210 ART IN SHELL OF THE ANCIENT AMERICANS. 



inches in length and one inch wide at the middle of the shank. These 

 came from San Clemente, San Miguel, and Santa Cruz islands, and the 

 mainland about Santa Barbara, and are accompanied by stone imple- 

 ments used in their manufacture. ' 



The natives of Tahiti had fish-hooks made of mother-of-pearl, and 

 every fisherman made them for himself. They generally served for the 

 double purpose of hook and bait. "The shell is first cut into square 

 pieces, by the edge of another shell, and wi-ought into a form corre- 

 sponding with the outline of the hook by pieces of coral, which are suf- 

 ficiently rough to perform the office of a file; a hole is then bored in the 

 middle; the drill being no other than the first stone they pick up that 

 has a sharp corner ; this they fix into the end of a piece of bamboo and 

 turn it between the hands like a chocolate mill; when the shell is per- 

 forated, and the hole sufficiently wide, a small file of coral is introduced, 

 by the application of which the hook is in a short time completed, few 

 costing the artificer more time than a quarter of an hour."* 



The specimens illustrated are made from the thicker portions of species 

 of the Haliotis or of the valves of the dark purplish 3£ytilus californianus. 

 They are handsome objects, their surfaces being well rounded and pol- 

 ished. In the collection there are specimens which illustrate very well 

 the process of manufacture. A series of these is given in Plate XXVIII. 

 Fig. 1 shows a small fragment broken out roughly from the shell, proba- 

 bly by a stone or shell implement. Fig. 2 shows a similar specimen in 

 which an irregular perforation has been made. In Fig. 3 we see a con- 

 siderable advance toward completion ; the hole has been enlarged 

 by rubbing or filing with some small implement, and the outline ap- 

 proximates that of the finished hook. Figs. 4, 5, and 6 represent typi- 

 cal examples of the completed hooks. These range in size from one-half 

 to three inches in length, the width being but slightly less. The skill 

 acquired in the manufacture of such objects of use is of the greatest im- 

 portance in the development of art. It is only through the mastery of 

 material thus engendered that the arts of taste become possible. 



WEAPONS. 



It would hardly seem at first glance that shells or shell substance 

 could be utilized for weapons to any advantage. A close examina- 

 tion, however, of some of the more massive varieties will convince us 

 that they could be made available. The specific gravity of some va- 

 rieties, such as the Strombus and Busycon, is equal to that of moderately 

 compact stone, and with their long, sharp beaks they would, with little 

 modification, certainly make formidable weapons. 



Dr. Charles Ran seems to have been the first to call attention to the 



'Putnam, in Explorations West of fbe 100th Meridian, vol. VII, p. 223. 

 •Cook: Voyage Around the World, 1770, vol. II, p. 218. 



