A Harahay Knife for a Rookie

A couple of years ago I was looking over old Nebraska maps and marking ideal metal detecting sites and I noticed several Old Indian encampments listed on the map. This had me wondering and soon after I picked-up several old Nebraska Historical Society Journals written in the late 1800’s. Virtually all of the information in the Journal’s related to the Nebraska Indians. The author’s were living in the late 1800’s and writing about prior times, and I was metal detecting relics that were produced in the 1900’s. That changed my thought process.

I began to focus on the time period prior to the 1800’s. I started reading books on the Plains Indians and then subscribed to Indian Artifacts Magazine and joined the CSAS through Kansas. This led me to Les Lawson, a history buff and collector himself in Lincoln, Nebraska. Les was of great help in pointing me in the right direction on researching the Plains Indians. Les was able to provide me with names of other people who had an avocational interest in archaeology.

I called one of these individuals one evening after work and after reassuring him that I was ethical and sincere they agreed to see me and invited my wife Jenny and son, Chase over. The conversation was a little overwhelming. Clovis, Folsom, Paleo, Dalton, Knife River Flint, Steve Holen, George Frison, Hell Gap, lithic sources, Stone Age Fair and hundreds of other terms that I do not recall having heard before were spoken. I have no recollection of covering that material in History class in High School or College. The most important suggestion to be made was, “read everything you can get your hands on and start with these several books” he explained as I quickly wrote down some notes. After perhaps reading over 100 books, journals, Master Thesis and Doctorate Dissertations on all of the cultures from Clovis to the Plains Indians I was ready to find an Indian artifact. I walked some fields and found a flake or two, several scrapers and a banged-up arrowhead.

On July 5, 2003 I was walking a small creek near Lincoln, Nebraska and found a Harahey Knife in great condition. My heart skipped a couple of beats and I called my two companions over for a look. That particular day it was “AJ” and “Cannon”, my Springer Spaniels. The sniffed and looked over the knife in-Situ and ran off probably to give an Opossum a heart attack. I picked up the artifact and felt for an instant as if I could connect to the person who had lost it. The bi-pointed knife is associated with the late prehistoric and early historic time periods. Most likely 300 to 1000 years old. The Harahey Knife was named after a knife first located near Harahey, Kansas. Mine measures almost 5 inches long and is made of reddish colored Niobrara Chert. It has four cutting edges with two opposing cutting edges exhibiting more usage. Returning to the same area on a number of occasions my family and I have located plenty of pottery probably associated with a Central Plains Village Site perhaps 1000 to 500 years old.

Since that time, we have spent many hours walking together and picking up flakes, scrapers, pottery, and bison bones. We are anxious to find our next intact Indian artifact but until then I will continue to cherish my first real artifact, my Harahey Knife. My new hobby has already brought me hundreds of hours of fun, relaxation, knowledge and friendships.

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