The absurd extreme to which this passion for ornament is carried is well illustrated by an example given by Swan, who, speaking of the tribes north of the Columbia River, says that "some of these girls I have seen with the whole rim of their ears bored full of holes, into each of which would be inserted a string of these shells that reached to the floor, and the whole weighing so heavy that, to save their ears from being pulled off, they were obliged to wear a band across the top of the head."[77]
When, however, beads are found in the graves in quantity, by thousands or tens of thousands, we shall probably have to attribute to them other than ornamental uses.
Captain Tom, of the Nishinam tribe of California, according to Powers,[78] had nearly a half bushel of shell beads and trinkets. One string of these, worn by his wife on special occasions, contained sixteen hundred pieces; but these treasures were hoarded because of their value as money rather than as ornaments.
The wampum belts used by many of the tribes of Indians are known to contain enormous numbers of beads. One of the historical belts kept by the Onondagas among their treasures contains nearly ten thousand beads. The famous belt of William Penn has about three thousand.
Sir John Lubbock, in his "Prehistoric Times," expresses surprise at the great number of beads sometimes found, instancing the Grave Creek mound of Virginia, which contained between three and four thousand. This number will, however, appear very insignificant when compared with a collection such as the costume of the great King Philip could have furnished.
Drake relates that Philip had a coat "made all of wampampeag," which, when in need of money, he "cuts to pieces, and distributes it plentifully among the Nipmoog sachems and others, as well to the eastward as southward, and all round about."[79] By adding to this store of beads the contents of two belts, one of which was nine inches in breadth, and so long that when placed upon the shoulders it reached to the ankles, we conclude that the greatest collection ever taken from a prehistoric mound could not compare for a moment with the treasure of this one historic chieftain.
A great deal of art is shown in the stringing and mounting of beads. The simplest form is a single strand, a twisted string of vegetable fiber, a strip of buckskin, or a bit of sinew being passed through the perforations. Again, rows of strands are placed side by side and fastened at intervals in such a manner as to keep them approximately parallel, or the beads when long are put on equidistant cross strands, the longitudinal strands serving to keep them in place; they are also woven into the fabric by being mounted upon one of the strands before twisting. It is also a very usual practice to sew them on strips of cloth or buckskin, patterns being produced by using beads of different colors. The manner of stringing in the manufacture of belts will be given in detail under Mnemonic Uses of Beads.
BEADS AS CURRENCY.
It will probably be impossible to prove that the prehistoric peoples of North America employed a medium of exchange in a manner corresponding to our use of money. It is a well-known fact, however, that a currency of shell beads was in general use throughout the Atlantic coast region very early in the historic period.
Of all objects within the reach of savage peoples, shells, either in their natural forms or in fragments artificially fashioned for convenience of use, are the best adapted for such a purpose.