They are all
carved from fine-grained materials, capable of receiving a polish, and
being made ornamental as well as useful. The finest specimen yet
discovered, and which can scarcely be surpassed in the delicacy of its
workmanship, was found in a mound in the immediate vicinity of
Chillicothe. It is composed of a compact variety of slate. This stone
cuts with great clearness, and receives a fine though not glaring
polish. The tube under notice is thirteen inches long by one and
one-tenth in diameter; one end swells slightly, and the other terminates
in a broad, flattened, triangular mouth-piece of fine proportions, which
is carved with mathematical precision. It is drilled throughout; the
bore is seven-tenths of an inch in diameter at the cylindrical end of
the tube, and retains that calibre until it reaches the point where the
cylinder subsides into the mouth-piece, when it contracts gradually to
one-tenth of an inch. The inner surface of the tube is perfectly smooth
till within a short distance of the point of contraction. For the
remaining distance the circular striae, formed by the drill in boring,
are distinctly marked. The carving upon it is very fine.
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