Indians have always been fond of beads and of shells. Wampum is shell
beads of an especial shape—cylindrical, with square cut ends, and with a
length one and a half times their thickness or more. This wampum was made
from a thick and heavy sea-shell. A piece was split off, and then ground
down until it was like a wheat straw in shape and size. It was then cut
into lengths and drilled. The drilling was slow and tedious work. A point
of stone, or, after the whites came, of metal, was struck into a cane or
reed. The bit of shell to be drilled was held in the left hand; the drill
was rolled on the thigh with the right hand. There were two kinds of
wampum—white and purple. The purple was most valued. Thomas Morton
quaintly wrote in 1630—that is, it sounds quaint to us now,—“White with
them is as silver with us, the other as our gould.”
Originally wampum was simply ornamental. But it is always easy for things
that are prized as ornament to be used in trade. So wampum was used as a
medium of exchange; it was really the money of the eastern Indians.
Strings of it passed from hand to hand as coin does with us. Sometimes the
ornamental string worn a moment before would be removed to buy some object
seen and desired. The famous New England chief, King Philip, is said to
have had a coat “made all of _wampampeog_, which when in need of money, he
cuts to pieces and distributes it plentifully.”
Among the Algonkin and Iroquois tribes broad belts or bands of wampum were
neatly woven. The work consisted, like all weaving, of two sets of
threads. The long warp threads were crossed by threads laden with beads.
These belts were neat and handsome and often contained thousands of beads.
The differently colored beads were so combined as to make striking designs
and figures.
[Illustration.]