388 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 
thick with these Beads in pleasant wild works, and a broad Belt of 
the same, his Accoutrements were valued at Twenty pounds. 
This was embroidery, much like modern Indian beadwork, and 
appears in early pictures of King Philip. 
That council belts were much the same as now at an early day 
will appear from fig. 282, a reproduction of La Hontan’s picture of 
De la Barre’s council at La Famine in 1684. It is from the second 
English edition, published in 1735. Fig. 255 also represents an 
early belt of 1711, taken from the picture of “ Fee-yce-neen-ho-ga, 
Emperor of the Six Nations,” painted from one of the four Mohawks 
then in England. The belts are like those of the present day. 
Reading. Heckewelder, p. 107-8, gives an interesting account of 
the periodical reading of wampum. 
For the purpose of refreshing their own memories, and of in- 
structing one or more of their most capable and promising young 
men in these matters, they assemble once or twice a year. On these 
occasions they always meet at a chosen spot jin the woods, at a 
small distance from the town, where a fire is kindled, and at the 
proper time provisions are:brought out to them. ‘There, on a large 
piece of bark or on a blanket, all the documents are laid out in such 
order, that they can at oncejdistinguish each particular speech, the 
same as we know the particular contents of an instrument of writing 
by the indorsementon it. .- >. .Dherr speaker then, who is fai 
ways chosen from among those who are’ endowed with superior 
talents, and has already been trained up to-the business, in an audi- 
ble voice delivers, with the gravity that the subject requires, the 
contents, sentence after sentence, until he has finished the whole 
on one subject. On the manner in which the belts or strings of 
wampum are handled by the speaker, much.depends; the turning 
of the belt which takes place when he has finished one half of his 
speech, is a material point, though this is not common in all 
speeches with belts; but when it is the case, and is done properly, 
it may be as well known by it how far the speaker has advanced in 
his speech, as with us on taking a glance at the pages of a book 
or pamphlet while reading; and a good speaker will be able to point 
out the exact place on a belt which is to answer to each particular 
sentence, the same as we can point out a passage in a book. Belts 
and ‘strings, when done with by the speaker, are again handed to 
the chief, who puts them up carefully in the speech bag or pouch. 
In describing the use of one by the Indians and Sir William 
Johnson, John Long said that it was of many rows, black at the 
sides and white in the middle. This signified the path of peace, and 
