The American Indians: Their History, Condition and Prospects, from Original Notes and ManuscriptsSchoolcraft, Henry Rowe
History
The American Indians: Their History, Condition and Prospects, from Original Notes and Manuscripts
Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe
Indians of North America
If such relics were found nowhere else but in our own country, they
would be curious, and worthy of preservation and attention: but it is an
interesting fact, not however generally known, that they exist in many
other parts of the world. Stone arrow and spear heads have been found in
England for hundreds of years, and are believed to have been made and
used by the Britons, who, in respect to civilization, were nearly on a
level with our Indians. These relics are called by the common people
Celts, from the race whose memory they recall; and particular accounts
of them are given, with drawings, in several antiquarian works. They
bear a striking resemblance to our Indian arrow heads; and many of them
could be hardly, if at all, distinguished from those of America.
African arrows have been brought to this country, in which the points
were of the same forms and materials, and fastened in the same manner.
About twelve years ago a vessel from Stonington was attacked by a party
of Patagonians, who threw arrows on board. One of these which we
procured, was pointed with a head of milky quartz, exactly corresponding
with specimens picked up in New England.
Among the relics found in excavating the low mounds on the plain of
Marathon, as we were informed by one of our countrymen, who was at
Athens some years ago, there were spear heads made of flint, which, he
declared, were like those he had often seen ploughed up in his native
fields. These, it was conjectured, might have been among the weapons of
some of the rude Scythians in the Persian army, which met its defeat on
that celebrated battle ground.
A negro, from an obscure group of islands, just north of New Guinea, in
describing the weapons in use among his countrymen, drew the forms of
spear heads, which he said were often made of stones; and, when shown
specimens from our collection, declared that they were very much like
them.
It has been thought, that certain instruments would naturally be
invented by men in particular states of society and under certain
circumstances, as the result of their wants and the means at hand to
supply them. It is not, however, always easy to reconcile this doctrine
with facts. For example, the black race of the islands north of New
Holland, (of which so little is yet known,) appear to require the use of
the bow as much as any other savage people, yet they are entirely
ignorant of it, though it has been thought one of the simple, most
natural and most indispensable instruments in such a condition of
society.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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