Tomahawk

the war ax of the North American Indian. The tomahawk with which Powhatan prepared to end the life of Captain John Smith consisted probably of an A-shaped piece of edged stone, lashed with a buckskin thong into a wooden handle. Not infrequently a prong of deer's horn was thrust like the blade of a pickax into a hole in the end of a wooden handle. The early navigators found metal tomahawks a profitable article of trade. The natives gladly exchanged incredible quantities of fine furs for shining tomahawks. The tomahawk, the scalping knife, and the bow and arrow are the traditional Indian weapons. Of the three the tomahawk is most typical of Indian customs. When peace was concluded the braves sat about the council fire and "buried the tomahawk." When they were about to go on a warpath, they "dug up the tomahawk." The war pipe, as well as the pipe of peace, not infrequently took the form of a tomahawk. The blunt end of the ax was hollowed to form a bowl. The handle, usually a piece of sapling, was pierced by pushing out the pith to form the stem of the pipe. See Indians