METALLIC ORNAMENTS OF NEW YORK INDIANS 75 



joining another. Over the sleeves of her new ruffled shirt were 

 broad silver arm spangles," etc. A good deal of wampum and 

 many silver ornaments were placed elsewhere. A note says of the 

 brooches, " a kind of round buckle with a tongue, which the Indians 

 fasten to their shirts. The traders call them brooches. They are 

 placed in rows at the distance of about the breadth of a finger one 

 from the other." Heckewelder, p. 270 



In Col. Proctor's journal of May 3, 1791, he relates his visit to the 

 Onondaga village 3 miles east of Buffalo. They had 28 cabins, 

 and were " well clothed, particularly the women, some of whom 

 were dressed so richly, with silken stroud, etc., and ornamented with 

 .so many silver trappings, that one suit must be of the value of at 

 least thirty pounds." Penn. Archives, 4:591 



Miss Powell was at Buffalo in 1785, and gave an account of Capt. 

 David, a clean, handsome and graceful Indian: 



His hair was shaved off, except a little on the top of his head, to 

 which his ornaments were fastened; and his head and ears were 

 painted a glowing red. Round his head was fastened a fillet of 

 highly polished silver. From the left temple hung two straps of 

 black velvet, covered with silver beads and brooches. On the top 

 of his head was placed a foxtail feather, which bowed to the wind, 

 as did two black ones, one in each ear. A pair of immense ear- 

 rings, which hung below his shoulders, completed his headdress, 

 which I assure was not unbecoming, though I must confess, some- 

 what fantastical. His dress was a shirt of colored calico, — the neck 

 and shoulders covered so thick with silver brooches as to have the 

 appearance of a net; and his sleeves were much like those the ladies 

 wore when I left England, fastened about the arm with a broad 

 bracelet of highly polished silver, engraved with the arms of Eng- 

 land; four smaller bracelets round the wrist, of the same material; 

 and around his waist a large scarf of very dark colored stuff, lined 

 with scarlet, which hung to his feet; part of this scarf he generally 

 drew over his left arm, which had a very graceful effect when he 

 moved. And his legs were covered with blue cloth, made to fit 

 neatly with an ornamental garter bound below the knee. Ketchum, 

 2:96 



These accounts fully show the abundance of silver ornaments in 

 that century. Elkanah Watson noticed the same thing at the treaty 

 of Fort Stanwix in 1788. Many of the Indian women were dressed 



