494 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 137 



This Wyroans Pamaunche I holde to inhabite a Rych land of Copper and 

 pearle. His Country lyes into the land to another Ryver, which by relatyon 

 and Descriptyon of the Salvages comes also from the Mountaynes Quirank, but 

 a shorter lorney. The Copper he had, as also many of his people, was very 

 flexible, I bowed a peece of the thicknes of a shilling rounde about my finger, as 

 if it had been lead : I found them nice in parting with any ; They weare it in 

 their eares, about their neckes in long lynckes, and in broade plates on their 

 heades : So we made no greate enquyry of it, neither seemed Desirous to have It. 

 (Smith, Arber ed., 1884, pp. 1-li.) 



Meteoric iron was used by the American aborigines just as they 

 used copper except that there were limitations to the amount of 

 material available and the size of the objects that could be made 

 with it. Many objects were also worked out of hematite, a favorite 

 material because it takes a high polish, but, of course, it could not be 

 treated like a metal. Most of the worked meteoric iron and hematite 

 dating from aboriginal times has been found in the Ohio valley. In 

 later deposits there has, of course, been found a considerable amount 

 of iron belonging to European objects introduced in trade. 



A very small amount of gold was utilized by the mound-building 

 tribes, obtained from small nuggets, and treated like copper. Some 

 has been found in the Ohio Valley, especially at the Turner Group 

 of mounds, and a few gold beads were discovered at Etowah, Ga. 

 (Hodge, 1907, art. Gold). In Florida a considerable number of beau- 

 tiful objects in gold have been obtained from the mounds, but it is 

 believed that nearly all of these were from Spanish treasure ships 

 bound from Panama or Mexico to Spain and cast away while pass- 

 ing through the Straits of Florida. This theory was held by the 

 Spaniard Fontaneda, who was held captive by the Calusa Indians for 

 many years, by the French commander Laudonniere, and by the Eng- 

 lishman Spark (S wanton, 1922, p. 349). One of Laudonniere's offi- 

 cers. La Roche Ferriere, believed he understood the Indians to say 

 that they obtained gold and silver from the Appalachian Mountains, 

 but Spark interprets this correctly in stating that the French had 

 so far heard only of copper mines, though they had not been able to 

 search them out. Since "gold alloyed with brass, and silver not 

 thoroughly smelted" was sent in by the same officer from north- 

 western Florida, it is evident they had been able to obtain European 

 metals. (Hakluyt, 1847-89, vol. 3, pp. 615-616 ; Le Moyne, 1875, p. 8.) 

 Ribault observed a Timucua Indian with a collar of gold about his 

 neck (French, 1875, p. 178; Swanton, 1922, p. 350). There is no 

 reason why both gold and silver may not have reached the Gulf region 

 from Mexico and Central America in pre-Columbian times, but we 

 have no absolute evidence that they did so. 



The case for silver is very similar to that for gold. Small bits 

 of native silver are found sparingly, especially in association with 



