1877.] Aboriginal Shell Money. 345 
are tied together between each two shells, so that the shells 
are mouth to mouth. But even this double string is 
lightly esteemed, being worth only one dollar a yard. 
It is little used for money, being rarely seen at all, and 
is worn chiefly by the women in dances as a cheap 
jewelry.” 
The specimens kindly sent to me by Mr. Powers are 
of the white variety, which are much less abundant 
than those of the usual bluish tinge ; neither are these 
nor any of the grave specimens above a medium size, ; 
for this species frequently attains a length of an inch i W; 
and a quarter, as may be seen in Figure 62. The Vallejo ™' 
mound specimens average only half an inch, which fact 
suggests that the smaller size may have been more highly valued. 
It will be observed that the Olivellas, or colcol, have been 
found in ancient graves on San Miguel Island associated with 
human remains and prehistoric implements, also by Mr. Voy in 
Solano County, and Mr. Yates in a recent article reports their 
occurrence in the mounds of Contra Costa and Alameda counties. 
By reference to a map of California it will be seen that these 
last localities are widely separated from the first named, and it 
implies not only the general use of this species of shell by the 
maritime tribes, but also a line of intercourse and a system of 
traffic between the coast tribes and those of the interior, as sug- 
gested in a previous paper, and through which the colcol finally 
came to be used by the Indians of the central part of the State. 
In my first paper, alluding to the use of Saxidomus gracilis, 
a common bivalve on the coast of Sonoma County, I exp 
surprise that the equally common and far more beautiful shells 
of Haliotis rufescens had not attracted the attention of the ab- 
origines, and been utilized by them for money and personal 
decoration. It will be seen, however, that the beauty of these 
has not escaped the eye of the savage, but that they have been 
used both for money and for personal decoration, and been fash- 
ioned into a variety of shapes for the latter purpose, the proto- 
types of the “abalone jewelry ” so popular with the “ pale-faces”’ 
of to-day. 
From the Vallejo mound Mr. Voy obtained various pieces of 
Haliotis, or abalone, as the Californians call it, which is the aulon 
or aulone of the Spanish, and the whilo of the Indians. In refer- 
ence to the Indian name Mr. Powers writes: ‘ Your conjecture 
1 American Naturalist, March, 1869. 
