460 THE SENECA NATION 



In making these ornaments they used both the whorl and the 

 columella! From the columella they made long cylindrical beads, 

 of varying lengths and thicknesses. These they perforated 

 lengthwise and if long they suspended them vertically from a 

 necklace, but shorter ones they strung as beads. One short but 

 very thick and heavy one was used as a pendant on the draw 

 string of a man's bag which contained his pipes and extra gun- 

 flints, and which was buried with him. 



They cut up the whorls into a large variety of pendants. 

 Some of these pendants seemed to conform to a certain fashion 

 then prevalent in the villages. Of these, several types are com- 

 mon to all the villages, and to villages of a later period. Amongst 

 these are the so-called "claws", "turtles" and "crescents". The 

 "claws" are shaped much like the claws of a bear or wild-cat. 

 The "turtles" or "geese" are flattened irregular ovoids, with 

 one end extended and dilated so that the whole form resembles 

 that of a turtle or of a flying goose. Some of these are further 

 ornamented with black dots. The crescents are spindle shaped 

 or lenticular pieces cut from the curved portion of a shell, and 

 are usually perforated with four holes. 



These persistent types may be symbolical of some idea, as 

 for instance the owner's totem, or they may represent only a 

 long prevailing fashion. Then again they may be shapes impor- 

 ted along with the shell from the Algonkins, or they may be 

 pendants bought ready made by the Senecas from the coast 

 tribes. 



A great variety of pendants was evidently made to suit the 

 maker's own taste, and some of these are really beautiful. One 

 little girl wore a string of glass beads on which were strung 

 some ellipsoidal shell beads, two small circular gorgets, which 

 were an inch and a half across, and a few beads cut into the 

 shape of a star with four rays. From the necklace were sus- 

 pended four long shell cylinders. 



A few entire shells were sometimes used as ornaments. 

 These were usually the shells of Olivella or Goniabasis, the outer 

 whorls of which were perforated for suspension. 



Large circular gorgets are exceedingly rare. One was buried 

 with a body on the Dann farm. Local collectors have secured 

 a few small ones. A few shell "pins" were found at Totiakto 

 by Mr. Mattern, and Mr. Dann has a few of these from his farm. 

 How these were used is not known. 



