"Smoking was a custom of great moment among the aborigines of northern America, and much time and labor were expended in the manufacture and decoration of the tobacco pipe, which is often referred to as "the sacred calumet," because of its important place in the ceremonial affairs of the people."---1919, Frederick Webb Hodge, "Catlinite," Handbook of American Indians North Of Mexico, part 1, p. 217.
     "A favorite material for the manufacture of tobacco pipes and various articles of ornament, sacred, and ceremonial use was the red claystone called catlinite, obtained from a quarry in southwestern Minnesota, and so named because it was first brought to the attention of mineralogists by George Catlin."---1919, W. H. Holmes, "The Red Pipestone Quarry," Handbook of American antiquities, Part I, Introductory The Lithic Industries, p. 253.
    "To the Indian of the old school, the one who is still a devout believer in the dream and medicine dances, and who sees the head of the supernatural in many phases of his daily life, tobacco may be said to be used, even at the present day, in a strictly religious manner."---1911, S. A. Barrett, "Smoking Customs," The Dream Dance Of The Chippewa And Menominee Indians Of Northern Wisconsin, Bulletin, Public Museum, Milwaukee, Vol. 1, p. 360.
    "Catlinite is reported as having been found in Indian graves of New York, and in Georgia, more than twelve hundred miles from the quarry."---1934, George A. West, "Methods Of Manufacture Of Aboriginal Pipes," Tobacco, Pipes And Smoking Customs Of The American Indians, p. 334.
    "The Oneota culture is closely similar to what McKern designates for Wisconsin as the Mississippi Upland focus, Upper Mississippi phase, the characteristic pipes of which are the disc and possibly the Diminutive Siouan types"---1934, George A. West, "Pipes From Iowa," Tobacco, Pipes And Smoking Customs Of The American Indians, p. 288.
    "At a meeting of the American Philosophical Society in 1866 Hayden stated that in the two years just passed the Northwestern Fur Co. had manufactured nearly 2,000 (catlinite) pipes and traded them with the tribes of the upper Missouri"---1919, W. H. Holmes, "The Red Pipestone Quarry," Handbook of American antiquities, Part I, Introductory The Lithic Industries, p. 263.

 
CATLINITE PIPES
EAST OF THE ROCKIES
MIDDLE WOODLAND TO HISTORIC PERIOD

   Catlinite pipes of every imaginable design have been discovered on sites across the United States, mainly east of the Rocky Mountains. The study of catlinite pipes is a complex one because so many different Native American Indian tribes, both recent and ancient, have been making them for so long. Plus the fact that large numbers of them were also made by Europeans, during he fur trading years.

     Red catlinite has been a favorite pipe making material for hundreds of years. Other names used to describe it are, pipestone, claystone, red claystone and pipeclay. Catlinite is described as a fine-grained argillaceous sediment, metamorphosed mudstone and indurated clay. Catlinite was named after George Catlin who observed the site in 1835.

    The source for this highly desirable pipe making material is the pipestone quarry located near the town of Pipestone in Pipestone County, Minnesota. The site is now preserved in Pipestone National Monument. Only enrolled Native American Indians are allowed to quarry the stone. Quarrying is done by hand to protect the site from over-mining.

     Catlinite is a claystone that is especially well suited for pipes. Its color varies from light gray to pale and dark reds. Some catlinite is mottled and spotted with a lighter color against a darker color. Catlinite is easy to carve with a metal knife, file or even stone tools.

     The pipestone bearing stratum varies from 10 to 20 inches thick but the band of pure, fine-grained catlinite rarely measures more than 3 to 4 inches thick. The layer of catlinite is below a layer of quartzite, soil and debris from previous digging. The earliest mining activities were done with stone tools. For most of the last two hundred years the quarrying has been done with picks, bars and hammers made of iron. It's reported that originally there was a line of ancient pits from ten to twenty feet deep that extended for about a mile along a low ridge. These ancient pits were eventually obliterated by later excavations.

     The earliest catlinite pipes were made during the Woodland Period in the form of tube and platform pipes. The tube pipes were made during the Early Woodland Period between 2500 and 2000 years ago. Only a handful them have been found. The Middle Woodland (Hopewell) Period also produced several examples of platform pipes between 2000 and 1600 years ago. One well documented example in the form of a standing bird is illustrated in the article.

    The next most productive period of catlinite pipe manufacturing occurred during the Late Mississippian Period between 550 and 350 years ago. Most of these are in the form of large and small disc pipes. The Late Mississippian and Early Historic Period Utz site, in Saline County, Missouri, produced 135 disc pipes, of which 63 were made of catlinite. Forty two were made of limestone, 26 of shale, 2 of granite, 1 of hematite and 1 of greenstone. The largest disc pipes, made during this period, represent some of the most skillfully crafted and visually impressive pipes ever made of catlinite.

      Late Mississippian disc pipes have turned up far and wide across the United States east of the Rockies. Three widely separated finds that were discovered on sites not occupied by Oneota groups are: One from the Reed Fort site in Ontario County, New York in a pre-contact burial. Another example was discovered at Spiro Mound in Le Flore County, Oklahoma and another was discovered on the Demery site in Corson County, South Dakota.

"REFERENCES"

1899, McGuire, Joseph D., "Pipes And Smoking Customs Of The American Aborigines, Based On Material In The U.S. National Museum," Annual Report, Smithsonian Institution, Part 1, p. 361.
1905, West, George A., "The Aboriginal Pipes Of Wisconsin," The Wisconsin Archaeologist, Vol. 4, Nos. 3 & 4, p.50 & 92-97 & 130-141.
1911, Barrett, S. A., "Smoking Customs," The Dream Dance Of The Chippewa And Menominee Indians Of Northern Wisconsin, Bulletin, Public Museum, Milwaukee, Vol. 1, p. 360.
1919, Hodge, Frederick Webb "Catlinite," and "Calumet," Handbook of American Indians North Of Mexico, part 1, pp. 191-195 & 217.
1919, Holmes, W. H., "The Red Pipestone Quarry," Handbook of American antiquities, Part I, Introductory The Lithic Industries, pp. 253-264.
1934, West, George A., "Methods Of Manufacture Of Aboriginal Pipes," Tobacco, Pipes And Smoking Customs Of The American Indians, p. 334 & 834.
1967, Hamilton, Henry W., "Tobacco Pipes Of The Missouri Indians," pp. 1-42.
Personal Communication, Dennis Vesper.
Personal Communication, Charley Wagers.
Personal Communication, Bruce Filbrandt.
Personal Communication, Ray Fraser

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