SHELL-MONEY. 3 
the facts that the larger European species of Dentalia are 
imported especially for this trade, and I have myself seen in 
the faney goods stores in San Francisco, strings of these 
shells displayed for sale with beads and other Indian goods. 
It is undoubtedly true, as stated by Mr. Lord, that the 
use of shell-money has, in a great measure, ceased at the 
points he mentions, as the increased number of white traders 
and visitors at the principal towns on the coast, as far north 
as Sitka, has somewhat familiarized the natives with the 
manners and customs of civilized people, which their natural 
shrewdness would lead them to adopt so far as it might be to 
their advantage. 
As proof of the "cuteness" of the "untutored savage" in 
this latter respect, it may be interesting to state that at or 
about the time of the purchase by and transfer to the United 
States of the territory of Russian America, attended as it 
was by the visit of a considerable number of adventurers 
and others at Sitka, the prices of venison and other game, 
was, in the language of traffic, so far “marked up” that gold 
or its equivalent, to the amount of one dollar a piece was 
charged for salmon, a most exorbitant price, not justitied by 
any greatly increased demand, or by any unusual scarcity of 
this wonderfully abundant fish in that country. 
In the year 1861, during a visit of a month's duration upon 
the coast of California, at Crescent City,in Del Norte County, 
I found that in barter between themselves, the Indians used 
for money the shells of Dentalium pretiosum Sowerby, a spe- 
cies that is found all along the North-west coast of America 
and which, either the shells or the shell-money, is called by the 
Indians, if I remember correctly, Alli-ko-cheek (orthography 
not warranted correct), and the longer the shells the greater 
the value, which was reckoned by measuring the shells by the 
joints. I am quite sure that the same species were 
used by the Indians who live in the Klamath River country 
in the next county to the south, and who get their name from 
the river, being known as the Klamath Indians. 
