366 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 
The Iroquois had Algonquin captives in hundreds. It is possible 
such a string may have kept the general fact in memory, but the 
_ ransom went to the owner of the captive. The tradition seems de- 
fective in some points, but the beads are probably of moderate age. 
The eastern Iroquois used this kind sparingly from 1600 to 1640, 
and the earliest record of pictograph wampum belts was a dozen 
years later. On the other hand, the disk beads were fine and abund- 
ant among the Senecas as late as 1700, and not rare with the others. 
They were recently and largely in use ih our western territories, and 
were divided by stones instead of ribbons, each division having an 
extravagant trade value. One in the hands of the writer would 
have bought several horses. In his experience colored ribbons or 
bright cloths are used merely for a pleasing effect, but in important 
affairs some colors become emblematic. In this instance the dark 
blue ribbon has been added since 1893. 
With slight exceptions New York discoid shell beads date from 
the latter part of the 16th century, becoming most abundant during 
the next hundred years. Sir J. W. Dawson informs the writer that 
the only shell bead he found at Hochelaga was of this kind, but 
the longer marine beads have sparingly appeared on that interest- 
ing site, and may be of any age. A few New York examples will 
be given. Probably the earliest yet found was in the curious and 
early cemetery reported by S. L. Frey, a little east of Palatine 
Bridge. Mr Schoolcraft, in his Notes on the Iroquois, p. 142, figured a 
large disk bead from Onondaga, and had found others in the 
Neutral ossuary in Beverly, Canada. He says these were first dis- 
closed on opening the Grave creek mound in 1839. His general 
description of this form is good. “ Decomposition gives its sur- 
face a dead white aspect and limy feel. The powder scraped from 
the surface, effervesces in acids. It is generally, not uniformly, an 
exact circle, and resembles extremely a very thick horn button- 
mould.” His New York specimen is of the 17th century, and we 
can not uphold his conclusion that “its occurrence in Onondaga 
denotes the universality of the art in the ante-European period.” 
These flat beads were used at-an early day, but a recent example 
is no proof of this. 
