(_a_.) _Copper Needle or Drill_. (See A. Fig. 1.) This was plainly
used for some piercing or boring purpose. It is hard, yields with
difficulty to the knife, and is considered by some to have been
tempered. It may have been for drilling out soft stone implements, or
was probably used for piercing as a needle soft fabrics of bark and
the like, which were being sewed together.
(_b_.) _Copper Cutting Knife_. (See E. Fig. 1.) This, has evidently
been fastened into a wooden handle. It may have been used for cutting
leather, being in the shape of a saddler's knife, or was perhaps more
suited for scraping the hides and skins of animals being prepared for
use.
Some twenty miles above the mound on the Rainy River at Fort Frances a
copper chisel buried in the earth was found by Mr. Pither, then H. B.
Company agent, and was given by him to the late Governor McTavish. The
chisel was ten inches long, was well tempered, and was a good cutting
instrument. Another copper implement is in the possession of our
Society, which was found buried in the earth 100 miles west of Red
River.
All these, I take it, were made from copper obtained from Isle Royale
on Lake Superior.
4. _Shell Ornaments_. Traces are found in the mound, of the fact that
the decorative taste, no doubt developed in all ages, and in all
climes, was possessed by the Takawgamis.
(_a_.) _Sea Shells_. Important as pointing to the home and trading
centres of the mound builders is the presence among the debris of the
mound, of sea shells.
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