THOMAS.] SIMILARITY OF SHELL ORNAMENTS. 685 



tied l)itter cas.?cH«. The Creeks used it in 1778 in one of their evening entertain- 

 ments at Altassa, where, after the assemlily were seated in the council, illuminated 

 Uy their mystical cane fire in the center, two middle-aged men came together, each 

 having a very large conch shell full of black drink, advancing with slow, uniform, 

 and steady steps, their eyes and countenances lifted up, and singing very low, but 

 sweetly, till they came within (i or 8 steps of the king's and white people's seats, 

 when they stopped, and each rested his shell upon a little table; but soon taking it 

 up again advanced, and each pi'eseuted his shell, one to the king and the other to 

 the chief of the white people. 



The shells used tor this purpose appear to have been chiefly Bmycon 

 perrersum and Cwinin flammca. 



Specimeus of these species, prepared for use as drinking cups, have 

 been found in mounds and ancient graves in most of the Southern states 

 and also as far north as Wisconsin. Clay vessels made in imitation of 

 them have also been found.' 



A fact worth noticing in this connection is that a specimen of Busy 

 con perversvm obtained tiom a mound in Arkansas (see Fig. i;J3) has an 

 elaborate ornamental design engraved on the outer surface. As it is evi- 

 dent that this particular species was used by the Indians for sacred 

 drinking cups, and, as will hereafter be shown, there are the best of 

 reasons for believing the mounds of that part of Arkansas where this 

 specimen was found were built by Indians, we connect the most ad- 

 vanced art of the mound builders with the Indians. 



I call special attention to these little details, as they are illustrative 

 of a multitude of minute threads which seem to bind these two peoples 

 together. It is in the details we are to find the strong proofs of the 

 theory we are contending for. 



The shell beads form another of these threads of evidence. The man- 

 ufacture and use of shell beads is common among unenlightened peo- 

 ples, and hence the fact that both mound-builders and Indians made use 

 of them is nothing in point. But when we come to note the particular 

 ibrms and find that there are characteristics by which the prehistoric 

 specimens of the Mississippi valley and Gulf states can, as a general 

 rule, be distinguished from those of all other sections of North America, 

 we touch another of those threads of evidence just alluded to. This is 

 further strengthened by the fact that many and probably most of the 

 forms found in the mounds can be traced to the Indians of the same 

 region. 



A number of these forms are mentioned by the old writers, notably 

 Beverly in his History and Present State of Virginia,^ and Lawson 

 in his History of Carolina.' Biedma also notes the fact that among 

 the riches of the Indians of Pacaha (Qua.paws ?) " were beads made of 

 sea snails," thousands of which have been found in the mounds. 



Shell spoons and s<'rapers were used by the Indians and hundreds 

 have been found in the mounds. 



' See Art in Shell, by Mr. Holmes, pp. 194-198, 2d Kept. Bur. Ethn. 

 2 P. 58. LiiiKlon. 1705. Alan cd. 1722, pp. 195-196. 

 3P.315, R.ilpii;h reprint. (1800.) 



