| Fig. [200].—The little papoose you can make. | Cradle for papoose. |
Fig. [201]. Wampum, Indian money.
The red men use queer money which they call
Fig. [202]. Buffalo claw cut from wood.
Wampum.
It is made of shells found usually along the borders of rivers and lakes. The Indians cut the thick part of the shell into cylinders about an inch long, bore holes lengthwise through the centres and string them like beads on fine, strong sinews ([Fig. 201]), but this money is not as pretty as glass beads, for it resembles pieces of common clay pipe stems. A certain number of hand-breadths of wampum will buy a gun, a skin, a robe, or a horse, and when presented by one chief to another the wampum means good-will and peace. Of course, you will want to supply your Indians with their own kind of money. You can string the wampum into a necklace and decorate the strand with eagle claws, bright beads, and tufts of gay worsted.
Find some beads much smaller, but as near as possible in color and form to real wampum, and string them with tiny eagle claws made of wood cut like [Fig. 202], only smaller. Paint the claws very dark gray, almost black, and bore a hole through the heavy end with a hat-pin heated red hot. The claws will then string easily and give quite a savage appearance to the necklace ([Fig. 203]).
Let the colored worsted tufts, which must take the place of hair, be bright-red, and the strands of round beads on each side of the necklace of various colors ([Fig. 203]).