HOLMES.] WAMPUM AND OTHER MNEMONIC SYMBOLS. 247 



oil' without touching it with liis hands, afterwards, with a stick, threw 

 it after theiu,as if lie threw a snake or toad out of his way."' 



It is remarkable that other objects were not more frequently used for 

 mnemonic records. We can only explain the partiality shown to wam- 

 pum on the snp])o.sitiou that the idea of value was not entirely lost 

 sight of' and that importance was attached to a record which in itself 

 merited ))reservation. Yet instances of the use of other objects are 

 oiten met with. Parkman states that " the tigures on wampum belts of 

 the Iroquois were for the most part simi)ly mnemonic. So also were 

 those carved in wooden tables, or i)ainted on bark or skin, to preserve 

 iu memory tlie songs of war, hunting-, or magic."' 



At one of the councils at Onondaga in 1090, a treaty was pledged and 

 recorded in wamputn by all the contracting jiarties but the New Eng- 

 land colonies, which sent a wooden model of a fish as a token of their 

 adherence to the terms of the treaty. " 



Hunter, speaking of the manners and customs of the Osages, states 

 that "they use significant emblems, such as the wing of the swan and 

 wild goose, wampum, and pipes, in overtures for peace, while arrows, 

 war clubs, and black and red jjainting, are used as indications or decla- 

 rations of war. Any article, such as a skin painted black, or the wing 

 of a raven, represents the death of friends, and when colored or striped 

 with red, that of enemies. Amongst the Canada Indians when peace 

 was conceded, a reddened hatchet was buried as a symbol of the oblivion 

 of all past hostility between the contracting parties. A mutual ex- 

 change of neck ornaments sealed the treaty after its terms were debated 

 and determined. But all was not j'ct over, for the chiefs on each side 

 I)roftered and accepted i)resents of rare articles, such as calumets of 

 peace, embroidered deer skins, &c. This kind of ceremonial barter be- 

 ing teruiinated to their mutual satisfaction, or otherwise, the conference 

 broke up." ' 



Gumilla says that the Orouoco Indians ratify their treaties with sticks 

 which they give reciprocally,'' and the Araucanians,accordingto Molina, 

 carry in their hands, when they conclude a ]ieace, the branches of a 

 tree, regarded as sacred by them, which they present to each other.'' 



I have already enumerated the various kinds of beads and shown the 

 sources from which they were derived and tlie uses to which they wei'e 

 applied. I have yet to describe the manner in which they are strung 

 or combined in strings and belts. 



The beads chosen as most convenient for stringing or weaving into 

 fabrics were small cylinders from one-eighth to one quarter of an inch 

 in diameter, and from one-quarter to one-half an inch in length. White 

 strings or belts were suflicient for the expression of simple ideas or the 



'Heckewflder: ludian Ntitious, 1870, p. 110. 

 -Pailcm.au: .Tesuits iu North America, p. xxxiii. 

 ''Events in Indian History, Lancaster, Pa., 1841, p. 14:?. 

 *IInuter: Indian Manners and Customs, i>. lO'i. 

 ^Gumilla: Ilistoirc dcOrinoque, Vol. Ill, \t. 91. 

 «Moliiia: History of Chili, Vol. I, p. 119. 



