USA > Kentucky > The prehistoric men of Kentucky : a history of what is known of their lives and habits, together with a description of their implements and other relics and of the tumuli which have earned for them the designation of Mound builders > Part 14
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FISHING AND FISHING IMPLEMENTS.
The streams of Kentucky once abounded in fish. This was particularly true of the Ohio River at its Falls near Louisville, and if the vast number of fishhooks and stone sinkers which have been found in that vicinity constitute an index of the presence of fish, then this spot was more
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O
SMALL DISCOIDS AND STONE BEADS Slightly less than one half size From Trigg County [ 251 ]
Ornamentation.
Shell Bead
Necklace ...
Grotesque
Human Face.
Bird Borre \Necklace.
Stone Bead Necklace.
Fossil Bead Necklace.
Cannet Coat Bead Necklace.
Sandstone Bead Necklace ... the lightness of which is causedby a spherical hollow inside of even bead.
NECKLACES Made of Shell Beads, Bird Bone Beads, Pebble Beads, Fossil Beads, Cannel Coal Beads, and Sandstone Beads From various parts of Kentucky [ 252 ]
C
FINGER RINGS AND EAR ORNAMENTS
Materials Sandstone, Slate, Steatite, and Clay. Lower three, Johnson Collection.
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LUV
UV
UV
JUUL
BONE FISHHOOKS Found about the Ohio River Falls at Louisville. The hook in white square is flint, found near Tennessee River
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abundantly supplied than any other portion of the stream, and was a favorite resort of the aboriginal angler. Bone fishhooks occur in great numbers upon the Indiana shore opposite Louisville, and in lesser number upon the Kentucky side. They are generally of the conventional fishhook ยท form, but with the absence of a barb. Some are small and delicate, others large and heavy, the shank of the latter often measuring three and a half and even four inches, and the instrument being of such size that the base shows the curve of the marrow cavity of the large bones of which they were fashioned, and of sufficient strength to safely land fish weighing ten to twenty pounds. The shank or stem of these hooks is usually notched near the end for better attachment of the line, though in many specimens this feature is lacking, the stem being straight and smooth, leaving it difficult to understand how the primitive fish- erman securely fastened his line. Occasionally speci- mens are seen in which the end of the shank expands into a rounded knob or is provided with an eyelet, but these are extremely rare, not more than two of each kind having reached the attention of the writer. Barbed hooks are equally rare; only two barbed specimens, so far as we know, have been found in this section. One is in the author's collection and the other belongs to Mr. Charles Patz, of Jeffersonville, Indiana. The prehistoric fisherman, lack- ing this most helpful feature in his hook, could not know the real pleasure of the modern angler, who delights in playing and worrying his game until, wearied with the un- equal struggle and vain efforts to rid itself of the cruel barb, it finally succumbs and is drawn within reach of the dip-net or gaff. The aborigine had to rely upon strong tackle and a quick, steady pull; a weakness in either hook
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or line, or failure to draw promptly and keep the line al- ways taut, meant inevitably the escape of his nimble game. Most of the hooks from the Ohio Falls have a rounded base, though in some it shows a straight line. A most interesting bone hook was found some years ago in Trigg County, upon the banks of the Cumberland River. The shank is pierced for the attachment of a line, and the speci- men is provided with four prongs. This hook is carefully wrought, and reminds one of similar forms used by the modern Esquimaux. A number of bone hooks from Ken- tucky, and the Indiana shore of the Ohio River opposite Louisville, are illustrated on page 254. Several of these were kindly furnished the writer by Mr. Patz.
The simplest form of fishing implement used by the prehistoric men of Kentucky was a straight, double-pointed bait-holder or gorge. Very few well-authenticated speci- mens of this kind, so far as we know, have been discovered. Several bone objects ranging in length from one to two inches have been found in Christian County along the Little River. These are highly polished and sharpened at both ends, although there is no grooving about the middle, such as one would expect to find in a bait-holder. A mound in Montgomery County yielded forty well-made bone implements measuring from two to three inches and sharpened at both ends, but there is no indication that these were used in the taking of fish, although they might well have served the purpose of gorges. In the author's collection are several double-pointed flints of such a form as to suggest that they might have served as bait-holders. It is probable that wood was used in the manufacture of the straight bait-holder as well as in hooks of conventional pattern. A hook made of tough wood would be just as
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efficient as one made of bone, or as Captain Smith's "splin- ter of bone tied to the cleff of a little sticke." . Hooks of copper and shell are unknown in Kentucky.
The harpoon and arrow were largely used by aborig- inal man in the capture of fish, and in the evolution of the art of fishing it is likely that this method preceded the use of a hook or even the straight bait-holder. Among the immense number of arrowheads found everywhere throughout the State, many likely served as points for arrows or spears used in the capture of fish. In every large collection will be found numbers which would admi- rably answer this purpose. Harpoon heads, with one or more unilateral barbs, are occasionally seen. These were made from a long bone of some large animal. The lower part is usually flattened, thin, and pierced. Major G. B. Cockrell, of Cumberland Gap, Tennessee, has an interesting specimen of this class. In the collection of Mr. H. L. Johnson, of Clarksville, Tennessee, is a harpoon head of bone of unusual form. It is about seven inches in length and one and a half inches broad at the base, from which it tapers gradually to the point; one inch from the point is a very pronounced barb. An inch and a half from the base is a circular hole evidently designed for connecting, by means of a cord, the dart, which was a detachable one, to the shaft. This specimen is similar to one from Ohio described by Mr. Charles Rau in " Prehistoric Fishing in Europe and North America," page 146.
So far as we are aware, no remains of fishing nets have been discovered in the State, nor are there conditions favorable to their preservation, but it is reasonably certain that the prehistoric men used this method of taking fish. Mr. Gratz, the former owner of Mammoth Cave, in a letter
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to Doctor Samuel L. Mitchell, of New York, written many years ago (Archeologia Americana, Volume I, page 323), says: " There will be found in this bundle two moccasins in the same state they were when taken out of the Mammoth Cave, about two hundred yards from its mouth. Upon examination it will be perceived that they are fabricated out of different materials. One is supposed to be made of a specimen of flag or lily which grows in the southern part of Kentucky; the other of the bark of some tree, probably the papaw. There was also in this package a part of what is supposed to be a Kinniconeche pouch, two meshes of a fishing net, and a piece of what we suppose to be the raw material out of which the fishing net, the pouch, and one of the moccasins were made." This is the only mention of an aboriginal fishing net we have seen, and it is likely that this fabric was not so used, but was part of the articles found in connection with a mummy which is said to have been discovered in Mammoth Cave in 1813, but which in reality came from Short Cave, several miles distant. In the author's collection is a little hand- bag from Salts Cave, resembling the old-fashioned reti- cule; the larger part of it is an open fabric, and were the article not complete a fragment of the open work might readily be taken for a fishing net.
Sinkers, or stones used as sinkers, have been found in large numbers along all the Kentucky streams. They range in weight from less than an ounce to five pounds. Usually they are roughly made and notched or grooved to hold the line. Some are handsomely finished and of rare mate- rial; almost every variety of stone was utilized, and speci- mens resembling in form the stone sinkers, but made of baked clay, are occasionally seen.
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In the streams of Kentucky, along which these people found their favorite domiciles, fish would be an ever-present means of support and food. Their system of cooking would render its use adapted to the preparation of fish food. Boiling in their kettles, baking in their ovens, or baking in shucks or on boards, or wrapped in ashes, would secure the preparation of this food without great labor, and afford always ready means for the preparation of an attractive and delightful meal. And it is as certain as any statement can be about people concerning whom there is no written history, that the prehistoric men who lived in Kentucky regarded and used fish as one of the most con- stant and appetizing of their viands.
DRILLS, DRILLING, AND FIRE MAKING.
Numerous artifacts of stone, especially those of orna- mental or ceremonial form, show a wonderful mastery of the art of drilling by the prehistoric lapidary. Much of his work was done upon such material as granite and quartz, and we can not but marvel at his ingenuity and skill in making, with the crude materials at hand, instruments which would pierce these rocks as nicely and as accurately as the most improved diamond drill of his modern brother. Mr. Kunz, the gem expert with Tiffany & Company, in his work, " Gems and Precious Stones," page 304, says: " Many of the aboriginal stone objects found in North America and elsewhere are marvels of lapidarian skill in chipping, drilling, grinding, and polishing. No lapidary could drill a hard stone object truer than some of the banner stones, tubes, and other objects made of quartz, greenstone, and granite that have been found in
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North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee." The stone work in the States named by Mr. Kunz does not in any particular excel in beauty of form or finish the work of the prehistoric Kentuckians. In the author's cabinet is a beautiful tube of a hard, compact red material, four inches in length by three eighths of an inch in thickness. Through this, with remarkable precision, the ancient stone-worker had bored a hole one eighth of an inch in diameter. Many beads measuring two and three inches in length, made of the interior whorl of some large shell, have holes so small that we wonder how they could have been made without metal instruments. Beads and tubes of rock crystal, quartz, and granite show the same mastery of this art.
Many implements of flint are classed by archeologists as rimmers or drills, yet comparatively few of these would have been serviceable as such. Only those with a bore of rhomboidal or triangular section are at all adapted to the work of drilling, and many of these seem too thin and frag- ile for us to believe that they were ever designed for use upon the harder stones. Objects of this class might have served satisfactorily in working slate and the other soft stones used in the manufacture of gorgets and pendants. Many implements, by the irregular base and finished bore, show unmistakably that they were intended as drills or perforators, and that they were operated simply by being pressed against the material to be pierced and rapidly turned back and forth until the hole was made. The most effective drill used by the Kentucky aborigine con- sisted of a hollow cane, or a cylinder of copper, or even a straight rod of wood. These, used with sand as the abra- sive or cutting material, and water, served to pierce the hardest materials. This work might have been done by
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merely twirling the drill between the palms of the hands or by holding the object to be pierced, if it were a small one, in one hand, pressing against it the point of the drill with the shaft resting upon the thigh, and imparting a whirl- ing motion by rolling the shaft back and forth with the other hand. As the rapidity with which a drill cuts de- pends largely upon the velocity of the revolutions, it became desirable for the prehistoric man to devise other methods than by simply twirling the reed or rod, to which was attached the cylinder of copper, with the hand. - Nat- urally, as he became more experienced in the work he evolved other methods-perhaps discovered, as has the Esquimaux, that the strap drill is an excellent device for attaining rapidity of revolution. In this form of drill the shaft is held in position by a piece of wood containing a socket into which the end of the shaft fits, the wood being held in the mouth, the object to be pierced laid upon the knee, and by bending the head the point of the drill may be firmly pressed against the object. Then a thong is wrapped several times around the shaft, one end being held in either hand; by rapidly drawing this back and forth a rapid whirling motion is imparted to the shaft, and by downward movement of the head the requisite pressure is obtained upon the point.
It may be that the prehistoric man of Kentucky finally evolved the bow drill, another form which was common among the historic Indians. Perhaps he even learned to use the pump drill, which was known to the Iroquois when they first came in contact with the whites. At any rate, whatever may have been the instruments or the methods employed, he secured results of which the skilled lapidary of to-day would not need to be ashamed.
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Closely connected with the art of drilling was the art of fire making. Two methods of producing this agency, so necessary to man's welfare and comfort, and so exten- sively used by the prehistoric people in ceremonies con- nected with the burial of their dead and perhaps in reli- gious rites as well, were in use among the Indians when first known to the Europeans. One was by means of flint and pyrites, flint and steel being a European introduction. The other was by friction of wood on wood, the ground- off particles becoming ignited with the heat thus produced. This latter method was known to practically all modern tribes, and was their main reliance for fire making. The methods and instruments employed resemble closely those used in drilling. A shaft of wood was caused to revolve rapidly in a socket in a wooden block. The heat thus generated caused combustible materials placed in and about the socket to become ignited. The methods of causing the shaft of the fire-making apparatus to revolve were the same as those used with the shaft of the drill.
IMAGES AND IDOLS.
The carving in stone of the human form and features by the prehistoric man of Kentucky as a rule was crude. His best work in face-making was developed in the manu- facture of pottery, or upon the stone used in the manu- facture of pipes. Stone images are of infrequent occurrence, while images in clay, produced in pipes and upon their domestic implements, are very common. Not many more than half a dozen stone images representing the human form have been found in Kentucky, so far as is now known.
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THREE STONE IMAGES FROM KENTUCKY Made from plate in Doctor Thomas Wilson's "Prehistoric Stone Art"
STONE IMAGE
Height twelve inches. Limestone Found in Mound on Cumberland River, Trigg County
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WOODEN IMAGE Height twenty-six inches. From Bell County, Kentucky Found among Cliffs surrounding Pineville
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STONE MASK Owen County. Doctor William E. Baxter
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The best three of these were in the Louisville Public Libra- ry, and if they have not been lost they are mislaid, so that they could not be found for purposes of photographing. The precise locality of their discovery is uncertain, and the details of their finding have now been lost. They are all carved in sandstone. Their similarity suggests that they were the work of the same class of artists and delinea- tions of the same people. They are strangely alike in their general make-up-the receding forehead, the lifted chin, the broad face, prominent ears, protruding lips, and ring-shaped mouth. Two of them are females and one a male. They are all in sitting posture, and represent only the trunk of the human figure. All are flat on the bottom, so they may be able to stand upright and without support. It is a source of great regret that these have been lost to public exhibition. It is hoped that they may yet be restored to their original place in the Louisville Public Library. Efforts are being made to trace the present whereabouts of these images, and the archeologists will be delighted should these efforts prove successful. The illustrations on page 263 are not satisfactory representa- tions of the originals. They were made from halftones of casts in the United States National Museum.
Professor W. M. Linney, formerly attached to the Kentucky Geological Survey, in a paper on the mounds explored by him in Boyle County (Smithsonian Report, 1881), mentions an image, or rather a bust of Aztec type, which was plowed up in Marion County, near Lebanon, and remarked that this object was in the Deaf and Dumb Institution at Danville. Efforts have been made to locate this image through one of the trustees of the Institution, but the attempt has proved unsuccessful. Unfortunately,
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Professor Linney gave no accurate description of it in his report.
Another unusual image was found in a mound on Cum- berland River, in Trigg County. It is made of limestone, and is somewhat defaced by reason of the effect of the elements upon the material. The back presents much more defined and clear-cut lines than the face, the features of which have largely been destroyed by disintegration of the stone. The massive head, prominent ears, the elon- gated chin well thrown forward, create the impression on the mind that this was probably used as an idol. This image, in spite of its marred features, would produce, both upon examination and upon study, an impression on the mind of power and force. The height is slightly over twelve inches, and the width at the widest place, where the hands touch the hips, is five and three fourths inches. At the point where the ears project from the head it has a width of three and one half inches, and weighs about eight pounds. (See page 264.) There are many smaller images running from one to three inches in length. However, of these, few show any artistic skill or ability, and present the rudest forms of carving.
In the winter of 1869 Mr. L. Farmer, of Pineville, who was hunting for a fox among the cliffs which surround Pineville, in Bell County, found a wooden image of a man twenty-six inches high and in a sitting posture, with flat base. The oldest inhabitant could tell nothing of this curious find. Its whole appearance indicated prehistoric manufacture. It is a fairly good imitation of a man, and is made of yellow pine. Its features have been largely obliterated by time, although it was found in a place where it had been kept perfectly dry. One ear is visible
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with a hole pierced in it, as though once ornamented with jewelry. When exhibited in that part of Kentucky it was a great curiosity to travelers. It is the only prehistoric image in Kentucky of wood that has been thoroughly preserved, and the manner of its making gives evidence that it had been executed by artists who antedated the historic period. Its form resembles the stone images, as it is in a sitting posture with a flat base and was built so it would stand alone, and the pose of the arms is very much like that found in the images. (See page 265.)
In Owen County, about sixty years since, a superb mask was plowed up in a field and became the property of Doctor Baxter, and he in turn bequeathed it to his son, Doctor W. E. Baxter, of Frankfort, Kentucky, who now has it in his possession. An illustration of this re- markable work is found on page 266. The peculiar stone which enters into this face is somewhat unusual in this line of work. It is quite smooth and hard. The whole pose of the mask is dignified, and creates the impression that the artist had a conception of the higher and better forms of the human countenance. It seems that he was not simply making a representation of a face, but more likely he was giving expression to some living form that had come within his observation. The whole mask has an intellectual cast or expression. The mouth is firm, the forehead broad, full and straight, and the nose might be safely styled of the aquiline type. The forehead, which is massive and well developed, together with the whole expression, gives not only at first glance, but after close study, the impression of a splendid reproduction of a face that indicates a high degree of mind force and dignity.
Another image, found in Henderson County, Kentucky,
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is shown on page 275. This is of red sandstone, and was plowed up in the alluvial deposits along the banks of the Ohio River. In this image the mouth is wide open, the tongue extended, the eyes glare, the nose is depressed, and there is an expression of hideousness that makes one think of ogres and devils rather than of men. This image so widely differs from the other works of prehistoric art that it must be placed in a class by itself. It has marks which would indicate the use of metal tools, but its his- tory and the story of its finding are all so thoroughly trustworthy that its genuineness can not be questioned. At one time it was on exhibition at the Louisville Public Library, but was subsequently turned over by Colonel Thomas W. Bullitt, upon whose farm it was found, to his daughter, Miss Agatha Bullitt.
PIPES AND SMOKING.
The records of mankind show that smoking, or in- halation of fumes of burning plants, was indulged in from time immemorial by the people of the East before they came in contact with tobacco or heard of the New World. The Chinese, who are never modest in their claims, assert that they always smoked, and that the use of opium was merely a change in material. Herodotus, Pliny, Plutarch, and other writers, relate wonderful things of the early smokers-how they inhaled the fumes of plants, barks, leaves, herbs, gums, and kindred mixtures. Colum- bus and his sailors had doubtless seen smoking before, but they had never seen tobacco smoked prior to the time they reached the American Continent.
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The French Ambassador to Portugal sent from Lisbon the first tobacco seed to Paris for Catherine de Medici, Queen of France, not for smoking, but as a remedy against the pangs of toothache. This Ambassador had come in contact with tobacco which had been trans- ported across the ocean from the New World. His name was Jean Nicot, and in honor of this mixture his name was applied to tobacco, namely, Nicotiana. What- ever may have been the fancies, the customs, and the habits of the Old World as to various smoking materials, the greatest smoking product that has ever been known, or probably ever will be known, was found in the Western World.
When Columbus and his followers landed upon the shores of the newly discovered land they observed the natives blowing smoke and fire from their mouths and nostrils. They were not slow to discern the remarkable endurance of the new race, and they attributed this to some mysterious virtue connected with the practice of smoking. They were informed by the Indians that the leaf they used was a great medicine, which, besides guard- ing against hunger and thirst, was a sure remedy for every other ailment. Observing that these aborigines were free from many of the diseases to which they were subject, the newcomers accepted tobacco as a panacea for many human ills.
It has been claimed by some writers that smoking was not universal in America prior to the Columbian period, but that it was used altogether for ceremonial relations, or for purposes connected with the declaration of peace or war, and the cementing of friendships. In Kentucky at least this theory is hardly sustained by certain facts
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about which there can be no dispute. There have been discovered a large number of pipes which could likely have been used for ceremonial purposes alone, but there are still greater numbers of small individual pipes which, from their very make-up, demonstrate that they were used for personal and not for public service.
The newcomers looked upon smoking as a most dis- gusting habit. It was not confined to men, but was equally prevalent with women and children. With the curiosity incident to all travelers and explorers, they decided to unite with their copper-colored friends in this exercise, and borrowing from them their pipes, they regaled them- selves with the fumes of the weed. In a little while they were all sick; they were disgusted with themselves and with the newly found smoking material. Some of the sufferers the next day experimented again, and were surprised to find that that which had made them ill one day, the next day had a sedative and soothing effect. They were pleased with the results of their dissipation, and so not only day after day, but hour after hour, they regaled themselves with their newly found stimulant, and became constant and steady smokers.
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