denig] THE ASSINIBOIN 591 



of young men. and are worth in this country $3 for every 10 shells. 

 Frequently three or four hundred are seen on some of the young 

 Crow or Blackfoot women's dresses. The large blue or pearl Cali- 

 fornia shell was once very valuable and still is partially so. It is 

 shaped like an oyster shell and handsomely tinted with blue, green, 

 and golden colors in the inside. One of these used to be worth 

 $20, but of late years, owing to the quantity being introduced by 

 the traders, the price has depreciated to about half that amount. 

 These shells they cut in triangular pieces and wear them as ear 

 pendants. Silver is worn in the shape of arm and wrist bands. Hat 

 bands, gorgets, brooches, ear wheels, finger rings, and ear bobs 

 are mostly in use among the Sioux, the upper nations preferring 

 shells. Other ornaments consist of elk teeth, colored porcupine 

 quills, and feathers of the white plover dyed. Feathers of ravens, 

 owls, hawks, and eagles, furs cut in strips and wrought in various 

 parts of their dress, besides a great variety of trinkets and paints 

 furnished by the traders, among which are brass rings, brass and 

 iron wire, beads, brass hair and breast plates, brass and silver 

 gorgets, wampum moons, hair pipe, St. Lawrence shells, spotted 

 sea shells, hawk bells, horse and sleigh bells, cock and ostrich 

 feathers, thimbles, gold and silver lace, etc. 



Paints and Dyes 



The principal paints sold them are Chinese vermilion, chrome yel- 

 low and verdigris. Out of all these an Indian can please himself, 

 and either buy such as are mentioned, or use the shells, feathers, 

 furs, etc., their own country and labor produces. 



The native dyestuffs for coloring porcupine quills and feathers 

 are as follows: For yellow, they boil the article to be colored with 

 the moss found growing near the root of the pine or balsam fir tree. 

 For red, they in the same way use the stalk of a root called we-sha- 

 sha, the English name of which is unknown to us. They have also 

 some earths and ochers, which by boiling impart a dull red, violet, 

 and blue color, but we are unacquainted with the process and their 

 names in any other language except the Indian. Their native dyes, 

 however, with the exception of the yellow, are superseded by those 

 introduced by the traders, with all but the Crow Indians, who living 

 near and in the Rocky Mountains find several coloring herbs and 

 mineral substances unknown to the other tribes, which produce much 

 better colors than these mentioned. At the present day they all 

 mostly use the clippings of different colored blankets and cloth, 

 which by boiling with the substance to be dyed, communicates the 

 tint of the cloth to it in some degree. Thus rose, green, pale blue, 

 and violet colors are obtained. For black they boil the inner papers 

 in which Chinese vermilion is enveloped. 



