“3b. Similar to No. 3 but with very long blade. Known as long-bitted (adze-form) axes. Poll rounded or conical, groove straight or diagonal, back rounded, flat or concave, cutting edge narrow. Some have prominent projecting ridges above and below, or only below the handle groove. Length, nine to twelve or more inches.
“These axes are peculiar to Wisconsin, but are of rare occurrence even here. They occur in the Lake Michigan shore tiers of counties. All are very well made and are ground smooth or polished. They resemble somewhat the long-bitted axes of Arizona and New Mexico. Some specimens have the poll ornamented with transverse, spiral, or concentric flutings. Some have the blade ornamented on one or both sides with longitudinal flutings.
“3c. Oval axes. Groove does not extend quite to the back. Back rounded. A few have prominent grooves above and below the handle groove. Rare. Most are well made and ground or polished.
Fig. 267. (S. 2–5.) All axes, in company with other implements, pass through the usual stages of manufacture, and we may assume that the oval pebble is first grooved at the top and pecked on the edge, as in this Figure. The above specimen was found five feet deep in a sand-bank on the Merrimack River at Lawrence, Massachusetts. Phillips Academy collection. Because it was buried at such a depth in fine, yellow sand, the original markings, or pits, caused by the hand-hammers, appear in all their freshness. Were this specimen brought into my office and offered for sale, I would conclude that it had been made recently and that some one was endeavoring to deceive me. But it was found under conditions which preclude the possibility of recent origin.
“4. Double-grooved axes. With two grooves. Rare. Similar to double-grooved axes found in other states.
“5. Centrally grooved axes. Groove at or near the middle of the implement, and completely encircling it. Rare.
“6. Double-bitted axes. Centrally grooved. Both extremities have a cutting edge. Of rare occurrence.
“7. Fluted axes. (See Wisconsin Archeologist, vol. I, no. I.) The polls or blades are ornamented with shallow grooves or ridges. Such ornamentation is not confined to any single class of Wisconsin axes. They occur on both roughly made, and smooth or polished axes. These axes are peculiar to Wisconsin. About two hundred and fifty specimens have been found. The finest series of examples are in the Logan Museum, Beloit; the State Historical Museum, Madison; the Milwaukee Public Museum, and the H. P. Hamilton Collection at Two Rivers. No two specimens are exactly alike in their ornamentation.
