Sharp Outdoorsmen: The Mud and Muck Society

My wife and I had just returned from Cape Cod, where my eyes became trained to scan the tide line for interesting stones and sea glass. So, when I walked through that portal of time travel known as the Comstock Bridge in East Hampton, my eyes remained fixed to the ground as I hiked through Salmon River State Forest.
This is the only reason I even noticed the bright white fragment jutting from the side of the trail.
Exactly an inch and a half long and just under an inch wide, the symmetry of the triangular stone made me take a closer look. Like a foggy chip of ice, its edges looked serrated- either by design or convenient chance- and when I tapped the stone’s point against the soft flesh of my forearm, it certainly felt sharp enough to plunge into a hunter’s quarry. I imagined that hunter, hundreds of years earlier, tapping this same stone against his own flesh and finally feeling satisfied with his handiwork.
I stowed the rock safely in my pack and walked the two miles back to the only covered bridge in eastern Connecticut, through which I returned to the modern world. Once home, I e-mailed an image of my find to Steven Gagnon, Recordkeeper for the Mud and Muck Society, a group of amateur archaeologists who surface hunt for Native American artifacts in Central Connecticut and beyond (www.mudandmuck.com).
Gagnon, who is a goldsmith by trade, later confirmed what I had hoped- that I found my first arrowhead.
Having been a hiker for decades now, I admit I was almost embarrassed that I had never found an arrowhead before this. But then again, I hadn’t really been looking.
"As far as how you found it," said Gagnon, "I would say that it’s a once or twice in a lifetime find. The problem is most people don’t take the time to look closely at the ground."
For relic hunters like Gagnon, however, this is second nature. I had only recently developed the habit at the National Seashore but I still didn’t know what I had in my hand.
"Being able to recognize it as an artifact is part of the challenge," said Gagnon. "Most people would walk right by and see it only as another rock."
Gagnon believes that my arrowhead was made by a Mohegan people during the Woodland Era, sometime in the past 1,500 years. He also said that the milky quartz from which it was manufactured is common throughout Connecticut and was an ideal material for primitive tools.
"Because quartz is like glass, it chips and breaks in a way that can be formed into a sharp tool," said Gagnon.
Over the years, Gagnon has found hundreds of ancient tools, including celts, hoes, pestles, gouges and drills, all of which are now in safekeeping.
The Mud and Muck Society was formed ten years ago and not only believes in having fun while looking for artifacts, but also in being responsible by keeping detailed records of their finds. The members also belong to the Archaeological Society of Connecticut and the Friends of the Office of the State Archaeologist.
"We don’t plunder and sell our finds on E-Bay," said Gagnon, who will one day donate his entire collection to a museum. "Instead, we preserve their history and plan on seeing to it that our collections are preserved for the future."
Gagnon has made many of his finds in the Connecticut River Valley, but he says that there are state and local laws regulating both surface hunting and digging.
"All [artifact hunting] should be done with permission," said Gagnon. "Digging on state land is a no-no. As far as private land, surface hunting can be done with permission."
I found my arrowhead exposed right on the trail of a state-owned forest. It wasn’t until I was home and doing research that I realized I was wrong to take it with me. While many people keep arrowheads without question, I wanted to write about it here and report what the proper procedures are for finding a relic on state land.
I called the office of State Archaeologist Dr. Nick Bellantoni. I had Bellantoni as an anthropology professor at UConn eleven years ago. He’s a passionate teacher, who I remember pacing up and down the aisles of the large lecture hall, keeping hundreds of students simultaneously intrigued with his stories of Connecticut lore.
Bellantoni was out in the field when I called, I but was told that I should have left the arrowhead where it was. I was then given instructions to record with precision the exact spot and time at which I found the arrowhead and to mail it to the Connecticut Archaeology Center if I couldn’t bring it to Storrs myself.
It may have been my first find, but I was able to share it with readers so I have no problem returning the artifact to the good hands of Dr. Bellantoni.
"In many situations, that artifact may only be exposed for a brief period of time," said Gagnon. "If it is not collected it would be lost possibly forever."
I’m sure I’ll find more, though. Gagnon says that arrowheads are plentiful despite the luck involved with my recent find.
"Think how many arrowheads a hunter would need to make to feed his family over a lifetime," explained Gagnon. "Then multiply that by thousands of people over thousands of years."
And luck, by the way, isn’t the only factor. According to Gagnon, if you want to find relics of the past, then you should learn as much as possible about the people who created and used them.
"Research, research, research," said Gagnon. "Then get out and look. You don’t find if you don’t look."