Indttstjdal and Manufacturing Uses of Shells. 281 



interior of North America, at great distance from the 

 shores of the sea. 



Many tribes of North American Indians used to wear 

 necklaces of shell beads, which served as money. They 

 were called wampums. Those on the Atlantic side were 

 made of the clam shell {VeniLs mercenarid). Those made 

 from the internal purple part of the shell of Merceiiaria 

 violacea, Schum, Venus merce^iaria^ Lin. and Lam., were 

 most esteemed, constituting the seawan or warnpiLm, the 

 specie currency of the natives. Six of the former (blue) and 

 three of the white were equivalent to an English penny. 

 The Dentalium, or tooth-shell, was another monetary tender 

 of the natives of the north-west coast of America, known 

 under the name of sarqiio. It is a milk-white, round shell, 

 of extreme hardness, resembling the shank of a common 

 clay pipe. It varies in length from one to four inches, and 

 is about half an inch thick, hollow, slightly curved, and 

 tapering a little towards the ends. They were valued in 

 proportion to the number that, when ranged on a string 

 passed through their hollow tubes, extended a fathom in 

 length. Forty to the fathom was supposed to be the fixed 

 standard of excellence and worth. Thus, their currency 

 value was, in the fur regions — 



Beaver skin. 



40 shells, extending i fathom ... ... i 



39 „ „ ... ... 2 



38 „ „ „ 3 



These shells abound in certain places of the Pacific 

 coast ; being open at both ends, they can be strung 

 without further preparation. They have been found in 

 the interior of the country, far from the Pacific coast, as 

 personal ornaments of existing tribes, and even in the 

 ancient mounds of Ohio. The latter fact, indeed, is of 

 great interest in its bearing on the extent of former 



