The copper articles above represented (Fig. 87) were all found, in connection with other relics and some human skeletons, in excavating the St. Lawrence canal, Canada West. The drawings, from which the engravings are reduced, were kindly furnished, together with a full description, by T. REYNOLDS, M.D., of Brockville, in whose possession the originals now are. “The spot where they were discovered, is a picturesque point on the banks of the river St. Lawrence, near the head of the first rapid or cascade met with in descending the river. They were found deposited fourteen feet below the surface, in a soil composed of blue clay and sand. A score of skeletons were found p202 arranged around them, their feet pointing to the spot where they were placed. The bones crumbled upon exposure to the air. A few yards from this place, and at about the same depth from the surface, another circular space was exposed to view; but strange to say, here the organic remains had been subjected to the action of fire, and the half-burned bones with the charcoal and ashes, evinced the fact that natural decomposition had been anticipated by the hand of man.
“Numbers 1 and 2 were evidently designed for spears, and intended to fit into handles. The blades are of considerable thickness, not much corroded, but of rude proportions. They are pointed, and have a double cutting edge, and were undoubtedly weapons of some service. No. 1 is a foot in length. No. 3 is a copper knife, engraved of half size. One edge is sharp, and has marks of considerable use. The point is broken off. No. 5 is also a knife, less in size, and has a hooked extremity, as shown in the engraving. It was probably designed to be used without a handle. No. 4 is an implement ten inches in length. It has a hollow or socket for the reception of a handle, with a corresponding convexity on the back. The chisel-shaped extremity is blunt, but capable of receiving a sharp edge. It may have been used as a chisel, or gouge,—perhaps as a sort of spade.
“With respect to the question whether these remains are of European origin or manufacture, I have merely to remark that their workmanship is very rude; that no traces of iron or of European implements were found with them, and that the copper corresponds exactly with the specimens of native metal obtained from Lake Superior. The nature of the soil at this spot is favorable for the preservation of organic remains; the fact, therefore, that the bones found with these relics were in so advanced a stage of decomposition, induces me to believe that they were deposited long before the discovery and occupation of Canada by Europeans. We might expect here to find relics bearing the stamp of French manufacture; but there is nothing in the form or composition of these which would lead one to suppose them to be of French origin. This spot was not the usual burying-place of the Indians. Their cemetery seems to have been some distance back from the river, upon a high sandy ridge, where their remains, apparently of very ancient deposit, are now found in abundance.”
From what has been presented, it appears that the mound-builders were very well acquainted with the use of copper. They do not, however, seem to have possessed the secret of giving it any extraordinary degree of hardness. The axes above described were found, upon analysis, to be pure copper, unalloyed, to any perceptible extent, by other metals. The hardness which they seem to possess, beyond the copper of commerce, is no doubt due to the hammering to which they were subjected in their manufacture. As already observed, the metal appears to have been worked, in all cases, in a cold state. This is somewhat remarkable, as the fires upon the altars were sufficiently strong, in some instances, to melt down the copper implements and ornaments deposited upon them, and the fact that the metal is fusible could hardly have escaped notice.
It has already been suggested, upon the strength of the fact that some of the specimens of copper obtained from the mounds have crystals of silver attached to them, that a part of the supply of the ancient people was obtained from the p203 shores of Lake Superior, where alone this peculiar combination is known to exist. The circumstance that the mound axes are made of unalloyed copper, does not affect this conclusion; for a large proportion of the native metal found at this locality is pure. The conclusion is further sustained by the amount of the metal extracted from the mounds, implying a large original supply. Besides numerous small pieces, some large fragments are occasionally discovered. One of these, weighing twenty-three pounds, and from which portions had evidently been cut, was found a few years since near Chillicothe. Still, it does not appear that copper was sufficiently abundant to entirely supersede the use of bone and stone implements.
- FOOTNOTES TO CHAPTER XI.
- [128] “The copper axes of the Peruvians differ very little in shape from ours, and it appears that these were the implements with which they performed most of their works. They are of various shapes and sizes, the edge of some is more circular than others, and some have a concave edge.”—Ulloa, vol. i. p. 483.
- [129] It is asserted by the Portuguese chronicler of De Soto’s ill-fated expedition, that copper hatchets were found in possession of some of the Indian tribes along the Gulf, “which were said to have a mixture of gold.” These, the Spaniards were told, were obtained in a province towards the north, called Chisca, “where there was a melting of copper, and of another metal of the same color, save that it was finer and far better to the sight, which they used not so much, because it was softer.” The Spaniards did not visit the province of Chisca; as they were informed high mountains intervened, which could not be passed with horses. This, it is believed, is the only account of anything of the kind occurring north of Mexico.
- [130] In the cabinet of R. BUCHANAN, Esq., Cincinnati.
p204
CHAPTER XII. ORNAMENTS OF METAL.
Notwithstanding that it was often used for implements, copper seems to have been most highly valued by the mound-builders for purposes of ornament. The supposition is based upon the fact that ornaments of this metal are comparatively abundant. They are found of many varieties, comprising bracelets, pendants, beads, gorgets, etc., some of which display no inconsiderable degree of skill.
