A MASTER AT FLINT-CHIPPING [Illustration: FIG. 117. Ten splendid specimens from the Mississippi Valley of various kinds of points, all exceedingly well made. The workmanship of these should be compared with those in other figures. Phillips Academy collection. ] Little attention has been paid by archæologists to ascertain an important feature of prehistoric times. I refer to the presence in most of the tribes of skilled workmen whose specialty seems to have been the manufacture of certain kinds of implements. That some men were more skillful in the making of axes or pipes, and handled bone chipping-tools with more dexterity than others, goes without saying. If one were asked to state what proportion of men were skillful in the art of stone-working, no one could give a definite answer; but the searcher finds in limited areas a particular style of flint-chipping, or a local form of axe or pipe. These appear to have been made in the same manner, perhaps with tools of the same pattern. The guiding hand of the master workman is seen. Each one is stamped with individuality, therefore one may conclude that either a certain person made these objects, or perhaps the men of a given family made them. [Illustration: FIG. 118. (S. 1–1.) This is of that peculiar white or cream-colored flint common in Iowa and northeastern Missouri. It is a fine stone. This specimen is of a type occasionally found in Iowa and Missouri. E. E. Baird’s collection, Poplar Bluff, Missouri. ] Supposing that a young man who showed proficiency in flint-chipping should at the age of twenty become so skillful that his works were in demand. It would follow that if he were given the ordinary span of life his period of proficiency would extend for forty years. If he retained his health and faculties, his activity might reach fifty years. It is also quite likely that other men, perhaps not so competent as himself, assisted him in his work and blocked out the forms or reduced them to convenient size for him to finish. Such a labor division as Catlin and Sellars affirm existed, enabled the skillful worker in flint to produce a larger number of implements than if he attempted to work his own material from the initial stage to the completed form. His people residing in the same village would avail themselves of his wares, giving him in return food, or implements, or clothing. His surplus stock in all likelihood was sent to a distance to be exchanged with other tribes. Such a man may have selected flint of a certain color, so that the product of his labor might be instantly recognized. [Illustration: FIG. 119. (S. 1–2.) This cut presents 14 specimens. These illustrate the Texas types. As a rule they are smaller and more slender than those from the east and southeast of Louisiana. Dr. Jack Shipley’s collection, Pilot Point, Texas. ] [Illustration: