Gaelic, seven resemble old Erse, ten are like Phoenician, four- 
teen like Anglo-Saxon, and sixteen like Celtiberic ; besides 
which, other equivalents may possibly be found in old Hebrew. 
A stone of such doubtful character could prove little under any 
circumstances ; but it must also be mentioned, that Dr. James 
W. Clemens communicated to Dr. Morton all the details of the 
exploration of the Grave Creek Mound, without making any 
reference to the discovery of the inscribed stone. Nor was 
it until the objects obtained from this Mound were exhibited 
by the proprietor to all who cared to pay for seeing them, that 
the marvellous inscription came opportunely to light to add to 
the attractions of the show. 
B 34. . • 
Upon Tablets i to 3 are shells pierced for suspension. Upon 
Tablets 4 to 7, and 26 to 28, are shell-beads. The specimens h, 
c, d, and e, Tablet i, are shells of the Denialium. These shells 
and shell-beads have all been found in various tumuli in Ohio. 
Sea-shells in their natural state, or made into beads, were 
highly valued by most of the North American Indian tribes, 
and were frequently worn by them as amulets. The Venus 
mercenaria was thus prized, and various articles of ornament, 
having a sacred import, were made from these shells. It was 
perhaps on account of their value as amulets that marine shells 
and shell-beads were so frequently buried in the tumuli ; for the 
Indian futurity is not a place of rest, and the hunter's soul 
during its uneasy wanderings has still occasion for the pro- 
tecting power of the charm. Marine shells, of the genera 
Marginella, Oliva, and Natica, pierced for suspension, have been 
found in many of the American mounds. Shell-beads have been 
found in mounds in Western New York ; on the plains of 
Sandusky, near Buffalo, and north of the Niagara river in 
Canada. 
The shells found in the Grave Creek Mound are all of one 
species of Marginella, which is found on the coast of Florida 
and in the West Indies. 
Shell-beads, moreover, under the name of wampum, repre- 
sented the first aboriginal idea of an arbitrary standard of value 
among the North American Indians. 
Perhaps no shell has been more prized by the American 
Indians than that of the Dentalium. 
