Stone arrow- and spear-heads are found in all parts of the continent, but they are almost always chipped, seldom ground. Maguire, who has made a special study of this subject, declares chipping to be one of the most difficult of arts. “On examination,” he says, “it is found that every rock has been worked in the best and most economical method which its texture admits.” The usual way of making arrow-heads was to place the bit of stone previously flaked from a nodule or fragment and brought near the shape by percussion, on the palm of the left hand, which is protected by a glove or a piece of buckskin, and hold it there by the fingers of that hand while the right brings a down pressure to bear on the edges by the point of a slender piece of horn or bone. The chips spring off and the operation is continued till the desired shape is attained. I tried this method once on a flake of chalcedony I had picked up, and had no difficulty in bringing it to an arrow-head shape. Maguire has made a great many successfully. Chisels, axes, and mauls were made the same way or were ground into shape, a groove being made in the axes across the sides to receive a split stick that was bound on for a handle. It is almost unnecessary to say, perhaps, that there never could have been a time when all tribes were equally proficient in the art of stone working, some being skilful when others could make nothing.[235] [Illustration: DIAGRAM EXPLAINING TERMS TO BE USED IN DESCRIBING STONE WEAPONS _a_, point; _b_, edge; _c_, face; _d_, bevel; _e_, blade; _f_, tang; _g_, stem; _h_, base; _i_, notch; _k_, neck; _m_, barb, or shoulder ] In this country we know so well the origin of the stone implements found in the fields that we smile when we read of people in Europe treating them as charms and talismans. “When kept in a house they protect it from lightning; the water in which a celt has been boiled is a remedy against rheumatism; and sick cattle are cured by drinking water in which a celt has been placed.” The Amerinds frequently treat them as medicine.[236]