On a sunny spring afternoon, my daughter Georgi and I were taking a break from diving and snorkeling. Georgi was ten years old at the time and to my delight has always been interested in almost everything the outdoors has to offer. We share activities like fishing, canoeing, camping, archery and even raccoon hunting.
On this day, we were to be launched into another fantastic outdoor hobby or obsession.
My daughter gets quite restless and bored when not active so I suggested taking a walk into the newly plowed cornfield nearby. I explained to her that maybe we could find an arrowhead or some type of Indian relic since friends of mine had collected quite a few points on their farms in the vicinity.
We were surely tenderfoots at this but spending a lot of time camping and fishing gave us our first break. Talking it over, we agreed that the knoll close to the small stream would be the most likely place to camp if we were to stay there. Unbelievably, almost as soon as we looked down, we began finding the telltale chips of black flint. We were quite excited because the sizes and shapes indicated they are man-made. Within ten minutes, Georgi was handing me a small, round marble-like object. I asked her what she thought it was and she replied, "A bead."
I pushed out the soil that was blocking the hole with a small twig and had to agree with her. "Let's look some more," she said. In about six steps, I picked up my first Indian relic -- a large black flint spear or tool. I wasn't sure since the base was broken and I was unfamiliar with this new pastime. Research and talking to some professional and amateur collectors helped us to identify our finds. The bead being made of glass and probably traded to the Indians by settlers in the late 1600s or the early 1700s may have been made in Venice, Italy. Herbert Craft notes similar beads in a publication, The Archeology of Tocks Island Area, 1975, pp. 152-3. The bead measures 9/16" in diameter and is slightly shorter in the direction of the hole. The main color is white, the broader stripes are rusty red, the narrower ones are dark blue. The ends are rusty red around the holes with wavy lines of grey circling the holes.
The flint bi-face knife measure 1-1/2" at the widest point and 2-1/4" from the point to the break just below what appears to be a hafting notch. The blade is 3/8" thick. The workmanship on this piece is good but the flint is pitted. The edges show wear and resharpening. I haven't been able to find adequate information about this knife and would be happy to hear from anyone knowledgeable.
The finding of these artifacts is especially important to me because it was the beginning of a new, wonderful and satisfying pastime enjoyed in a close relationship with a very special person.
In the past eighteen months, we have collected many items of interest -- arrowheads, pipes, pottery, celts, axes, net sinkers, scrapers, brass buttons and more -- not to mention being catapulted into the realm of geology, anthropology and all the associated sciences. Our original adventure has become a sort of self-sought education and fascination about the people and their environment of the past and how it has changed so much today.
Finding myself caught between the ways of the old and the thoughts and concepts of the young leaves little time for my mind to idle.