As there was a difference in the natural products and resources
of different sections of the country, there was a system of
reciprocal trade in the exchange of the different desirable
commodities. Sometimes commerce between tribes extended for a
long distance, as, for instance, the Indians on the western side
of the Sierra Nevada Mountains were entirely dependent upon the
Pai-utes _(Pye-yutes´)_ on the eastern side for the obsidian, a
kind of volcanic glass, from which they made the points for their
most deadly arrows, used in hunting large game or when in mortal
combat with their enemies. They were also dependent upon the
Pai-utes for their supply of salt for domestic use, which came in
solid blocks as quarried from salt mines, said to be two days'
travel on foot from Mono Lake.
From the Indians at or near the Catholic Missions to the South,
on the Pacific Coast, they got their hunting knives of iron or
steel, and sea shells of various kinds, for personal or dress
ornaments, and also to be used as money. From the same source
they obtained beads of various forms, sizes and colors, cheap
jewelry and other fancy articles, a few blankets, and pieces of
red bunting, strips of which the chiefs and head men wore around
their heads as badges, indicating their official positions.