] All
were of the neolithic or ground type; the palaeolithic or chipped was
wholly absent, and so were weapons proper, arrowpiles and spear-points.
Mr. Carr, the able and intelligent agent of Messieurs Swanzy, brought me
sundry pieces and furnished me with the following notes. The 'belemnites'
are picked up at the stream-mouths after freshets; but the people, like
all others, call them 'lightning-stones' (_osraman-bo_) or _abonua_,
simply axe. They suppose the _ceraunius_ to fall with the bolt, to sink
deep in the earth, and to rise to the surface in process of time. The idea
is easily explained. All are comparatively modern, and consequently thinly
covered with earth's upper crust; this is easily washed away by heavy
rains; and, as thunder and lightning accompany the downfalls, the stones
are supposed to be the result.
The _osraman-bo_ are used in medicine; they 'cool the heart;' and water in
which they are steeped, when given to children, mitigates juvenile
complaints. One of my collections owes its black colour to having been
boiled in palm-oil by way of preserving its virtues; it resembles the
_basanos_ of Lydian Tmolus; but the Gold Coast touchstone is mostly a dark
jasper imported from Europe.
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