In view of these facts, it is beyond question that the polish is due to use, and it is quite clear that any one who takes the opposite point of view is not familiar with the locality and conditions under which spades are found.
Fig. 168. (S. about 1–6.)
Oval and other spades, from the collection of F. P. Graves,
Doe Run, Missouri.
Fig. 169. (S. 1–3.) Shouldered hoes. Large hoe measures 9½ inches in length. Material: yellow chert. B. H. Young’s collection, Louisville, Kentucky.
Mr. Charles E. Brown, Chief of the Wisconsin Historical Society Museum at Madison, reports upon flint spades as follows:—
Fig. 170. (S. 1–4.) This is a surface find, from near Edwardsville, Madison County, Illinois. Material: chert, straw color. Collection of H. M. Braun, East St. Louis, Illinois.
“A small number of these have been found in Wisconsin, specimens being recovered as far north as Green Lake and Sheboygan counties. Most are oval or elliptical in outline, and are made of the same quality of flint as are the fine agricultural implements of the middle Mississippi Valley. It is likely that they were introduced through aboriginal trade relations with tribes located in that region. One of the largest measures thirteen and three fourths inches in length. A few spades are manufactured of materials procurable in Wisconsin. In the collections of the State Historical Museum is a fine example made of brown quartzite.
“Several notched flint hoes have also been found in southern Wisconsin. They are made of local flint, but are patterned after those of the middle Mississippi Valley.”