METALLIC IMPLEME>'TS OF NEW YORK INDIANS 15 



As copper was prized for ornaiiiciital piirpos<*s from the b('<^in- 

 ning: it seems to have been a very acceptable jzift from (^arly 

 voyagers. Auy metallic oriiamciit would not only be priz<Ml bnt 

 preserved, and there is good reason to snjiposr that such thiugs, 

 given to the Irocjuois of Hochelaga and other places by Cartier 

 or his men, were afterward brought to New York. This will 

 appear in its proper place. 



When trade with the Dutch and French opened more fully in 

 the early part of the 17th century, metallic implements and 

 ornaments were in great request. One has only to look ovf^r 

 old bills of supplies and purchases to see how great was their 

 quantity and variety. For ornamental purposes bronze, brass 

 and nearly pure copper long had sway. About the beginning 

 of the ISth century silver began to take its place, and for 150 

 years held its own as the fashionable material. Loskiel spoke 

 of this. ^' The rich adorn their heads with a number of silver 

 trinkets of considerable weight. This mode of finery is not so 

 common among the Delawares as the Iroquois, who, by studying 

 dress and ornament more than any other Indian nation, are 

 allowed to dictate the fashion to the rest." — LosJxM, p. 52 



A great number of forms became common, and all were 

 lavishlv used. Some were verv beautiful and were tastefullv 

 employed. At first they were made by the whites, but the 

 Iroquois soon learned the art and had their own smiths in every 

 village. Such ornaments were abundant till the civil war, 

 when the high price of silver brought many to the smelting pot. 

 It is diflScult to obtain even the smaller ornaments now. 



Prof. Cvrus Thomas has wiselv called attention to the large 

 supply of copper furnished to the coast Indians by early ex- 

 plorers and colonists, and to the use made of it. He says: 



A careful examination of the copper articles found in the 

 mounds should lead any one, not swayed by some preconceived 

 notion, to the conclusion that many of them were made of 

 copper brought over to America by Europeans, which would as 

 a matter of course indicate (if they do not pertain to intrusive 

 burials) that the mounds in which such specimens are found 

 were erected subsequent to the discovery by Columbus. The 



