“A grooved axe was purchased from an Indian at or near Yale, who showed him how the people formerly hafted such objects in a split stick, fastening the axe in place with withes. The poll is hemispherical; the cutting edge has been sharpened about equally from both sides, and the surfaces are quite convex; the edge is convex in outline, and has been battered until it has become quite flat. The groove extends around the sides and rear edge, and occupies about half the distance between the middle of the specimen and the top. The ungrooved side edge of the blade is flatter than the other, and meets the sides at a slight angle. One side and the side edge are crossed by a pecked surface, as if a second groove had been attempted. These two grooves, as well as the general shape of the axe, remind one of the grooved axes found in the Southwest. Grooved axes are rarely found in the region including Washington and the southern interior of British Columbia, and the one just described is the most authentic specimen from the whole area of which I have any knowledge. There is one other known to me. It is an axe made of stone and grooved entirely around. It is in the Museum of the Oregon Historical Society at Portland (no. 237, list 30), and is labeled as coming from the Cascades. It is hafted in the split end of a stick, and held in place by thongs. It appears to have been grooved recently, and the handle bears cuts resembling those made by a modern axe. The edge of this specimen bears longitudinal lines similar to those found on some skin-scrapers and on the sharp end of many of the agricultural implements chipped from stone and found in the Middle Mississippi Valley. They also somewhat resemble the results of the action of the natural sand-blast such as affected many specimens in the Columbia Valley. The material is a black or blackish-gray stone, possibly diorite. There is a longitudinal groove pecked in one side of this specimen. This specimen may have been taken west among the belongings of some pioneer, or it may have been hafted from a description similar to that given by Mr. Ashworth. The method of hafting is similar to that employed for skin-scrapers.[[6]] The only other grooved axe from the Pacific Coast of America which has come to my attention is from Central California.[[7]] Dr. J. W. Hudson informs me that several grooved axes have been found in northeastern California, but that they are supposed to have been brought there in prehistoric times from farther east.”
Fig. 266. (S. 1–2.) An interesting, double-bladed axe, from Missouri. One may observe that the ridges are prominent. Dr. H. M. Whelpley’s collection.
Mr. Charles E. Brown, who contributed so much to the Stone Age, writes several pages on the axes of his region. While he speaks for Wisconsin, much of his description will apply to Michigan, central and eastern Minnesota types:—
“Of grooved stone axes, the following classes occur.
“1. Notched axes. Not numerous. Most are rough; a few are well made, being ground smooth or polished.
“2. Axes completely encircled by a groove. Thousands have been found. Especially numerous in the southern half of the state. Rough, ground, or polished. Weight from one half pound to eighteen or more pounds.
“2a. Similar but with prominent ridges above and below the handle groove. Poll rounded or conical. Usually very well made.
“3. Groove extending around three sides, back flattened or rounded. Groove straight or diagonal. Thousands have been found. Most numerous in the southern half of the state.
“3a. Similar but with prominent ridges above and below the handle groove, or only below. Back flat, rounded or concave. Poll rounded or conical. Usually well made and ground or polished. Not as numerous as No. 3.