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. We have three specimens found in the grand
mound. Two of them seem to belong to the genus Natica, the other to
Marginella. They have all been cut or ground down on the side of the
opening of the shell, so that two holes permit the passage of a
string, by which the beads thus made are strung together. The fact
that the genera to which the shells belong are found in the sea, as
well as their highly polished surface show these to be marine; and not
only so but from the tropical seas, either we suppose from the Gulf of
Mexico or from the Californian coast.