Monday, February 8, 2010

Ghost Town


Last Monday, Larry wrote to Lee.

“Hi, The arrowhead came from somewhere near the ghost town of Rush, Arkansas, an old zinc mining town. “

On the way, we had stopped to admire the early morning sun and the flowers of spring. The nice spot over looked a ravine showing a river with pretty blue water glistening in the distance far below. As we stepped further onto the bank for a better look, Larry’s toe kicked up the arrowhead.

Larry gave it to me as a souvenir. When I looked at the photos in an arrowhead book, I decided arrowhead was similar to a Dickinson Arrowhead, worth about $250. For two years I have had a guilty conscience because I had not returned the favor to Larry.

But, now, Dickinson Arrowheads sell for about $4 to $6 dollars in Ebay. That price sooths my conscience. I will buy Larry lunch. My Dickinson Arrowhead is still valued at $250 for sentimental reasons.

Actually I do not believe the Arkansas rock is an arrowhead. I believe it is a projectile point. A projectile point fits onto a spear or, most likely, was used with an Atl-Atl. We may see several of them if we return to Charlie’s for an Atl-Atl session. The point might also be used as a knife by attaching a short handle

My projectile point has a small chip broken away near the tip, so I can envision that it lodged into a bone in an animal that got away a long time ago. Dickinson Arrowheads are found in Missouri, where they may have been made, Northeast Arkansas, and in Illinois.

You may be able to see one or more Dickinson Arrowheads on Ebay. Archaeologists and Anthropologists, who research via Google, will have a puzzle to explain how the prehistoric stone from Missouri could be connected to the Dickinson Arrowhead movie theaters in eastern Oklahoma.

That puzzle may be a good topic for after dinner conversation on the Trip to FAR.