WAMPUM, A PAPER PRESENTED TO THE NUMISMATIC AND ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY OF PHILADELPHIA. BY ASHBEL WOODWARD, M. D. , OF FRANKLIN, CONN. , CORRESPONDING MEMBER. ALBANY, N. Y. : J. MUNSELL, PRINTER. 1878. Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1878, by ASHBEL WOODWARD, in the Library of Congress. At a Stated Meeting of the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society ofPhiladelphia, held January 2, 1868, the following resolutions wereunanimously adopted: _Resolved_, That the thanks of this Society are due and are herebytendered to Ashbel Woodward, M. D. , of Franklin, Conn. , for his very ableand interesting research upon "Wampum" this evening read before theSociety. _Resolved_, That said paper be referred to the Publication Committee. Attest, HENRY PHILLIPS, JR. , _Corresponding Secretary. _ NOTE. The following pages constitute an Essay read before the Numismatic andAntiquarian Society of Philadelphia in January 1868. It was intended forpublication in the second volume of the Transactions of the Society, butas the appearance of this volume has been unexpectedly delayed, it hasbeen thought best to allow the Essay to appear separately. _Franklin, Conn. _, January, 1878. WAMPUM. When Columbus, on his second voyage to the New World, landed upon CapeCabron, Cuba, the cacique of the adjacent country meeting him upon theshore offered him a string of beads made of the hard parts of shells asan assurance of welcome. Similar gifts were often made to the greatdiscoverer, whenever the natives sought to win his favor or wished toassure him of their own good will. These shell beads were afterwardsfound to be in general use among the tribes of the Atlantic coast. Atthe close of the sixteenth century the English colonists found them inVirginia, as did the Dutch at the commencement of the following centuryin New York, the English in New England and the French in Canada. Thepre-historic inhabitants of the Mississippi valley were also evidentlyacquainted with their manufacture, as remains of shell beads have beenfound in many of the mounds which survive as the only memorials of thatmysterious people. These Indian beads were known under a variety of names among the earlycolonists, and were called, _wampum_, _wampom-peage_, or _wampeage_, frequently _peage_ or _peake_ only, and in some localities _sewan_ or_zewand_. But generally sewan prevailed among the Dutch, and wampumamong the English. These names were applied without distinction to allvarieties of beads. This confusion arose naturally enough from thescanty acquaintance of the whites with the Indian language. The wordwampum [wompam], [1] which has since become a general term, wasrestricted by the Indians to the white beads. It was derived from_wompi_, "white. " The other or dark beads were called _suckáuhock_, aname compounded of _súcki_, "dark colored, " and _hock_, "shell. " Thename _Mowhakes_, compounded of _mowi_, "black, " and _hock_, "shell, " wasalso sometimes applied to the dark beads. It thus appears that theIndians divided their beads into two general classes, the _wompam_, orwhite beads, and _suckáuhock_, or dark beads. Both white and blackconsisted of highly polished, testaceous cylinders, about one-eighth ofan inch in diameter and a quarter of an inch long, drilled length-wiseand strung upon fibres of hemp or the tendons of wild beasts. _Suckáuhock_ was made from the stem of the _Venus mercenaria_, or commonround clam, popularly known as the quauhaug; _wampum_ from the columnand inner whorls of the _Pyrula carica_ and _Pyrula caniculata_[2][Lam. ], species known as Winkles or Periwinkles among fishermen, and thelargest convoluted shells of our New England coast. [3] These shellswere found in great abundance along the sea shore, lying either upon themud, or just beneath the surface, and were wrought in the followingmanner. The desirable portions of the shells were first broken out intosmall pieces of the form of a parallelopiped; these were then drilledand afterwards ground and polished. Possessing no better tools, theIndians made shift to bore them with stone drills, [4] implements whichhardly correspond with the delicacy and exactness exhibited by thespecimens of original wampum that have come down to us. The process ofpolishing and shaping was equally painful and laborious, for rubbingwith the hand over a smooth stony surface, was the only method which therudeness of the Aborigines could devise. Yet the finished beads, whetherattached in thick masses to garments, or strung in long flexible rows, were very comely and without a trace of the tawdriness, which is socharacteristic of uncivilized peoples. The suckáuhock with its varyingshades of purple was particularly beautiful. Its value was double thatof the white and the darker its color, the more highly it was prized. But the laborious method of production imparted no trivial value to bothvarieties. It seems almost incredible that the Indian could produce so clever anarticle with his rude implements. Some have conjectured that thespecimens produced before the natives obtained awl blades from thecolonists were very inferior to their later productions. One writer[5]even goes so far as to suggest, that, before the advent of Europeans, Indian beads consisted mostly of small pieces of wood, stained white orblack. The fact is, however, that the manufacture of wampum dates backat least to the time of the mound builders, for quantities of beadssimilar in form to the more modern article, and proved by chemicaltests and structural peculiarities to be similar in material, have beenexhumed from the ancient mounds of the west. [6] Other species besides the wampum and suckáuhock crept into local useamong the different tribes. The Iroquois in their civil and religiousceremonies employed a variety named _otekóa_, and made from spiral freshwater shells of the genus _unio_. This as may be inferred from its useswas held in the highest esteem, and no other could be employed in thedifferent stages of the ceremonial. [7] In New England and perhapselsewhere, an inferior kind made evidently from shells too small andthin to be wrought into the cylindrical beads, circulated to a limitedextent. The separate pieces were round and flat, about an eighth of aninch broad and a sixteenth of an inch thick, white and black were strungalternately, but the strings, though arranged with considerable nicety, lacked wholly the finish and flexibility of the regular article. InVirginia _roenoke_ was current. This consisted of small rough fragmentsof cockle shells, which were drilled and strung. The last two varietieswere only used to a limited extent, even in the region of theirmanufacture. Here, as elsewhere, the cylindrical wampum was thestandard, and the dearest to the Indian of all his treasures. Indeedsuch was the value set upon it, that attempts were often made tocounterfeit it, an unallowed shell being fraudulently used in themanufacture of the white, while the black was imitated from a kind ofstone. Yet the habitual caution and keenness of the Indian made itdifficult to palm off the spurious article upon him. As wampum was made from marine shells, [8] it was naturally manufacturedby the sea shore tribes, and in localities determined by the abundanceof raw material. Here the shells were stored up in some convenient spotduring summer, to be worked out in winter when the rigors of the seasonshould deter the men from their ordinary out door pursuits. [9] Probablybut little was produced north of the Narragansetts [Rhode Island], asthe necessary shells were scarce beyond Cape Cod. The Narragansetts werethemselves great producers, and tradition claimed for their tribe thehonor of the invention of wampum. But the Long Island Indians were byfar the greatest producers along our northern coast. Their sandy flatsand marshes teemed with sea life, and, when the Dutch first came to NewAmsterdam, their island went by the name of _sewan hacky_, or the "landof the sewan shell, " so numerous were the sewan manufactories upon it. Without doubt production was stimulated beyond its natural limits by thedemand from powerful tribes from the main land, who found it easier toexact wampum as tribute from their weak neighbors, than personally toengage in its laborious coinage. Hazard, in his collection of statepapers, states, that the Narragansetts frequently compelled largetributes in wampum from the Long Island Indians. The Pequots also formany years prior to 1637, exacted large annual contributions from thesame tribes while they were still further subject to the levies of theimperious Mohawks. Thus the mint of wealth at their very doors became toits possessors the source of untold misery. Constant fear kept themtoiling at the mines, while the scanty proceeds of their labor onlyquickened the greed of their savage masters. The number and extent ofthe sewan manufactories upon Long Island may be inferred from thefrequent and immense shell heaps left by the Indians in all of whichscarcely a whole shell is to be found. Occasionally the whole shellswere carried over to the main land and there wrought. From Sewan-Hackydown the Atlantic coast and along the gulf, the shaded covers and quietbanks were doubtless dotted with wampum manufactories, for there was agreat demand constantly to be met. The inland tribes were of course unable to produce their own wampum, anddepended for their supply upon the coast tribes. A brisk trade thusarose between the coast and interior. Hides and furs were brought downto clothe the denser population of the shore, and wampum carried backin exchange. [10] Often, however, the inland tribes were able to pouncedown and wring this precious material from its carriers in the form oftribute. Wampum is often spoken of as "Indian money. " This expression ifreferring to colonial times is perfectly proper, but must be receivedwith caution in the consideration of ante-colonial days. The barbarian, dwelling in independent isolation, satisfies the majority of his wantsby direct effort and not by an interchange of services, nor tillcivilization has considerably advanced can we look for any generalsystem of exchanges with the mutual dependence and mutual benefits whichsuch a system involves. So attractive an article as wampum was doubtlesseagerly sought in barter, and would readily procure for its possessorwhatever else he might desire. Indeed we know that it was the means ofan extensive trade between the coast and the interior, the inlandIndians bringing down hides and furs to be exchanged for the wampum ofthe shore. All this, however, was in the way of barter, and we cannothence infer that the idea of a medium or money crept into the limitedcircle of the redman's wants and satisfactions. His circumstances didnot demand and would not therefore suggest it. Wampum was the gold ofthe aborigine. But he had yet to learn that the value of gold residesnot alone in its glitter. The ancient Peruvians dwelt amid mountains ofgold, but the idea of a circulating medium never dawned upon them. Inlike manner, the Indian had never learned that use of his golden wampumwhich was the first to suggest itself to the white man. He made andvalued it for other purposes. A fondness for personal display and decoration are characteristic ofuncivilized life, and wampum was well adapted to satisfy this weaknessof the Indian. It was every where used for adornment of the person. Thehumblest proudly wore his trifle, while the more favored ones were wontto decorate themselves in countless gay and fantastic ways. It wasoftenest worn about the neck in strings of the length of a rosary, thenumber of strings being determined by the means or social position ofthe wearer. [11] Bracelets and necklaces were other forms in which it wasfrequently displayed. With the females, head-dresses, consisting ofbands of wampum twined about the head and gathering up their abundanttresses, were an especial delight. A border of beads greatly enhancedthe value of any garment, and outer clothing was usually thusornamented. Indeed the wealthy and powerful wore cloaks, as also apronsand caps, thickly studded with wampum wrought into various fantasticforms and figures. Says that old voyager, John Josselyn, "PrincePhillip, a little before I came to England [1671], coming to Boston, hadon a coat and buskins thick set with these beads in pleasant wildworks. " The moccasin was also, as at the present day, the recipient ofmuch taste and skill. More of a luxury and confined mostly to sachems and sagamores was thewampum belt, alternate white and purple strings attached in rows to adeerskin base, and worn as a belt about the waist, or thrown over theshoulders like a scarf. Ordinary belts consisted of twelve rows of onehundred and eighty beads each, but they increased in length and breadthwith the social importance of the wearer. As many as ten thousand beadsare known to have been wrought into a single war belt four inches wide. The regular alternation of white and purple rows was not always adopted, but birds and beasts and such other rustic fantasies as suited theowner's taste, were often interwoven with the different colors. One ofKing Philip's belts surrendered by the Sagamore Annawon to Capt. Church, was nine inches wide, of sufficient length when placed about Capt. Church's shoulders to reach to his ancles, and curiously inwrought withfigures of birds, beasts and flowers. From another belt of no lessexquisite workmanship and designed to be worn about the head, two flagsfell in graceful folds upon the shoulders. A third and smaller one had astar embroidered upon its end, and was to be worn upon the breast. Thehaughty old chief was wont to adorn his person with these insignia whenhe sat in state among his subjects. They symbolized, by strikingemblems, his might and prowess, and kindled in beholders feelings andemotions that royal pomp and purple could not awake. The idea ofgaudiness is apt to associate itself in our minds with Indian trappings, but we must confess that the simple grace and force of these rusticadornments would put to shame many a glittering article of more modernwear. But wampum strings and belts subserved other equally important uses. They were among the Indian race the universal bonds of nations andindividuals, the inviolable and sacred pledges of word and deed. Nopromise was binding unless confirmed by gifts of wampum. The youngwarrior declared his passion for his Indian maid, by presenting wampumchains and belts, and her acceptance of the proffered present sealed themarriage compact. [12] Like tokens accompanied every weighty message, and little reliance was put upon the messenger who brought not with himsuch assurances of good faith. [13] They cemented friendships, confirmedalliances, sealed treaties, and effectually effaced the memory ofinjuries. [14] A curious ceremonial had grown up in their presentation onstate occasions. When ambassadors set out for another nation, they borebefore them the calumet, or pipe of peace, in evidence of their pacificpurpose and to secure protection for their journey, and also belts ofwampum to be submitted in confirmation of their proposals, or, if theirpeople had been worsted in battle to atone for injuries and purchasepeace. In the great council assembled to receive them, the orator of theembassy rose and unfolded the object of their visit, corroborating eachimportant statement and proposal at its close by laying down wampumbelts. If his words were pleasing, and the presents taken from theground in evidence thereof, similar presents were given in return, andthe contract sealed with the smoking of the calumet and the burial ofthe hatchet in the midst. Among the Six Nations, whenever the councilfailed to adjust the difficulty or when for any other reason peace wasto be interrupted, war was proclaimed by striking a tomahawk painted redand ornamented with black wampum, into the war post in each village ofthe league. [15] To illustrate what we have said, we subjoin the following account of aninterview between Sir William Johnson, the noted Indian agent and theSix Nations, among whom this ceremony survived even after their decline. "At a meeting of the Six Nations and their allies at Fort Johnson, Feb. 18, 1756, Sir William Johnson said: _Brethren of the Six Nations_, I have heard with great concern that a war party of the Senecas, the most remote nation of the confederacy, have had a considerable misunderstanding with their brethren the English to the southward, which has been fatal to some of that nation. I am extremely unable to express my sorrow for that unhappy affair, and as the hatchet remains fixed in your heads, I do with the greatest tenderness and affection remove it thence. A belt. _Brethren_, With this belt I cleanse and purify the beds of those who fell in that unfortunate affair from the defilement they have contracted. A belt. _Brethren_, I am informed that on that occasion you lost three of your powerful warriors. I do with this belt cover their dead bodies that they may not offend our sight any more and bury the whole affair in oblivion. A belt. ANSWER OF THE SIX NATIONS AND THEIR ALLIES. _Brother Warraghiyagey_, We the sachems and warriors of the Seneca nation return to you our sincere thanks for your great affection in drying our tears and driving sorrow from our hearts, and we in return perform the same ceremony to you with the like hearty affection. A string of wampum. _Brother Warraghiyagey_, We are sensible of your goodness expressed to us in removing the cause of our grief and tenderly taking the axe out of our heads. A belt. After several more speeches and presentations by the Senecas, the other nations in turn presented belts. In 1748, the general had given them a large belt upon which was an emblem of the Six Nations joined hand in hand with the English. This the speaker then took and said: _Brother Warraghiyagey_, Look with all attention on this belt and remember the solemn and mutual engagements we entered into when you first took upon you the management of our affairs. Be assured we look upon them as sound and shall on our part punctually perform them as long as we remain a people. A prodigious large belt. Taking up another large belt formerly given them by the governor of New York, he said: _Brother Warraghiyagey_, We hope our brethren, the English, will seriously remember the promises made us by this belt and exactly perform them, and we promise to do the same though we have no record but our memories. A very large belt. "[16] The belts received at treaties, councils and other assemblies wereentrusted for presentation to the care of one individual, usually thesachem, who was expected to keep in mind the occasion and purport ofeach, which he could readily do by the aid of the devices emblematic ofthe event it signalized that were traced upon each. [17] Thus a beltpresented to Sir Wm. Johnson by the Six Nations, had wrought upon it thesun, the emblem of light, and symbols of the Six Nations. It signifiedthat their minds were now illumined by the clear bright light of truthand their intention to abide in the light. [17] In a belt presented atEaston, His Majesty King George was figured taking hold of the king ofthe Six Nations with one hand, and the king of the Delawares with theother. A belt presented by the Indians of Eastern Maine as a pledge oftheir friendship and fidelity to the United States and the king ofFrance was explained as follows: The belt was thirteen rows wide torepresent the United States, and had upon it a cross indicating France, and several white figures denoting the different Indian villages. [18]The Indian like other young languages drew closer to nature than thedusty abstractions of civilization. It was highly figurative and themajority of its words referred directly to familiar external sights. Thetribes of each nation of the Iroquois were known respectively as theWolf, Bear, Beaver, Turtle, Deer, Snipe, Heron and Hawk. The significantnames of chiefs are known to all, and whoever is familiar with Indianoratory will readily recollect its garb of bold and striking metaphors. These features, while imparting energy to the language, at the sametime made it easy to convey its meaning by picture writing orsymbolism, the only mode of writing which the aborigine possessed. [19]Thus, too, it was easy to put upon a belt a few significant characterswhich by the principle of mental association should clearly depict thesalient features of an event or of a series of events. Such beltscarefully preserved served as the annals of a nation. They were the onlyauthentic history of the past, recalling the treaties, councils, triumphs and domestic celebrations of former generations. At statedtimes their custodian, the sachem, was accustomed to gather the youngerwarriors about him, and unfolding to them the secrets locked up inthese mysterious records, instruct them in the history and engagementsof their tribe. The old soldier's breast glowed with honest pride, as herecounted to his young braves the exploits of their sires, or exhibitedthe proud tokens of submission forced from some ancient enemy, and mostof all when he came to dwell upon scenes conspicuous for his own valorand reddened by his blood. And as the impetuous youths drank in theglorious story of their father's might and valor on the war path, theresprang up within them a patriotism "that grew by what it fed on. " In theextensive confederation of the Iroquois, Hono Wenato, an Onondagasachem, was the hereditary keeper of the wampum. Whenever the grandcouncil met to fill a vacancy in the sachemship of a tribe of anynation, it was his duty publicly to repeat to the new sachem theirancient laws and usages, and to unfold to him the structure andprinciples of the league, as recorded in the belts committed to hischarge. [20] Wampum played an important part in religious as well as civilceremonies. On occasions of great public calamities, it formed the mostacceptable sacrifice that could be offered to the terrible Hobbamocko, the author of evil, and it entered largely into the mystic rites of allthose weird assemblies that gathered under the shades of the forest. When evil threatened or its farther progress was to be stayed, as alsoafter great triumphs and abundant harvests, the Indians gathered fromfar and near to celebrate their mysteries. They danced for days, paintedand clad in hideous guise, about a great fire, the throne of thedivinity, and with wild and frantic yells cast from time to time intothe flames furs and weapons, and that choicest of their treasures thecostly wampum. Nay it was even whispered in the early time, that littlechildren gaily adorned with wampum were led into the midst and thrustinto the fiery embrace of the hissing god. [21] The practice of theIroquois was less fearful, among whom a string of white wampum was hungaround the neck of a white dog suspended to a pole and offered as asacrifice to the mighty Haweuneyn. The wampum was a pledge of theirsincerity, and white an emblem of purity and of faith. In the samenation, previous to "giving thanks to the Maple, " and their other statedfestivals, the people assembled for the mutual confession of their sins. "The meeting was opened by one of the 'keepers of the faith, ' with anaddress upon the propriety and importance of acknowledging their evildeeds to strengthen their minds against future temptations. He then tooka string of white wampum in his hand, and set the example by aconfession of his own faults, after which he handed the string to theone nearest to him, who received it, made his confession in like manner, and passed it to another. In this way the wampum went around from handto hand, and those who had confessions to make, stated wherein they haddone wrong, and promised to do better in the future. Old and young, men, women and even children, all united in this public acknowledgment oftheir faults, and joined in the common resolution of amendment. On someoccasions the string of wampum was placed in the centre of the room, andeach one advanced in turn to perform the duty as the inclination seizedhim. A confession and promise without holding the wampum would be of noavail. It was the wampum which recorded their words and gave theirpledge of sincerity. The object of the confession was futureamendment. "[22] Wampum was the tribute paid by the vanquished in war, as also the meansby which threatened wars were often averted. The Long Island Indians formany years paid an annual tribute to the Pequots, a powerful tribedwelling in Eastern Connecticut. [23] It is commonly supposed that thesetribes were also tributary to the Six Nations. To the same great powerwere subject the clans between the Hudson and the Connecticut, and everyyear two aged but haughty Mohawks might be seen going from village tovillage to collect the tribute that was their due. It is asserted thatas late as 1756, a small tribe near Sugar Loaf Mountain made an annualpayment to this nation of £20 in wampum. Individual as well as nationalobligations were similarly satisfied. Like the early German, the Indianset a marketable value on human life, and a suitable present of wampumon the part of the murderer, if accepted, freed him from the vengeanceof the dead man's friends, for the wampum belt washed away all traces ofthe bloody stain. [24] Perhaps desire for another's wampum sometimesprompted him to such foul deeds, as it did the white man, [25] thoughhappily the Indian seldom stooped to theft. Thus in the rude civilization of the aborigine wampum filled a spaceaccorded to no one article in our own. Through life it faithfully metall his varied wants, and when he came to die, his friends placed itabout his dead body, [26] that it might befriend him on his journey tothe spirit land, and on his arrival there gain for him admission to therealms of the god Kiehtan, the abode of the blessed. The shrewd commercial instinct of the Dutch colonists was quick toprofit by wampum in their dealings with the aborigines. Happily its mostextensive producers dwelt at their very doors. They obtained from theLong Island tribes in return for knives, scissors, hatchets and thelike, great quantities of this novel coinage, and then exchanged it withthe Indians of the mainland for hides and furs, often plunging far intothe interior and drawing thence products which gold could never have wonfrom their possessors. Did common trifles fail, wampum was the unfailingreserve whose charms the savage was powerless to resist. With such anadjutant trade became doubly flourishing and lucrative. Posts sprang upalong the Hudson, in the valley of the Connecticut and as far south asthe Schuylkill, through all of which ceaseless revenues poured into thecoffers of the Dutch West India Company. Connecticut, alone, annuallyfurnished to her traders ten thousand beaver skins. [27] In all thistraffic wampum played a leading part, so much so in fact that fur tradeand wampum trade became synonymous terms. Toward the close of September, 1627, Isaac de Rasieres was dispatchedfrom New Amsterdam on an embassy to the English colony at New Plymouth. Being of a trading turn, he carried with him in his vessel among othermerchandise about £50 in wampum which he managed to dispose ofthere. [28] Wampum was as yet comparatively unknown in Massachusetts Bay, and the colonists were ignorant of its uses. This purchase made withgreat reluctance, they sent to their trading house at Kennebeck, where"when the inland Indians came to know it, they could scarce procureenough for many years together. " Everywhere in New England, as in theDutch provinces, wampum soon became a leading article in the Indiantrade, and added greatly to its profits. Seven years after itsintroduction to Kennebeck, Mr. Winslow carried thence into England abouttwenty hogsheads of beaver, "the greater part whereof was traded forwampampeage" during the year. By 1636 this trade had grown to suchproportions in Massachusetts colony that the standing colony wereauthorized to farm it out for the increase of the public revenues, andto establish the severest penalties for any infringement of theprivileges thus granted. The traders of New England were now ranging theforests in all directions and often plunged into them for hundreds ofmiles to the great alarm of the Dutch who feared that the English wouldmonopolize all the profits of the trade, and that "they should beobliged to eat oats out of English hands. "[29] From the north the Frenchdescended in great numbers, eager to share in the gains of this traffic, and often encroached upon the domains of other nations. The solitudes ofthe wilderness thus resounded every where to the tread of theadventurous white man, who, lured on by the hope of gain, thought not ofthe dangers that beset his path. It doubtless afforded the Indian nolittle satisfaction to welcome the haughty foreigner to his wigwam, andwhile dictating his own terms, to receive in payment the honoredcurrency of his fathers. When he took his pay, he measured it off afterhis own fashion, the unit being the distance from the elbow to the endof the little finger. According to one authority it made no differencewhether a short or tall man measured it. [30] Adrian Van Tiedhoven, clerkof the court at the South river, however tells a different story, complaining bitterly "because the Indians always take the largest andtallest among them to trade with us. " But hides and furs were not the only articles which wampum purchasedfrom the natives. It was a frequent consideration in early Indian deeds. In the records of Windsor, Conn. , is preserved a deed, which conveysterritory lying between the Podunk and Scantic rivers, and extending aday's march into the country, the price paid for which was fifteenfathoms of wampum and twenty cloth coats. Most of the present towns ofWarwick and Coventry in Rhode Island, were purchased of Miantinomi, sachem of the Narragansetts, for one hundred and forty-four fathoms ofwampum. [31] In New England the limits of the trade were considerably extended by thequantities of wampum tribute which poured into the hands of the colonialauthorities. Wampum was the commodity in which tribute was universallypaid, and the stern justice of our fathers imposed this with no sparinghand upon their weak and erring neighbors. In 1634, the Pequots werefined 400 fathoms of wampum, and two years afterwards 600 fathomsmore. [32] After 1637, the Long Island Indians paid a large yearlytribute to the united commissioners, [33] as did also the BlockIslanders. It is often difficult, as in the present case, to see thejustice of such exactions. These Indians had been guilty of nounfriendly act, and the utmost urged in extenuation of the impositionwas the flimsy pretence that but for an alleged protection the same sumswould have gone in fealty to their red brethren. In 1644, theNarragansetts were fined 2000 fathoms, and doomed to pay yearlythereafter a fathom for every Pequot man, half a fathom for every youthand a hand breadth for every child in the tribe. As late as 1658, [34]the Pequots were fined ten fathoms a man, and one of their numberimprisoned for offering refuse wampum in part payment. [35] This tribehad suffered so many and severe exactions that they were obliged tosearch in all directions for the material out of which to manufacturetheir wampum, and occasionally crossed over to Long Island for thispurpose. The Montauk sachem fearing that his shores would be exhaustedof their shelly wealth, opposed these visits, until the Pequotssucceeded in securing the interposition of the united commissioners intheir behalf. [36] In 1663, the assessment upon this tribe was fixed at80 fathoms. Such are a few of the many instances to be found in therecords, showing the enormous amount of wampum paid as tribute by thenatives to the early authorities of New England. The Dutch supply was augmented in a different manner. They soon foundthe native manufactories inadequate to the demand and erected mints oftheir own, and by introducing steel drills and polishing lathes won agreat advantage over the original wearisome hand processes. The Frenchsought a still greater advantage by substituting porcelain for shells, but the Indians were not to be thus easily imposed upon, and themanufacture of earthen money was soon given up. [37] It is sometimesasserted that the English engaged in making wampum, though the statementappeared to be without foundation. The Dutch, however, produced it inlarge quantities, and were thereby enabled to enlarge the circle oftheir own posts; and also to furnish liberal supplies to the traders, north and south, who ranged over the entire Atlantic coast from the St. Lawrence to the gulf. In Virginia, the Carolinas, and later in Georgia, wampum was the chief medium employed in the fur trade. The poverty of the early settlers, added to that short sighted and nowobsolete policy of Europe in the seventeenth century, which jealouslysought to keep all specie within her borders, produced a general dearthof the precious metals in the currency of the New World, and all kindsof shifts were made to eke out the scanty supply. Corn, wheat, oats, peas, poultry and the like sufficed to satisfy any obligation. But then, though answering well in cases of barter, where two mutual desires met, were far too bulky and unwieldy for general use. Naturally then recoursewas had to an article in extensive use among the traders, and possessingin a measure the portability of gold and silver, and _wampum_ became aconstituent part of the currency. In one feature at least, the oldcivilization held its own beside the new. As early as 1637, wampum wasmade a legal tender in Massachusetts for any sum under 12_d. _, at therate of six beads for a penny. [38] The same year it became a legaltender in Connecticut for any amount. The general court declaring itreceivable for taxes "at fousen (4) a penny. "[39] But coin grew scarcer in Massachusetts and shell money increased invalue, till in 1640, the authorities were compelled to adopt thevaluation of Connecticut, ordering that the white pass at four and the"bleuse" at two a penny, "and not above 12_d. _ at a time except thereceiver desire more. "[40] The public needs soon required anotherchange, and the legality of shell currency rose to £10. [41] This novelcoinage, thus regulated from time to time, answered well for moneythroughout the colonies, till after a while trouble arose from anunexpected source. The enormous demand at length brought upon the marketbeads of stone or unallowed shells, as also many rough, ill-strungspecimens of the genuine article. The disorder was aggravated, becausethe Indians, who best understood the qualities of their wampum, wouldtake only the genuine from the traders, while the refuse was thrown backinto the circulation of the colonies. The commissioners of the UnitedColonies being appealed to for a remedy recommended to the separategovernments to suppress this poor "peage" by law. Accordingly in 1648, the general courte of Connecticut ordered "that no peage, white orblack, be paid or received, but what is strung and in some measurestrung suitably, and not small and great, uncomely and disorderly mixt, as formerly it hath beene. "[42] A similar order was passed inMassachusetts, where it was further enacted to prepare this Indian moneyfor ready use, that it be "suitably strung in eight known parcells, 1_d. _ 3_s. _ 12_d. _ 5_s. _ in white; 2_d. _ 6_s. _ 6_d. _ and 10_s. _ inblacke. "[43] Another favorite length was the fathom, containing 360beads and current at about 10_s. _ Thus during these years shell moneywas current throughout New-England, and constituted, doubtless, the bestand most convenient portion of the currency. The government received itfor taxes, the farmer for his produce, the merchant for his wares, andthe laborer for his hire. It formed a frequent item in the inventoriesof deceased colonists, being often the only cash mentioned. It evenfound its way into the coffers of Harvard college, for we read that thelease of the wampum trade in Massachusetts was attended with theobligation to take from the college the wampum which it might have onhand from time to time. [44] In the forest, likewise, it now circulatedas money, for the Indian was quick to copy the white man's use of hisbeads. Toward the middle of the century wampum reached its highest value inNew-England. Thereafter the increasing prosperity of the colonies, thedomestic coinage of silver, and perhaps the too extensive manufacture ofthe shell money, gradually diminishing its value, drove it fromcirculation. In 1650, it was refused in payment of country rates inMassachusetts. [45] This action of the government naturally createddistrust among the people, to counteract which it was ordered that"peage" should still "remagne pawable from man to man, according to thelaw in force. " Close upon this followed another decree, limiting it as alegal tender to 40 shillings. [46] These laws continued in force till1661, when wampum was declared to be no longer a legal tender inMassachusetts. [47] Rhode Island passed a similar decree the nextyear[48] and Connecticut, probably, soon afterwards. But though wampumnow ceased to be legally current, it lingered among the people for yearsand constituted in great part the small change of the community. As lateas 1704, it was a common mode of payment in country places. [49] Shell money was used extensively and for a long time in the Dutchcolonies. Here for a while absolutely no coin was in circulation, andwampum being the feasible substitute was universally adopted. So greatwas the popular demand, that even the unstrung wampum, prohibited in theeastern colonies, passed at but a trifling discount. [50] For many yearsthe easy-going government at New Amsterdam does not seem to haveregulated the currency by law, as did its more thorough neighbors, andthe amount of wampum requisite to make a stiver, was left to bedetermined by the parties concerned. Such a course was fraught withinconvenience to the public, and frequent petitions were made for theestablishment of some uniform rate. [51] The rate, however, which obtained by common consent, was four of thestrung and six of the loose beads for a stiver. [52] But in 1641, therecame from foreign parts an inundation of "nasty, rough" sewan, whichdrove the better sort out of circulation, "nay, " so runs the record, "threatened the ruin of the country, " and legislation was imperativelydemanded. This inferior article was therefore condemned to pass fivefor a stiver during the following month, and afterwards six, at whichrate the loose, unstringed wampum, which served the community as change, subsequently circulated. [53] The importance of wampum during these yearsis well illustrated by the fact that the opulent West India Company in1664, sought to negotiate a loan of five or six thousand guilders in it, wherewith to pay the laboring people, the obligation to be satisfiedwith _good negroes_ or other goods. [54] The Dutch succumbed to superiorforce, but wampum still held its own. It continued to be the chiefcurrency not only in New York, but in the many settlements to the westand south, which were then under the control of the authorities at NewYork. In 1672, the inhabitants of Hoanskill and New Castle on theDelaware, having been plundered by Dutch privateers were permitted bythe government at New York to lay an impost of four guilders, in wampum, upon each anker of strong rum imported or sold there. [55] A guilder, which was about six pence currency or four pence sterling, consisted oftwenty stivers, and eight beads were reckoned equal to one stiver. Asheretofore there was little or no certain coin in circulation and wampumpassed for current payment in all cases. Indeed the country was sodrained of even this currency by the Indian trade, that there wasdifficulty in obtaining a sufficiency. To remedy this state of affairs, the governor and council of New York were in 1673 constrained to issuetheir proclamation which was published at Albany, Esopus, Delaware, LongIsland and the adjacent parts, commanding that "instead of eight whiteand four black (beads), six white and three black should pass for astiver; and three times so much the value of silver. "[56] The contributions in the churches were for many years made in wampum, and the first church on the Jersey shore was built with fundscontributed in this way from Sabbath to Sabbath. As late as 1683, "theschoolmaster in Flatbush was paid his salary in wheat, wampum value: Hewas bound to provide a basin of water for the purpose of baptism, forwhich he received from the parents or sponsors twelve stivers inwampum. "[57] Nor ten years later had the money of the aborigines becomewholly supplanted by gold and silver, for we learn that "in 1693, theferriage of each single person from New York to Brooklyn was eightstivers in wampum, or a silver two-pence. "[58] Further than this we areunable to trace, though we have good reason to believe that itcirculated, to a limited extent, for some time thereafter. Thus while the Indian declined in power his simple coinage passed fromhand to hand, among his conquerors, in the haunts where unnumberedgenerations of his ancestors had trafficked it in rude barter, oroffered it with solemn ceremonial, their costliest offering, to theircountry's gods. It was for about a quarter of a century a legal tenderin New England, while among the Dutch it was during half a century oftenthe only circulating medium, and among both Dutch and English it filleda more or less important part in the currency for nearly an entirecentury. When at length the increasing wealth of the people drove wampum out ofcommon use, it still remained an important article in commerce. It wasmanufactured at New York until the commencement of the present centuryto be used in traffic with the Indians, for whom it had lost none of itscharms, and to be carried by our whalers into the northern seas. Treaties and compacts between the different tribes and the states, andlater the general government, continued to be ratified by theinterchange of wampum belts. The records of the eighteenth centuryabound with instances of this character. The last occasion of the kindis believed to have been at Prairie du Chien in 1825. [59] Among the Indians of the present day wampum is unknown. The name stillremains, but the trifles to which it is applied bear no resemblance tothe ancient article. The glass beads now current as wampum and theoriginal wampum are not less unlike, than the squalid Blackfoot of ourwestern plains, and the proud and imperious Mohawk, beside his nativestream. FOOTNOTES: [1] Trumbull in his notes in the Narragansett Club Reprint of RogerWilliams's _Key_, says: "_Wom pam_ was the name of the white beadscollectively; when strung or wrought in girdles they constituted_wanôm-peg_ [Roger Williams], the _wampon-peage_ of Wood and other earlywriters. " _Peage_ or _peake_ signified simply "strung beads, " and _wampom-peage_accordingly signified "strings of white beads. " The English were doubtless led to consider _wampum_ a generic word, because they heard it oftenest used, _wampum_ being much more abundantthan _suckáuhock_. Their error has however long since received thesanction of usage. But as far as our own knowledge extends there was nocomprehensive word for all shell beads in use among the Indians. _Sewan_had perhaps very nearly such a use in certain localities, but the realmeaning of the word _sewan_ appears from the following note in theNarragansett Club Reprint of Roger Williams's _Key_:--"_Seahwhóog_, 'they are scattered' [Elliot]. From this word the Dutch traders gave thename of _sewared_ or _zeewand_ [the participle, _seahwhóun_, 'scattered, ' 'loose'], to _all_ shell money just as the English calledall _peage_, or string beads, by the name of the white or _wampom_. " [2] Sometimes from the _Buccinum undulatum_ [Möll], found from Nantucketto Labrador, and occasionally perhaps from the _Natica heros_ [Say]found from New York to Labrador, and the _Natica duplicata_ found fromFlorida to Massachusetts Bay. In this connection the writer would acknowledge his indebtedness to Hon. J. Hammond Trumbull, a gentleman who has given much time and talent tothe investigation of matters of Indian history. [3] Many writers have asserted that wampum was worked out of the insideof the Great Conque shell. This view is evidently erroneous, as theGreat Conque, _Strombus gigas_ [Linn. ], is not found on the Atlanticcoast, north of Florida and the West Indies, except in the fossil state. The assertion that wampum is an Iroquois word, meaning a "muscle, " isdoubtless equally unfounded. Roger Williams [_Key_, chap. Xxiv], who certainly had fine opportunitiesfor observation, and our other most trustworthy authorities, state thatthe _Suckáuhock_ was made from the clam shell, and the _wampum_ from theshells of the Periwinkle, and such was unquestionably the case. [4] Roger Williams's _Key_, chap. Xxiv. [5] Gordon, _Hist. Of Penn. _, Appendix F. [6] See Schoolcraft's report on the Grove Creek Mound in vol. I, of_Transactions of the Am. Ethnological Soc. _ [7] _League of the Iroquois_, p. 120. [8] The otekóa of the Iroquois was the only exception of which we know. [9] Roger Williams's _Key_, chap. Xxiv. [10] Roger Williams's _Key_, chap. Xxiv. [11] For an excellent illustration of the different modes of wearingwampum, see the plates in that admirable work, _Harriot's Virginia_, written in 1586, and published in 1590, in the first volume of De Bry's_Voyages_. [12] Trumbull's _Hist. Of Connecticut_, I, p. 50. [13] "It is obvious to all who are the least acquainted with Indianaffairs, that they regard no message or invitation, be it of whatconsequence it will, unless attended or confirmed by strings or belts ofwampum, which they look upon as we our letters or ratherbonds. "--_Letter of Sir Wm. Johnson_, 1753. _Doc. Hist. Of N. Y. _, vol. II, p. 624. [14] As late as 1720, a belt was brought into Connecticut from someplace at the south called Towattowan, and circulated very generallyamong the Indians, to the alarm of the colony, "the assembly caused someinquiries to be made into the mystery, and an Indian, namedTapanranawko, testified that the belt was in token that at each placewhere it was accepted, captive Indians would be received and sold. Hesaid that it would be sent back to Towattowan, which was a great way tothe south, and was inhabited by a large tribe of Indians. The assemblyresolved that the Indians should be directed to send it back whence itcame, and should be charged not to receive such presents in futurewithout giving notice to the magistrates. "--DeForest's _Hist. Of Indiansof Conn. _, p. 349. [15] _League of the Iroquois_, p. 339. [16] Documents relating to the _Colonial History of New York_, vol. VII, p. 44. [17] _League of the Iroquois_, p. 120. [18] _Eastern Maine and Nova Scotia in the Revolution_, Kidder, p. 286. [19] It is interesting in this connection to notice the manner in whichthe chiefs affixed their names to early deeds. In the deed of New Havengiven by the Quinnipiacs [see Appendix IV, DeForest's Indians of Conn. ], may be seen as autographs, an arrow, a bow, a drawn bow, a war club, atobacco pipe, a snake, a wolf (apparently), a wild fowl, etc. , etc. [20] _League of the Iroquois_, p. 119. [21] President Stiles's _Itinerary_, unpublished. [22] _League of the Iroquois_, page 188. [23] Thomson's _Long Island_, p. 62. [24] _League of the Iroquois_, p. 331. [25] It is stated in _Winthrop's Journal_ [p. 147 and after], that fourservants of Plymouth were condemned and hung upon their own confessionof having murdered an Indian to obtain his wampum. [26] In the tomb, apparently of a chief, in the Grove Creek Mound, 1700beads were found around the remains of a skeleton, and such deposits arefrequently found in opening old graves. [27] Winthrop, I, 113. [28] Bradford's _Letters_, _Mass. Hist. Collections_, III, 54. [29] _Doc. Rel. To Colonial History of New York_, I, 459. [30] Lawson's _History of North Carolina_, ed. Of 1714, page 315. [31] Rhode Island _Colonial Records_, I, 130. [32] _Winthrop_, pages 147, 149 and 192. [33] Thompson's _Long Island_, page 62. [34] _Hazard_, II, page 413. [35] _Hazard_, III, page 44. [36] _Hazard_, II, pages 387 and 388. [37] Thompson's _Long Island_, page 60. [38] _Records of Mass. _, I, 238. Where only one rate is mentioned, ashere, we are probably to understand the white, and deduct one-half forthe black or blue. [39] _Colonial Records of Conn. _, I, 12. [40] _Records of Mass. _, I, p. 302. [41] _Ibid. _, p. 329. [42] _Col. Records of Conn. _, I, 179. [43] _Records of Mass. _, II, 261. [44] _Records of Mass. _, I, 323. [45] _Records of Mass. _, II, 279. [46] _Ibid. _, IV, p. 36. [47] _Records of Mass. _, IV, part 2, pages 4, 5. [48] _R. Island Colonial Records_, I, page 474. [49] Madam Knight's _Journal_, written in 1704, page 43. [50] _Doc. Relating to the Colonial Hist. Of New York_, I, 474. [51] _Ibid. _, p. 336. [52] _Ibid. _, p. 425. [53] O'Callaghan's _New Netherland_, I, 230. [54] _Doc. Col. Hist. Of New York_, II, p. 371. [55] Proud's _Hist. Of Pennsylvania_, I, page 133. [56] Hazzard's _Annals of Pennsylvania_. [57] O'Callaghan's _New Netherland_, I, 61. [58] O'Callaghan's _New Netherland_, I, _ibid. _ [59] Schoolcraft's _Notes on the Iroquois_. Transcriber's Note: Archaic spellings have been retained. Abbreviations have been normalised. Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note, whilst more significant amendments are listed below: P. 10, "Pyrula canicalata" to _Pyrula caniculata_. P. 11n, "Great Congue" to _Great Conque_, could be amended to _Great Conch_ however the former seems more in keeping with the original intent.