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WAMPUM AND SHELL ARTICLES 343 
ornament kept it from the honorable position assigned it by the 
inland nations. The two volumes of Holland documents relating 
to New York have no details of Indian treaties, and their first record 
of this official use relates to an instance when some Mohawks came 
_ to New Amsterdam in 1674, and presented six belts. In the 13th 
volume of the Documents relative to the colomal history of the state of 
New York, 13:35 we find an earlier use at Fort Orange, as might 
have been expected. It was largely used there, but in 1654 the 
Mohawks could already get more wampum for their beaver from 
the English than the Dutch. In 1657 the Mohawks gave the Dutch 
three wampum strings, worth respectively in florins 16.12, 16.9, and 
13.10.—O’Callaghan. Colomal Mst., 13:72. eWampum belts were used 
there in January 1661.—O’Callaghan. Colomial Mist., 13:91. In early 
official use Canada, New York and Pennsylvania stand almost alone. 
The Huron-Iroquois family set the fashion, affecting those around. 
Less formally some Canadian Algonquins used wampum ceremoni- 
ally, as in the raising of chiefs. The custom gained ground every- 
where in historic times. Schoolcraft says the last belt of wampum 
was made to be used at a great peace treaty at Prairie du Chien in 
1825, by the United States commissioners, Gen. William Clark and 
Gen. Lewis Cass. There are, however, several reputed Black Hawk 
belts. | 
As the supply of wampum was from the New England and New 
York coast, it was never so abundant in Canada, but among the 
Hurons it usually was arranged in collars or belts. ‘Many of these 
were private property and of great value, though small. In 1636 
a young Huron lost a belt of 400 beads and a beaver robe at the 
game of straws. In despair and fearing his relatives he hung him- 
self. The following year the Ancients brought the Jesuits 2400 
wampum beads which they had collected in the town. Some years 
before they had robbed Etienne Brulé of this amount, and they laid 
their misfortunes to this. There are other references to this strung 
wampum among the Hurons, but not such as indicate their cere- 
monial use of it in their own land. 
In private life wampum became abundant while the beaver trade 
flourished. In 1656 some Onondaga warriors returned from the 
