SwANTON] INDIANS OF THE SOUTHEASTERN UNIITED STATES 485 



Beads were also made out of Marginella shells by grinding off the 

 ends of the whorls and passing the cord through these apertures and 

 the natural openings at the other end. The method of obtaining 

 these is described only by Lawson, who calls the shells "Blackmoors 

 teeth." 



At the time when they are on the salts, and sea coasts, they have another 

 fishery, that is for a little shell fish, which those in England call Blackmoors 

 teeth. These they catch by tying bits of oysters to a long string, which they 

 lay in such places, as they know, those shell fish haunt. These fish get hold 

 of the oysters, and suck them in, so that they pull up those long strings, and 

 take great quantities of them, which they carry a great way into the main 

 land, to trade with the remote Indians, where they are of great value ; but never 

 near the sea, by reason they are common, therefore not esteemed. (Lawson, 

 1860, pp. 340-341.) 



In and near Virginia this was called roanoak as well as the small, 

 wheel-shaped beads. 



There is no mention of the method of securing the OUvella shell 

 which was also extensively used by the inland tribes, as is proved by 

 its occurrence in mounds and with burials. 



Shell disks or gorgets are found associated with Indian remains as 

 far west as the eastern part of Texas and also in Florida, but rather 

 sparingly along the Gulf coast. 



The surprisingly slight notice of shell beads in early Carolina and 

 Virginia narratives is duplicated elsewhere in the section. The Flor- 

 ida Indians employed pearls and metal beads as did those of Caro- 

 lina, but there is only a single reference to beads of any other sort, 

 and these did not necessarily include beads of shell. This reference is 

 by the French sailor Le Challeux, who says : 



They prize highly little beads, which they make of the bones of fishes and 

 other animals and of green and red stones. (Gaffarel, 1875, p. 462; Swanton, 

 1922, p. 34&) 



The monk Andreas de San Miguel states that a chief who came to 

 meet his party off the south end of Florida in 1595 "wore more amber 

 than all those on that coast who came to meet us," thereby implying 

 that its use was fairly common (Garcia, 1902, p. 210) . 



Cushing found considerable quantities of shell beads at Key Marco 

 in this State. It was occupied probably by the Calusa Indians (Cush- 

 ing, 1896, p. 374). 



Bartram makes only incidental mention of beads among the Creeks 

 and by his time wampum had reached them. 



Considering the assumed fondness of all Indians for beads, we are 

 again surprised by the paucity of references to them on the lower 

 Mississippi, although "beads made of sea-snails" were observed in 

 Arkansas by De Soto (Bourne, 1904, vol. 2, p. 29). Du Pratz is 



