THE CANADIAN JOURNAL.

NEW SERIES.

No. IV. JULY, 1856.

DISCOVERY OF COPPER AND OTHER INDIAN RELICS, NEAR BROCKVILLE.

BY THOMAS REYNOLDS, M. D.

Read before the Canadian Institute, February 16th, 1856.

Attention having been recently called to the discovery of ancient copper relics, and other traces of primitive aboriginal arts, on the shores of Lake Superior, it may not be uninteresting to compare with such remains, others of the same class discovered far to the eastward of the regions which supply the metal from which such weapons and implements appear to have been fabricated.

In excavating the St. Lawrence Canal, at Les Galops Rapids, in the year 1847, a curious collection of Indian relics was brought to light, at one of the beautifully picturesque points on the River St. Lawrence, at the head of the first rapid, or cascade, met with in descending that river. Thus situated at a point where the free navigation of the upper part of the river is first interrupted, this place is likely to have been frequently visited in former times, as a spot where both Indians and voyageurs would be tempted to rest, or camp for the night, before venturing their canoes upon the rapids; and this may perhaps have had to do with the deposition of the relics, discovered in the process of excavating the Canal destined to overcome the impediments which nature had there opposed to the free navigation of the noble river.

* Ante, p. 225.

The following description of such of the relics as have come into my possession, will serve, with the aid of the accompanying illustrations, to convey some idea of their various forms and special char

acteristics. The most massive of the copper implements, figured here, is an instrument in which will be observed a hollow or socket for a handle: the back, which is here represented, being convex, corThe chisel-shaped termi

responding to the opposite concavity. nation is now blunt, but it retains sufficient indications of its having originally had a sharp edge. This instrument might perhaps answer the purpose of a chisel or gouge for hollowing out wood; but I was struck at first sight of it, with the resemblance it bears to the coulter, or point, of the old Jewish plough. The precise use for which it was designed can now only be surmised; and this might be an interesting matter for further inquiry, as one means calculated to throw light on questions in connexion with the origin of the native American tribes. The subject has been reverted to in relation to another discovery of copper relics found about the same time as those now described, at Penetanguishene, and the speculations thus originated, even if they lead to no very definite or practical results, are at least curious, and suggestive of interesting reflections. The dimensions of this ancient implement are six inches in length, fully two inches in breadth at the edge, and two and four-fifths at the broadest part of the socket. A second object may be described as a copper knife, of full size, with the edge still tolerably sharp, and bearing marks of considerable use. The point was broken off when it was first discovered; and the handle, which must have been of wood or some other material less durable than the metal blade, had yielded to the ravages of time. In its present mutilated state this instrument measures five inches and three quarters long, and when the blade was perfect was probably not less than eight inches in length.

A third implement, figured here, may be described as a knife, or small dagger, nearly five inches long, and with a

hooked extremity, as represented in the annexed wood-cut, de

signed to serve some unknown purpose of Indian domestic economy, or convenience in war or the chase. This, it may be assumed, was used without any handle attached to it, whatever may have been the purpose to which it was applied.

The fourth copper instrument is a knife or dagger upwards of seven inches in length, including the narrow end for insertion in the haft; and the fifth, which is here figured, is a spear head, rudely

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hammered out of the native copper, and presenting unmistakeable evidence of its having been brought to its present shape by the hammer, and entirely without the agency of fire. After being wrought, by means of the hammer, into the rude form of a spear-head, the broad end has been overlapped as shewn in the wood-cut, and roughly hammered to the desired shape, so as to provide it with a short narrow prolongation intended to fit into a handle, or to be secured to it by means of a cord or ligature, though it must have very imperfectly answered the purpose. This spear-head is of considerable thickness, and not much corroded. It is still pointed, and tolerable sharp on both edges; and, imperfect as it seems, was probably a weapon of no slight importance and value among the braves in olden

times.

In addition to these weapons and implements of copper, I have in my possession a small pipe mouth-piece, found along with them, measuring an inch and a quarter in length, made of the celebrated Indian red pipe-stone; and also a miniature clay mask, figured here, (though with less minute accuracy, than would have been desir able,) about one half the diameter of the original. It is in some respects a tolerably fair representation Pof the Indian skull, from which one might fancy it to have been copied. In its shape it struck me as resembling the appearance presented by the skulls found in the same place; and the hollow sockets of the deyes, though doubtless designed only to imitate the ab UnIndian masks, were assumed, on its being first found, to prove that it was meant as a representation of the bony structure of the head, and not the fleshy or living subject. This

relic I presume is the head of an Indian idol or household god, modeled by the warrior-artist as a charm or protection in battle, or in the other trials and dangers to which he might be exposed. It is imperfect, having been broken off, some additional piece of workmanship, to which it was attached by the piece partially shown in the wood-cut, projecting behind; but it has no perforation or other indication such as would have shewn its use had it originally formed part of a pipe, which the Indians frequently shaped into a human or animal's head. Shortly after the discovery of these specimens of ancient Indian art, I had an opportunity of showing them to Mr. T. S. Hunt, during a visit paid by him to Brockville in 1847, and this afterwards led to a correspondence with Mr. E. G. Squier, the well known American Archæologist. In his first letter he remarks: "Through my friend Mr. T. S. Hunt, I learn that you have in your possession some copper implements obtained near the banks of the St. Lawrence. I have in my possession a number of such, corresponding, so far as I can judge from the description, with yours, and which were obtained from the Southern Mounds. I am very anxious to institute comparisons between these relics, and shall be glad to obtain sketches of those in your hands." In consequence of this application I sent drawings to Mr. Squier, which were engraved, and my letter accompanying them published, by the Smithsonian Institute, in their Transactions, vol. 1, p. 201. Since then some cool Yankee has published an account of Indian Remains found in the State of New York, copying my drawings, and as much of my letter as suited his purpose. Such being the case and this discovery of Ancient Copper implements, being, as I believe, one of the most remarkable disclosures of the kind yet noticed in Canada; and, also, possessing some peculiar claims to the attention of those interested in the past history of this continent, owing to their being found so far to the eastward of the copper regions; a detailed notice of the objects in question may not be undeserving of the attention of the Canadian Institute.

All these relics were found at a depth of about fourteen or fifteen feet below the surface, in a soil composed of clay and sand. The shore at the point of land, which is considerably washed by the action of the rapid stream, presents a face of large granite boulders with quartz conglomerate-a fitting resting place for the stalwart forms of a score of skeletons, which were found inhumed in a circular space with their feet towards the centre. Some of the skeletons were of gigantic proportions. The lower jaw of one is in my possession, and is sufficiently large to surround the corresponding bone of an adult of

our present generation. The condition of the bones furnished indisputable proof of their great antiquity. The skulls were so completely reduced to their earthy constituents that they were exceedingly brittle and fell in pieces when removed and exposed to the atmosphere. The metallic remains however, of more enduring material, as also, several stone chisels, gouges made of the same durable material, and probably designed for tapping the sugar maple, and some flint arrow heads, all remain in their original condition, and furnish evidence of the same rude arts which we know to be still practiced by the aborigines of the far west. A few yards distant from this spot, and at about the same depth from the surface, another circular place of sepulture was exposed to view; but here the organic remains had been subjected to the action of fire, and the charred and partly consumed bones, with the charcoal ashes, bore testimony to the fact that the decomposition which time and the action of their mother earth would have produced, had been anticipated by the hand of man and his use of the fiery element. With reference to the question whether these copper remains are of European or native origin, I have only further to remark, that their structure is very rude; that they appear to have been wrought solely by means of the hammer, without the melting pot or the aid of fire; that while they were accompanied by stone and flint tools and weapons, no implements were found made of iron, which would have been the metal chosen by the European artizan; and finally that the copper appears to correspond in quality with the specimens of the native metal now found in such large quantities on the shores of Lake Superior. There is also a curious fact, which these relics appear to confirm, that the Indians possessed the art of hardening and tempering copper, so as to give it as good an edge as iron or steel. This ancient Indian art is now entirely lost.

For these reasons, as well as from the nature of the soil, which is one likely to preserve organic remains for a very long period of time, and the greatly decomposed state in which the bones were found, I should not hesitate to pronounce these instruments, tools and weapons of much older construction than the discovery of Canada by Europeans. In this part of the continent one might expect to find something bearing the stamp of Gallic manufacture as the French were the first to ascend the St Lawrence and remained for some time masters of its shores. Whereas in none of the relics which I have seen is there any thing which one could for a moment suppose to be of French workmanship.