamented. (Fig.
583.)
These implements are as a class larger than the foregoing. Of a dozen or
more examples which the writer has examined in the Hamilton and other
local cabinets, none are below five inches in length and two and a
fourth inches in breadth, the largest known being six inches in length
and three inches in breadth. The weight of these specimens ranges from
twelve ounces to nearly two pounds.
There are also a small number of peculiar forms, each represented by a
single example. These vary in the length and breadth of the flanges and
the shape of the blade. When a sufficient number of these shall have
been recovered, it may be advisable to expand the present classification
to include them. Many of the implements included in the adze class are
admirable for their symmetry and perfection. A specimen secured in the
Lake Superior region has a portion of the wooden handle still fitted in
the socket.
[Illustration:
FIG. 593. (S. 2–3.) Copper chisel and awls. Logan Museum collection,
Beloit, Wisconsin.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 594. (S. 2–3.) Copper spears. Collection of the Logan Museum,
Beloit, Wisconsin.
]
_Spatulas_
Of the copper implements known as spatulas only a small number of
examples have as yet been recovered in Wisconsin. The blade of these
artifacts is usually broad and thin and irregularly rounded or somewhat
triangular in outline. The handle is short, seldom more than three
eighths of an inch in thickness, and nearly square or somewhat
rectangular in section. Specimens are to be seen in the State Historical
Museum, Milwaukee Public Museum, and other local collections. They range
from four to nearly six inches in length.
[Illustration:
FIG. 595. (S. about 3–4.) Copper ridged spear-point, socket tang. From
Coloma, Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Milwaukee Public Museum
collection.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 596. (S. 1–4.) Copper spears. Collection of H. P. Hamilton, Two
Rivers, Wisconsin.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 597. (S. about 3–5.) Copper knives. Left to right: Hartford,
Washington County, Wisconsin; Merton, Waukesha County, Wisconsin;
Wayne, Washington County, Wisconsin.
]
The Reverend W. H. Beauchamp has described and figured both an iron and
a copper implement of this class from New York. The possible employment
of these implements in the shaping of aboriginal earthenware, the
removing of the flesh from skins and bones, and of the scales from fish,
has been suggested. They are but poorly adapted for use as spoons.
The small number of specimens on hand at present makes it undesirable to
venture an opinion of their utility.
_Knives_. (_Figs. 597, 598._)
In point of numbers these easily rank second to the numerous class of
socketed spear-points. They have been recovered in considerable numbers
in many parts of the state. At least four distinct types and some
intermediate and peculiar forms are recognized. The close resemblance of
some of these to the white man’s knife has frequently been remarked
upon.
1. The most frequent form has a usually straight back and oblique curved
or straight cutting edge. It is provided with a generally short,
tapering, pointed tang, suitable for insertion into a wooden, bone, or
horn handle. Such knives, ranging in size from diminutive specimens one
inch in length up to twelve inches, are not uncommon in local
collections. (Left specimen, Fig. 597.)
An exceptionally large and fine example in the Oshkosh Library
collection measures seventeen and a half inches in length and weighs
eleven ounces. The blade is one and a half inches in breadth at its
base, and the tang is six inches in length. A few have the cutting edge
of the blade beveled. In the R. Kuehne collection is a small hammered
native silver knife of this type which was obtained from the vicinity of
Sheboygan. A small number of these knives have their blades ornamented
with incisions and indentations. Specimens of these are to be seen in
the H. George Schuette, H. P. Hamilton, and other collections.
2. A second type is distinguished from the preceding by the greater
breadth of its broad curved blade, which terminates in a broadly rounded
point. In this style of knife the blade on one or both sides is
frequently traversed from point to tang by a pronounced median ridge.
The broad, flat tang also terminates in a blunt point. Such implements
are to be seen in the Field Museum, Milwaukee Public Museum, State
Historical Museum, H. P. Hamilton, and other collections. These vary in
size from six to twelve and three fourths inches in length and from one
and a fourth to two and an eighth inches in the extreme breadth of the
blade. (One in Fig. 568.)
[Illustration:
FIG. 598. (S. 2–3.) Copper spears, knives, and arrow-points.
Collection of S. D. Mitchell, Ripon, Wisconsin.
]
3. A third type, locally known as the “handled copper knife,” differs
from the preceding styles mainly in having the tang so uniformly broad
as to obviate the necessity of a wooden or other handle. Only a small
number of these are in collections. A fine specimen is seven inches in
length. The handle is two and a half inches in length, and of a nearly
uniform breadth of three fourths of an inch. It comes from Pardeeville,
Columbia County, and is in the Logan Museum at Beloit. A knife in the J.
T. Reeder collection, at Houghton, Michigan, has a broad copper ferule
still encircling its tang. The tip of the tang is bent over, meeting the
ferule. (Fig. 581, left specimen, near centre.)
4. Socketed knives. These resemble the knives of the type first
described in the shape of their blades. They are provided with a socket
similar to those of the socketed spears. A small number of these have
been found and are to be seen in the H. P. Hamilton, H. George Schuette,
and other Wisconsin collections. They range from two to nine inches in
size.
In these knives the cutting edge is usually along the right, rarely
along the left side of the blade. A specimen in a Milwaukee collection
has its blade ornamented with indentations. A small number of knives of
peculiar forms are also to be seen in local cabinets. (See Fig. 597.)
_Arrow- and Spear-Points_
1. Leaf-shaped points. (Fig. 598, upper right-hand specimen.) These vary
considerably in form and size, measuring from two to six or more inches
in length. The average size appears to be about four inches. Some are
oval in outline, others elliptical, lanceolate, or almond-shaped, the
elliptical forms appearing to predominate. The points are not numerous.
One or more specimens are to be seen in all of the larger Wisconsin
collections.
A small number of lanceolate forms in the Hamilton collection have the
added feature of a median ridge which traverses either side of the blade
from end to end. These range from two and three fourths to nine inches
in length.
2. Stemmed, flat points. (Fig. 603—to the right. Fig. 598—lower central
specimen.) These are of quite common occurrence in Wisconsin
collections. These points are generally quite flat and of nearly uniform
thickness throughout. The stem is of uniform breadth or tapers slightly
toward its extremity. In the former form it sometimes expands at the
base. The base is sometimes indented. In the Field Museum there is a
fine specimen of this variety from Montello, Marquette County. It is
nearly seven inches in length.
[Illustration:
FIG. 599. (S. 4–5.) Copper spear-points. Left to right: Merton,
Waukesha County, Wisconsin; Colgate, Waukesha County, Wisconsin;
Wayne, Barton County, Wisconsin. Milwaukee Public Museum collection.
]
The blade varies considerably in shape and size. The smallest example
known is one and three fourths and the largest about eight inches in
length. The average size appears to be about three inches. A very small
number have the face of the blade ornamented with indentations, usually
arranged in two parallel rows.
2 a. Ridged points. (Fig. 595.) These and several of the succeeding
forms are, strictly speaking, only well-established varieties of the
preceding type. In the present instance they are distinguished by the
presence of a median ridge which traverses both faces of the point,
usually from tip to tip. This is not a frequent form. The largest
specimen now known measures six inches in length. It is in the H. P.
Hamilton cabinet and was found at Two Rivers. Professor T. H. Lewis
obtained a specimen from a mound in Pepin County. Other specimens are in
the Field Museum and Milwaukee Public Museum and several private
collections.
[Illustration:
FIG. 600. (S. 1–2.) Copper spear-heads. Rat-tail type. Logan Museum
collection, Beloit, Wisconsin.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 601. (S. 1–3.) Copper spears and knives. Collection of S. D.
Mitchell, Ripon, Wisconsin.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 602. (S. 2–3.) Copper punch, hooked end, to right; from Barton,
Wisconsin. Copper punch to left; from Waukesha County, Wisconsin.
Copper punch in the centre, Wisconsin. Milwaukee Public Museum
collection.
]
2 b. Beveled points. Of these only a small number of examples have been
recovered. They are distinguished from the most frequent flat, stemmed
form by a distinct bevel of generally uniform width which extends along
the edges on both faces of the blade. Sometimes this bevel is nearly one
half inch in breadth. The shape of the blade varies considerably. The
known specimens range from two and a half to five inches in size.
Examples are to be seen in the Field Museum, H. P. Hamilton, and other
collections.
2 c. Eyed points. The base of the stem in this rare form is provided
with an eye, opening outward and probably intended for the reception of
a rivet. Otherwise these points do not differ from the flat, stemmed
types. Only a very small number of specimens have been found.
2 d. Notched points. These bear a close resemblance to a numerous class
of flint arrow- and spear-points, after which they are probably
patterned. No two of them are exactly alike. They differ from each other
in the shape of the blade and shape and position of the notch. A few are
traversed by a median ridge. Some have indented bases. They vary in size
from less than two and up to six inches in length. Such points are of
infrequent occurrence. Specimens are in existence in the Milwaukee
Public Museum, Field Museum, Logan Museum, and other collections.
2 e. Toothed points. These are rather remarkable and interesting
implements, and are distinguished from all others by the peculiar
angular toothing or serration of the edges of the stem, the purpose of
which is evidently to facilitate the fastening of the point to the
wooden shaft or handle, into which it was inserted, by means of sinews
or strips of hide. A greater solidity of attachment was thus secured.
The number of opposite notches on the stem varies in different examples,
from two to as many as six or seven. The usual number appears to be two
or three. Most examples of this type are long and narrow. A few,
however, are short and broad, and elliptical in outline. The largest
known example of this form is about nine and a half inches and the
smallest about two inches in length. The average size appears to be
about three and a half inches. In many specimens a central ridge or
elevation extends along either side from extremity to extremity, or only
from the base of the stem to the point of the blade. (Fig. 599.)
[Illustration:
FIG. 603. (S. 1–3.) Copper knives, awls, fish-hooks, and other
objects. S. D. Mitchell’s collection, Ripon, Wisconsin.
]
In both the F. M. Benedict and H. P. Hamilton collections are large and
fine series of these points. Upon a specimen in the latter collection
indications of cloth wrappings are to be seen. Other collections also
possess one or a number of examples. The greater part of the known
specimens are from the Fox and Wolf river valleys in northeastern
Wisconsin. Now and then flint spear-points of somewhat similar pattern
have been found in and about the same district. Michigan has furnished a
few specimens of the copper points. Slate points of very similar form
occur in New England, where they are regarded as knives. A small number
of copper points of this pattern are also reported to have been found
there.
3. Spatula-shaped points. (Fig. 596, central ones, and Fig. 600.) These
peculiar points have obtained their name from the resemblance which the
typical form bears to a chemist’s spatula. They are also locally known
as “rat-tailed points.” In the most frequent form the blade is rather
flat and somewhat elliptical in outline. It does not generally exceed
three inches in length, being usually less than one half the total
length of the implement. A small number have an elliptical, lanceolate
or very rarely elongated lozenge-shaped blade. The usually long,
tapering stem is generally circular or nearly circular in section, and
is well adapted for insertion into a perforation or socket in a wooden
shaft or handle. Several specimens have near the tips of their pointed
stems a succession of rudely cut opposite notches, probably intended to
prevent the easy withdrawal of the point from the shaft. A very small
number have the blade traversed by a median ridge. The smallest specimen
of this type of copper point now known is four inches and the largest
nine and a half inches in length. A large number attain the size of
eight inches. Fine specimens are to be seen in the State Historical
Museum, Logan Museum, Field Museum, Hamilton, and other collections. The
Reverend Mr. Beauchamp has noted the occurrence of a limited number of
specimens in New York. A small number of iron trade points of similar
shape have been found.
4. Short-stemmed points. The blade is generally long and triangular in
shape, the stem short, cylindrical, and pointed at the end. The average
size of these points appears to be about six inches. (Fig. 596.)
The largest example now known is twelve inches in length, the stem
measuring only about three inches. This is not a frequent form of copper
point. Fine specimens are to be seen in the Field Museum, Hamilton, and
other collections. A cache of four of these singular points found at
Chilton, Calumet County, is to be seen in the Milwaukee Public Museum.
The Reverend W. M. Beauchamp has described similar spear-points from New
York.
[Illustration:
FIG. 604. (S. 1–1.) Copper harpoons. Logan Museum collection, Beloit,
Wisconsin.
]
4 a. Barbed or pronged points. This type of copper point is of rather
infrequent occurrence. The blade is usually of an oval or somewhat
triangular shape. A few specimens have long narrow blades. Situated just
below the base of the blade on either side is a single barb or prong.
These prongs are sharply or obtusely pointed and as a general thing do
not extend out to a point in line with the outer edge of the base of the
blade. The stem is short, flat, or cylindrical, and usually tapers to a
sharp point. (Upper left-hand specimen, Fig. 592.)
In some examples the blade is traversed on one or both faces by a
well-defined median ridge. The prongs probably served the double purpose
of barbs and of projections, by means of which the point could be more
firmly secured to the wooden shaft into which it was inserted. Such
points are to be seen in the Hamilton, Field Museum, and other
collections.
The smallest specimen known is three inches and the largest about seven
and one half inches in length. The average size appears to be about four
inches.
This interesting form of spear-point also occurs sparingly in
surrounding states, and has been recorded from as far east as New York
and New England, where a few specimens have been found.
Large iron spear-points of somewhat similar form, but with the
projections squared at the ends, have been found in Wisconsin. Some of
these have hearts and other devices cut or punched through the face of
their blades. These were probably introduced among the Indians by the
early fur-traders.
5. Conical points. A very large number of these have been collected from
the extensive Lake Michigan shore village-sites in Wisconsin, of which
locations they appear to be more or less characteristic, replacing to a
large extent all other types of copper points. Some fine examples have
also been obtained from other sites in counties farther inland; from the
Lake Superior shore, and from the Lake of the Woods region in Minnesota.
Fine series of these points are to be seen in the A. Gerend, Hamilton,
Kuehne, and other collections. (Fig. 598, three lower figures.)
[Illustration:
FIG. 605. (S. about 3–4.) Copper harpoons. Left to right: Hartford,
Washington County, Wisconsin; Wisconsin; Wauwatosa, Milwaukee
County, Wisconsin. Milwaukee Public Museum collection.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 606. (S. 1–2.) Copper harpoon. Collection of S. G. Crump,
Pittsford, New York.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 607. (S. 1–8.) Front and reverse of a copper war-club. Dug out of
a prehistoric grave at Spuzzum, British Columbia. Obtained by Mr.
James Teit.
]
These points vary in length from less than one inch up to six inches or
more. The majority, however, are of small size and do not exceed two
inches in length. The most prevalent form is fashioned in the shape of
an attenuated hollow cone of small diameter. Other specimens have the
point solid for an inch or more back from the tip. Less frequently they
are furnished with an open angular socket and hip like that of the
ordinary socketed copper spear. In a few examples the flanges of the
socket are pierced with a square or round hole, as if for the reception
of a rivet, or possibly for the attachment of a light line. A few have a
rivet-hole also at the base of the socket. It has been stated that these
points have occasionally been found with fragments of the wooden shaft
filling or extending beyond the socket. Their presence in numbers upon
the sandy lake shore sites where the aboriginal residents appear to have
depended largely upon the fishing industry for subsistence, appears to
indicate their employment in such a connection. Possibly in the shooting
or spearing of fish.
[Illustration:
FIG. 608. The base of the Effigy Mound, Hopewell Group. Explored in
1891–92. Copper axes and plates in the foreground, lying as found.
Teams, thirty to forty feet distant, and two feet higher than the
deposit.
]
6. Ridged socketed points. If we except from consideration the very
numerous small awls and fish-hooks, we may truthfully state that this is
by far the most common type of copper implement occurring in Wisconsin.
Thousands of these points have been collected in Wisconsin, and probably
as many or an even greater number are yet to be recovered from the soil.
They are represented in greater or less numbers in every Wisconsin and
in many other collections.
This type and its varieties are too well and widely known to require
much of a description. They are frequently symmetrically and beautifully
wrought, indicating a degree of skill on the part of their aboriginal
makers that is unsurpassed. The blade varies considerably in length and
breadth. The stem is provided with flanges which are bent straight
upward or inward, thus forming an angular socket for the reception of
the wooden shaft. Some points having fragments of this shaft still in
place have been found. This form is rarely if ever provided with a
rivet-hole. In most examples there is a dip or shoulder in the socket at
the connection of the stem and blade, against which the head of the
wooden shaft abutted. A distinctive feature of these points is the
pronounced central ridge which traverses the back of the implement from
end to end. It is this feature which has gained for this style of point
the local name of “bayonet-backed spear-point.” The tip of the stem is
also usually angularly pointed. A small number of these points have the
upper surface of their blades ornamented with indentations variously
arranged in double rows or lines. This type of copper point has been
found as far to the south as the Gulf, as far east as New England,
westward to the Missouri, and northward into Canada.
The largest example known to have been found in Wisconsin measures
thirteen inches in length. It is in the E. C. Perkins collection. The
average size is between three and five inches.
[Illustration:
FIG. 609. (S. 3–5.) Large copper plate covered with shell beads, Seip
Mound, Ohio. W. C. Mills’s collection.
]
6 a. Rolled socketed points. (Fig. 601.) This form is almost if not
quite as common as the preceding, from which it is distinguished mainly
by the fact that the back of the blade and stem are not usually upon the
same plane. The central ridge also is absent. Many examples are provided
with a rivet-hole (very rarely with two, one above the other) within the
socket near the base of the stem. Specimens with a small copper rivet or
nail still in place in the socket are of not infrequent occurrence in
Wisconsin collections.
At least two well-defined varieties of these points may be recognized:—
1. The first of these is provided with a short, broad, oval, or
almond-shaped blade. The stem and socket in this form is usually
broadest at the base, tapering or narrowing toward the blade. The
average length of these specimens is about four inches. A large specimen
found at Ripon, Fond du Lac County, measures seven inches in length, and
two inches in breadth near the base of the blade. Specimens of this type
may be seen in the Hamilton, State Historical Museum, Logan Museum, and
other collections.
2. The second form is furnished with a long, narrow, lanceolate blade,
often twice or more than twice as long as the stem. The socket and stem
rarely taper upward and are of more nearly equal width throughout. In
both this and the preceding form the flanges of the socket are rolled
inward, in some instances nearly meeting. The average length of these
points appears to be about five inches. The largest specimen known
measures eleven and one half inches in length. Such specimens are to be
seen in nearly every Wisconsin cabinet.
In the very limited number of the smaller specimens the face of the
blade, rarely the back, is ornamented with indentations. The edges of
the blade are also sometimes beveled.
Among the smaller specimens is observed a variety in which the length of
the stem equals or exceeds that of the blade. In some specimens the
socket has the appearance of having been formed by excavating the stem,
the narrow flanges being continuous with the blade instead of cut and
turned inward as in the ordinary form. A small number of iron socketed
spear-points, not differing greatly from the ordinary socketed copper
point, have been found.
Peculiar points. In several Wisconsin collections are several
spear-points of curious form not included under any of the foregoing
descriptions or represented, so far as can be learned, in other
Wisconsin cabinets.
[Illustration:
FIG. 610. (S. 1–1.) Ornamented copper plate, Seip Mound, Ohio. W. C.
Mills’s collection.
]
One of these in the H. P. Hamilton collection has a long slender blade
and a very short socket. It is seven and one quarter inches in length
and comes from Two Rivers, Manitowoc County. Its blade is ornamented
with a row of nine indentations.
In the Milwaukee Public Museum is a series of three peculiar socketed
spear-points of an average length of about eight and one half inches.
The blade of each of these is very long and narrow, with straight edges,
and terminates in a sharp point. The stem is very short and narrow in
comparison with the blade and broadens into a short socket at its base.
One specimen has the middle of its blade, from near the base toward the
middle, ornamented with a continuous zigzag indentation. Another has
upon its blade a series of dots arranged in a triangular form. Two of
these points come from Fond du Lac County, and the other from Sheboygan
County.
_Harpoon-Points_
The purpose of these implements is too plain to make any explanation
necessary. Four distinct types of harpoon-points, none of which are as
yet known to be of other than very infrequent occurrence, have been
obtained in Wisconsin. What special application any of these several
patterns may have had is not yet clear. The following is a brief
description of them:—
1. The first are short, flattish points seldom exceeding two and a half
inches in length. (Fig. 605, to the left.) One edge of these implements
is either straight or presents a continuous curve from extremity to
extremity. The other edge is curved or straight from the point downward
to about opposite the middle of the implement, where it terminates in a
barb. From thence it narrows to the other extremity, thus forming a
stem. Occasionally this is notched on either side near its base. Small
numbers of these points have been recovered from the village-sites along
the Lake Michigan shore.
2. A second and less frequent form is cylindrical in section and tapers
to a sharp point at each extremity. (Fig. 604, second from right.)
Removed from one extremity by several inches, more or less, is a stout
and very pronounced barb. All are of large size. A particularly large
specimen measures ten and three fourths inches in length and about one
half inch in diameter at the middle. Others are to be seen in the State
Historical Museum and H. P. Hamilton collections. Mr. Clarence B. Moore
has figured and described a large example obtained by him in Florida.
[Illustration:
FIG. 611. (S. 2–3.) Copper crescents. Collection of Logan Museum,
Beloit, Wisconsin.
]
Iron harpoons of similar form, but frequently possessing from two to
three barbs, sometimes alternating on opposite sides of the implement
are still in use by Wisconsin Indians for spearing large fish.
[Illustration:
FIG. 612. (S. 1–1.) Ear ornaments from the Hopewell Group, Ohio.
]
3. Another form of harpoon is represented by a specimen in the Milwaukee
Public Museum. This implement is somewhat triangular in section, about
eight and a half inches in length and about three fourths of an inch in
breadth at the middle. The ends taper to a blunted point. The thinner
edge of the implement is furnished with four stout, broad barbs,
separated from each other by a distance of about one and a half inches.
Bone harpoon-points of this pattern occur in New York and Ontario. (Like
Fig. 606.)
4. A fourth type, the so-called “socketed harpoon-point” (Fig. 604), has
one edge of its blade prolonged into a barb at the base. This barb may
be on either the right or left side. Otherwise this type does not differ
in shape from some of the flat-backed, socketed spear-points. Only a
small number of these points have been found. All these are provided
with a rivet-hole in the socket. An example in the Logan Museum is about
four inches in length, and comes from Mequon, Ozaukee County.
_Pikes and Punches._ (_See Fig. 602._)
In this class of objects, which are as yet alluded to by students and
collectors by either of the above or other names, are included the
largest copper implements found in Wisconsin. They are rod-like in form,
usually circular or square, less frequently rectangular in section, and
taper to a point at one or both ends. Large specimens of each of these
several patterns have been found. The largest is in the Field Museum. It
is about forty inches in length, one inch in diameter at the middle, and
tapers to a point at either extremity. It weighs five and a quarter
pounds and was obtained from a burial-mound on the Abraham place, at
Peshtigo, Marinette County.
[Illustration:
FIG. 613. (S. 1–1.) Copper crescent-shaped object obtained near
Chattanooga, Tennessee. Milwaukee Public Museum collection.
]
[Illustration:
FIG. 614. (S. 1–3.) Copper crescents. Collection of Wisconsin
Archæological Society.
]
A specimen in the H. P. Hamilton collection is twenty-nine inches in
length, seven eighths of an inch in diameter, and weighs two and three
fourths pounds. About one inch from the pointed extremity there is a
broken projection which Mr. Hamilton believes to have been a barb. The
other end terminates in a small claw or broken out eye. It comes from
Maple Creek, Outagamie County. In the T. W. Hamilton collection there is
another fine specimen which is eighteen and a half inches in length and
weighs one and a half pounds. A specimen found at New Haven, Adams
County, is fourteen and a half inches in length and weighs one and three
eighths pounds. Other large specimens are to be seen in the Logan
Museum, State Historical Museum, and Milwaukee Museum collections. Some
of these are rather flat, rectangular in section and one inch in width
and less than three eighths of an inch in thickness. They are pointed at
one extremity and rounded or blunted at the other. Some other large
specimens are known to have been cut in two and otherwise maltreated by
the persons who found them.
In the Field Museum collections implements of this pattern ranging from
eight inches or less up to the largest size are classed as “pikes.” That
they were employed as weapons is extremely doubtful. It has been
suggested that they may have been heated and employed in the burning-out
of wooden canoes or wooden vessels. There is reason to believe that some
of the lighter forms were mounted in wooden handles, at least one
example with an accompanying copper ferule having been found at
Milwaukee.
[Illustration:
FIG. 615. (S. 2–3.) Copper saucer-shaped object. Hopewell Group, Ohio.
]
_Awls and Drills._ (_See Figs. 593 and 603._)
These have been obtained nowhere in greater numbers than in the Lake
Michigan coastal region in Wisconsin. They vary in size from about one
to six inches or more, and in thickness from one sixteenth to one half
an inch. The greater number are of very small size.
The simplest and most frequent form is a slender cylindrical piece of
metal pointed at one or both extremities. A second and usually stouter
form is either round or square in section and tapers from a well-marked
shoulder at or near the middle to both extremities. Sometimes one end
only is pointed. Occasionally also the upper half of the implement is
straight and the lower half tapers to a point. Many of these small
implements were probably mounted in handles of wood, bone, or antler,
the object of the shoulder being to prevent their passing too far into
the handle. Several specimens mounted in antler handles have been found.
Similar implements of bone and stone have been found in Wisconsin. Most
of them were probably employed in drilling holes in wood, bone, or
stone, in piercing skins, and for similar purposes. The Eskimo are said
to employ somewhat similar implements of bone for catching waterfowl.
They are used by attaching a line to the centre, the bone spindle being
baited with a small fish into which the implement is inserted
lengthwise. Large fish are captured by them in the same manner. We have
no record of the employment of such methods by Wisconsin Indians.
[Illustration:
FIG. 616. (S. 1–2.) Possibly this was the crown of a head-mask. It
seems to indicate growing antlers, or those of a young buck. When
found the horns or projections were downward and the raised surface
uppermost. Hopewell Group, Ohio.
]
_Spikes._ (_See Fig. 580, lower left-hand specimen._)
In a number of Wisconsin cabinets are to be seen copper implements
locally known as “spikes,” taking their names from the close resemblance
which they bear to the modern articles. These vary somewhat in shape and
size.
[Illustration:
FIG. 617. (S. 1–1.) Pendant of sheet-copper. C. B. Moore’s
explorations.
]
One specimen is four and a half inches in length, one fourth of an inch
in thickness, with one extremity pointed and the other enlarged and
blunted to form a head. Another is seven inches in length and tapers
gradually downward from the head, where it is three fourths of an inch
in diameter, to the point.
A few specimens are decidedly square in section.
An examination of the heads indicates that they are not the result of
pounding while in use, but constitute an intentional feature of these
implements. No suggestion has been offered as to their function. They
may be simply perforators or drills. Some of the stouter implements,
with broad, flattish points, may have been employed as chisels.
_Needles_
These are obtained from the same sites as the foregoing and are
frequently associated with them, though not nearly as numerous. All are
provided with eyes, and except in their somewhat ruder fashioning do not
differ from the needles in ordinary domestic use at the present day.
Their purpose requires no explanation.
These implements range in size from less than two to as much as eight
and an eighth inches. The average size appears to be between two and
three inches. Such implements are to be seen in many of the eastern
Wisconsin collections. In the Milwaukee Public Museum is a small series
of copper needles from Mexico.
_Fish-Hooks._ (_See Fig. 603._)
Hundreds of these and fragments of many others have been collected from
the aboriginal village- and camp-sites on the west shore of Lake
Michigan in Wisconsin. They have also been obtained in numbers from the
village-sites at Green Lake and at various other localities along the
upper Wisconsin, Fox, Wolf, and Little Wolf rivers, and elsewhere in
this part of the state where good fishing was to be had. Some have also
been found far to the north along the Lake Superior shore.
Most specimens are of small size, from less than an inch up to two
inches in length. The largest known example is four inches in length.
They are generally circular, though sometimes decidedly square in
section. The points curve and slant outward and inward at all angles and
degrees of curvature. None possess any indication of a barb.
The shank at the point of attachment to the line is most frequently
straight. Sometimes, however, it is notched, flattened, bent over and
flattened, or bent over to form an eye. A few specimens have been
collected which have bits of sinew or twisted fibre still attached to
the shank. Fine series of these useful articles are to be seen in many
local collections.
In the H. P. Hamilton collection there is a series of ten fish-hooks
obtained from the bank of the Little Wolf River, in the township of
Muckwa, in Waupaca County. These are from two and a half to two and
three fourths inches in length, the strongly and broadly curved hook
reaching up to about opposite the middle of the shank. Some are circular
and others square in section, and all are of a nearly uniform thickness
of one fourth of an inch. Several have the tips of the shank flattened,
and all are heavily incrusted with soil and verdigris, plainly
indicating the manner in which they had lain upon and across each other.
_Peculiar Implements_
In a few of the large Wisconsin cabinets are to be seen a very small
number of implements whose exact functions are unknown and which cannot
be placed in any of the various classes here described.
[Illustration:
FIG. 618. (S. 1–2.) Remarkable effigy in copper. Collection of J. M.
Wolfing, St. Louis, Missouri.
]
One of these, in the H. P. Hamilton collection, is eight and one quarter
inches in length. It is circular in section and tapers to a point at
either extremity. It is seven eighths of an inch in diameter near the
thicker extremity and is knotty all over the surface. Mr. Hamilton
suggests that it may have been employed as a club or bludgeon. It weighs
eight and one half ounces and comes from Little Chute, Outagamie County.
In the same collection there is also to be seen a long, curved, flattish
implement which, it has been suggested, may have served as a sword. It
is about twenty inches in length and about one inch in width near the
middle. It was obtained with a cache of six other copper implements at
Oconto, Oconto County, Wisconsin.
_Banner-Stones_
The only specimens in native copper of this interesting and widely
distributed class of ceremonial objects are in the H. P. Hamilton
collection. One is of the ordinary butterfly pattern with expanding
wings. Both specimens were found at Oconto, Oconto County, and were
included in a remarkable cache of copper implements and ornaments,
consisting of a crescent, sword, chisel, leaf-shaped blade, and two
arrow-points. This specimen, weighing five ounces, is three and one half
inches in length, and one and one fourth inches in width across the
elevated part at the middle. The broad wings are one and one fourth
inches in length and one and one half inches in width across their outer
edges. The perforation at the middle is of one inch in length and has a
short diameter of half an inch. A second specimen in the same cabinet is
of the so-called “pick” shape. It weighs two and one fourth ounces. It
is five inches in length and only one inch in width across the widest
part, near the middle. The narrow wings are two and one fourth inches in
length and taper to a rounded point, the perforation at the middle being
half an inch in diameter.
_Beads._ (_See Figs. 569, 570._)
The most common local form of copper bead is somewhat spherical in shape
and was fashioned by rolling together a small, narrow strip or welt of
native metal, varying in thickness from less than one eighth to one
fourth of an inch or more, only one or two turns of which were necessary
to make a rude bead of quite large size. Beads of this kind have been
obtained in large numbers from Wisconsin village-sites, graves, and,
sometimes, from the mounds. Quantities of them, as many as one hundred
or more, have occasionally been taken from a single grave.
[Illustration:
FIG. 619. (S. 1–3.) Unknown symbols in sheet-copper, Hopewell Group.
]
In several Wisconsin collections fine strings or necklaces of such beads
may be seen. Beads of this form have also been obtained in Ohio,
northern Illinois, Michigan, and Minnesota. The Reverend W. M. Beauchamp
has mentioned their occurrence in New York.
A second and quite common form of copper bead is made of a thin sheet of
metal rolled into the form of a cylinder.
They vary in diameter from one eighth to one quarter of an inch or more,
sometimes exceed two inches in length. They are of quite common
occurrence on the Lake Michigan shore and on some inland village-sites.
From aboriginal village-sites at Two Rivers and on the shores of Green
Bay small cylinders formed by twisting thin sheets of native copper
between the fingers in a spiral shape are found.
_Bangles._ (_See Fig. 569._)
These are also made of thin sheets of native copper. They are of small
size, conical or somewhat conical in shape, and open at both
extremities. It is believed that these served as bangles, probably
taking the place, in the past, of the small metal discs, brass or tin
cones, brass thimbles or bells with which it was the custom, among the
later Indians, to ornament dress fringes or other articles of wearing
apparel. They occur on aboriginal village-sites in the Fox River Valley
and in the Lake Michigan shore region.
_Finger-Rings_
These consist of small, narrow rods or strips of metal bent into the
form of a simple circlet, the ends abutting or nearly meeting.
Occasionally the rods are thickest at the middle and taper to a point at
the extremities. Some may have served equally well as ear-rings.
Specimens are occasionally found in the Lake Michigan shore region, as
well as elsewhere in the state.
[Illustration:
FIG. 620. (S. 1–2.) Copper fish. Hopewell Group. Field Museum
collection, Chicago.
]
_Ear-Rings_
The fondness of the later Indians for such ornaments is well known, and
it is quite probable that they were also in rather general use among the
earlier aborigines.
In the S. D. Mitchell collection is a small crescent-shaped copper
ornament which may have served as an ear-ring or nose-ring, being well
adapted for such use. It measures one and three eighths inches in
extreme width, and was obtained from an Indian village-site in Green
Lake County. Similar specimens are in several other local collections.
The Reverend W. M. Beauchamp states that the earliest metallic ear-rings
in use among New York aborigines were probably those of copper wire
coiled and flattened, and believes it possible that perforated discs and
coins may have served the same purpose in early historic times, but that
they were more likely to have been employed in some other way. Glass and
shell beads, and probably many other things, were so utilized.
[Illustration:
FIG. 621. (S. 1–4.) Copper eagle. Hopewell Group. Field Museum
collection, Chicago.
]
_Ear-Spools or Ear-Plugs._ (_See Fig. 612._)
Professor T. H. Lewis has obtained ornaments of this class during mound
explorations conducted by him at Prairie du Chien, Crawford County, and
Wyalusing, Grant County, in Wisconsin. Ear-spools have been obtained
from various localities in Ohio, Illinois, and the South. Some of these
are rather elaborately ornamented with embossed figures. In the Field
Museum collections are specimens which were taken from the mounds of the
celebrated Hopewell Group in Ohio.
A specimen in the Ohio State Archæological and Historical Society’s
collections has still attached to it a fragment of the string or cord by
means of which it was probably attached to the ear of its aboriginal
owner. Similar objects of stone overlaid with sheet-copper have been
described by various authors.
_Gorgets and Pendants._ (_See Figs. 570 and 617._)
Careful inquiry has shown the existence of only a small number of these
in Wisconsin collections. It is quite possible, however, that such
ornaments were in more common use among Wisconsin aborigines than the
present limited number would indicate. Being fashioned of sheet-copper,
they would even under ordinary conditions be more likely to suffer
destruction, through decomposition, than many other less fragile
artifacts, which show very plainly the effects of chemical action during
their interment. One form of pendant is triangular in shape and is
provided at the broad upper extremity with two perforations, by which
means it could be attached, by a cord, to the person of its aboriginal
owner. Such pendants have been found in Winnebago, Jefferson, Crawford,
and Barron counties. One of the largest measures three and one eighth
inches in length, and one and one fourth inches in width at the upper
edge.
Sheet-copper pendants of circular shape have also been obtained. These
have perforations near the edge or at the middle. The largest specimen
known is about three and one quarter inches in diameter. Pendants of
this form have been obtained in Kenosha, Jefferson, Dane, Columbia,
Grant, Crawford, Barron, Burnett, Winnebago, and Brown counties. A few
specimens of other forms have also been recovered.
_Crescents._ (_See Figs. 611, 613, 614._)
In this class of copper ornaments are at present included a number of
thin, flattish objects, the basis of all of which appears to be the
crescent, either plain or variously modified by the addition of prongs
or other prolongations arising from the inner or upper edge, near the
middle or extremities.
There is probably little doubt that the greater number of the objects
included in this class were worn by our primitive Indians as breast
ornaments, being fastened to the neck by means of cords. In this way
several of them may have been worn, one below the other. The
adaptability of certain of the pronged forms for use as hair ornaments
is noticeable.
Large numbers have been collected in Wisconsin, and others will probably
be found as old sites are more thoroughly explored, and new lands opened
to cultivation. The existing examples appear to have been obtained, for
the most part, from the village-sites and graves, where they sometimes
occur in association with copper beads and other articles of personal
adornment. But very few have been recovered from the burial-mounds of
the state.
A few have also been found in Minnesota, northern Michigan, and
Illinois. The finest series of these copper crescents, representing
nearly all of the known types, is in the H. P. Hamilton collection. The
following is a brief description of the Wisconsin types of copper
crescents:—
1. One of the simplest, although uncommon forms, has the upper edge
quite straight and the lower ones broadly curved. Specimens have been
found in Manitowoc County, and in Houghton County, Michigan.
[Illustration:
FIG. 622. (S. 2–3.) Mica ornament. Hopewell Group.
]
2. A closely allied type has both edges curved, approaching more nearly
the true crescent form. The degree of curvature varies considerably in
the small number of specimens known. Specimens have been found in
Washington, Sheboygan, Marquette, Crawford, and Barron counties.
Minnesota has produced several specimens: one from Monroe County, having
both extremities notched to allow for suspension. (Fig. 611.)
3. A third type, the so-called “canoe-shaped” crescent, usually has its
lower and upper edges curving equally and formed at the extremities into
a short point or embryo prong, directed inward. This is the most
frequent Wisconsin type, and examples of it are to be seen in many
collections. The largest and finest example now known (10 × 2¼ inches,
weight 20 ounces) is in the Hamilton collection, and was found in the
city of Oconto, Oconto County. Michigan and Minnesota have also yielded
a number of specimens. (See Fig. 611.)
4. A fourth type has the prongs or points at the extremities of greater
length and directed upward or inward. Specimens have been found in
Calumet, Door, Sheboygan, and Marquette counties. They vary in length
from five to seven and one half inches. (One in Fig. 568.)
5. In a fifth type the prolongations, arising from the extremities of
the upper edge of the curved base, approach each other and unite to form
a central spike, which is usually circular in section and formed by the
prolongations being twisted about each other. Specimens have been
obtained in Price, Manitowoc, Green Lake, Waukesha, Washington, and
Columbia counties. One has been found in Minnesota. (Fig. 614, specimen
D.)
6. Another peculiar type is furnished with a pair of spikes or prongs,
usually rather long, and either flat or cylindrical in section, which
arise on either side of the middle of the curved top (or base). (Fig.
613.) Specimens have been obtained in Columbia, Pierce, Washington, and
Vernon counties. One has been found in Ottertail County, Minnesota.
These specimens range from four to eight inches in length, the prongs
being from three to four inches long. A modification of this type has
the prongs united at their points by a short cross-bar. (Specimen G in
Fig. 614.)
_Other Ornaments_
In the Milwaukee Public Museum are two broad, flat strips of native
copper which may have been worn as headbands.
Both of these fragments, originally curved, have the appearance of
having been straightened, by the finders, and may have formed a part of
the same band. The larger (six inches by one inch) and the smaller
(three and five eighths inches by one inch), and less than one fourth of
an inch in thickness, are ornamented along either edge and down the
middle with a row of deep indentations. The locality is Sheboygan
County. On the skulls of two skeletons in a mound in Crawford County
were found thick copper plates. The larger of these was ornamented along
two edges with a double row of indentations, and measured eight inches
long by four inches wide. The other plate was about four and one half
inches square.
Mr. Brown has called attention to the distribution of copper and has
described these objects so thoroughly that no remarks on my part are
necessary. However, I wish to offer, briefly, one or two suggestions.
Copper seems to have played an important part in aboriginal life in this
country. As the natives possessed neither gold nor silver and because
silver ornaments are extremely rare, one may say that silver was not in
use; copper appealed to them as being something beyond the ordinary, if
not possessing supernatural powers. There was no other substance which
they could hammer into shape, or slightly anneal and work more easily.
No other malleable material possessed that bright, beautiful color and
was capable of such polish. Therefore, copper appealed to the
aborigines, and they made general use of it more as an ornament, or a
totem, than for ordinary utility; that is, save in the “copper belt,”
where it was so common that tools were made of it.
[Illustration:
FIG. 623. (S. 3–4.) Mica ornaments. Ohio mounds. Collection of W. C.
Mills, Columbus, Ohio.
]
What the Northern Indians received in exchange for the copper has always
been a mystery to me. In Wisconsin and Michigan where drift copper
occurred in large quantities, and where it still may be found, it is
likely that the natives carried on an extensive trade in copper and that
the peoples of Ohio passed it on, one may suppose, to the South. This
trade was extensive because not only in our museums are there thousands
of copper objects, but there are many more in the hands of private
collectors, and in the mounds of the Mississippi Valley where there has
been much digging, great quantities of hatchets, plates, nose-rings, and
spools are dug up from time to time.
[Illustration:
FIG. 624. (S. 1–3.) Mica ornaments from mounds of the Hopewell Group.
Field Museum collection, Chicago.
]
One may question whether the presence of copper in the Ohio Valley
really means extensive aboriginal commerce or trade. I say Ohio Valley
because more mound copper is found there than elsewhere, although the
South should by no means be excluded. Copper and other foreign materials
abound in the middle and lower Mississippi Valley. Yet upon the shores
of Lake Superior, about the copper range, on the streams and lakes of
Wisconsin and Michigan where lived the Indians who possessed so much
copper that they made of it hatchets, fish-hooks, knives, spear-points,
etc., usually are to be found no Southern types save a few pipes and
problematical forms in slate. What did these Northern natives receive in
return for the quantities of copper which they must have bartered? Did
they receive bird-stones, gorgets, pipes, etc.? Their bird-stones are
very like those of Indiana and Ohio, yet they have a broad bird effigy
usually with ears on both sides of the head which is not found save
occasionally in southern Ohio and Indiana, and seldom in the South where
mound copper is common. Their gorgets and pipes appear to be local. It
has occurred to me that the peoples of Indiana and Ohio, and possibly
the South, made raids in the copper country, or found copper nuggets in
the drift, or mined their own copper, or robbed the Northern peoples of
such copper as they wanted. If there had been any extensive aboriginal
trade, we should surely find more evidence of it.
Mr. Clarence B. Moore[28] has conclusively proved that the copper taken
from the Southern mounds and Ohio mounds is prehistoric and not of
European origin. Some of the gentlemen connected with the Smithsonian
Institution and affiliated museums contend that the fine _repoussé_
work, on sheet-copper, could not have been made by aborigines working
with stone tools.
A few words regarding the illustrations. An inspection of all the
figures in this chapter, marked from the Hopewell Group, give some idea
of the remarkable copper effigies, ornaments, cut designs, etc.,
comprising the Hopewell collection. This is now on exhibition in the
Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, and can be seen by any person
who will take the pains to visit that institution. It is justly
considered the greatest prehistoric copper collection in the United
States. In the Hopewell Group altars hundreds and hundreds of copper ear
ornaments were found, all more or less affected by heat. Professor Mills
has dug up many ornaments of these same kinds and says of them:—
“Copper ear ornaments were frequently met with in the graves, and twenty
specimens were secured. They were invariably found in pairs. The
manufacture of these ornaments required skill, as well as a high degree
of advancement in ornamental art. The mode of manufacture of the ear
ornaments, although two different types were found, was similar. One
type was made of two concavo-convex plates, and were connected by a
cylindrical column; but only a few pairs of this type were found. The
other type, which was most common, was made of four plates of copper,
two of which are circular, and two concavo-convex. The concavo-convex
plates are attached to the circular pieces, which form the inside of the
ornament. The discs are connected with a small cylinder of copper. This
figure is a good illustration showing two views of the second type of
ear ornaments. Other copper ornaments were found sparingly in the burial
cists. From one grave a large copper crescent was removed, and from
another, six large copper balls.”
Sometimes the copper plates were highly ornamented and cut or trimmed.
Fig. 610 is thus described by Professor Mills:—
“The plate shown in this figure is perhaps the heaviest and smoothest of
all the plates taken from Seip Mound. The scroll pattern cut upon one
side of the plate represents the first specimen of the kind taken from
the mounds of Ohio, as far as known. The plate was wrapped in leather
when it was placed in the grave, and portions still adhere to the plate,
as shown in the cut.”
Of the interesting pendants in sheet-copper, Fig. 617, exhumed from a
mound in Moundville, Alabama, Mr. Moore has to say:—
“The upper part of the pendant has parts excised to form a six-pointed
star within a circle. On the body of the star, _repoussé_, is a symbol
to which we shall revert later. Below is an excised triangle; beneath
which is part of an arm encircled by a string of beads and an extended
hand bearing on it the open eye, all _repoussé_.”
The decayed cloth, the fragments of skins and the curious, fine silt,
usually about a handful, lying around copper objects, indicate that they
were at one time carefully wrapped up. If we had preserved to us some of
these wrappings, not a little light might be shed on the use of the more
highly developed copper problematical forms in the United States.
I am indebted to the directors of the Milwaukee Public Museum for making
illustrations of the finest copper objects in their collections: Figs.
574, 579, 582–89, 595, 597, 599, 602, 605, 613.