In Plate XXXVI I present a number of illustrations of a class of relics
which have occasionally been mentioned in literature, and which are
represented to some extent in our collections. As these objects resemble
beads rather more closely than pendants, I shall refer to them in this
place, although Mr. Schoolcraft considers them badges of honor or rank,
and treats them as gorgets. He describes them as consisting of a
"circular piece of flat shell, from one and a half to two inches in
diameter, quartered with double lines, having the devices of dots
between them. This kind was doubly perforated in the plane of the
circle."[62]
In "Notes on the Iroquois," by the same author, we have a much fuller
description. He says that "this article is generally found in the form
of an exact circle, rarely a little ovate. It has been ground down and
repolished, apparently, from the conch. Its diameter varies from
three-fourths of an inch to two inches; thickness, two-tenths in the
center, thinning out a little towards the edges. It is doubly
perforated. It is figured on the face and its reverse, with two parallel
latitudinal and two longitudinal lines crossing in its center, and
dividing the area into four equal parts. Its circumference is marked
with an inner circle, corresponding in width to the cardinal parallels.
Each division of the circle thus quartered has five circles, with a
central dot. The latitudinal and longitudinal bands or fillets have each
four similar circles and dots, and one in its center, making
thirty-seven. The number of these circles varies, however, on various
specimens. In the one figured there are fifty-two."[63]
Figs. 1 and 2 are copied from Plate 25 of Schoolcraft. The smaller was
obtained from an ancient grave at Upper Sandusky, Ohio, and the larger
from an Indian cemetery at Onondaga, N. Y. Others have been found at
Jamesville, Lafayette, and Manlius, in the latter State. The Indians,
according to Mr. Schoolcraft, have no traditions respecting this class
of objects, and we are quite in the dark as to their significance or the
manner in which they were used.
Mr. W. M. Beauchamp, of Baldwinsville, N. Y., has very kindly sent me
sketches of two of these objects. The originals were obtained from an
ancient village site at Pompey, N. Y. One is almost a duplicate of the
smaller specimen copied from Schoolcraft, but the other, which is
illustrated in Fig. 4, Plate XXXVI, presents some novel features. The
central portion of the face is occupied by a rosette-like design, which
consists of six sharply oval figures that radiate from the center like
the spokes of a wheel. These rays are ornamented with a series of
oblique lines, arranged in couplets. The margin is encircled by a narrow
band, similarly figured. Mr. Beauchamp expresses the opinion that these
specimens are of European origin.
The specimen shown in Fig. 3 belongs to a necklace now in the national
collection. This necklace was obtained from the Indians of New Mexico by
Lieutenant Whipple, and consists of three of these shell ornaments,
together with about fifty small porcelain beads. The shell beads are
strung at regular intervals. The specimen illustrated is ornamented with
a design in minute conical pits, arranged precisely as are the circlets
in the crosses and encircling bands of the New York and Ohio specimens.
The edges and surfaces are much worn by use. The substance of the shell
is well preserved, and has an ivory-like appearance although in the
specimen shown in the cut the lamination of the shell is distinctly
seen. The perforations in these three specimens are quite symmetrical,
and suggest the use of machinery. The method of perforation is identical
in all these specimens, and will be readily understood by reference to
the two sections given in Figs. 5 and 6. All of these specimens are
nearly circular; but the regularity of the outline is in some cases
marred by shallow notches produced by wear at the perforations. This
wear has been accelerated by the abrasion of the small beads with which
the disks have probably been strung.
It will be noticed that there is quite a close resemblance between these
objects and the "runtees" of the early writers. Beverly gives an
illustration of an Indian boy who is described as wearing a necklace of
these "runtees," which "are made of the Conch Shell, as the Peak is,
only the Shape is flat and like a Cheese, and drill'd Edge-ways."[64] A
portion of this illustration is copied in Fig. 5, Plate XXXVI. It will
be seen by reference to this cut that the manner of stringing
corresponds with the method in which the objects under consideration
would have to be strung.
[Illustration: PL. XXXVI--RUNTEES.
1. New York.
2. New York.
3. Arizona.
4. New York.
5, 6. Sections.
7. Manner of wearing.
(1/1)]
It is probable that the signification of the designs engraved upon these
ornaments will remain forever a matter of conjecture. It cannot be
affirmed that the cross, which occurs on the faces of most of the
specimens, has any particular significance, although it may represent
the points of the compass. That it may have some emblematic meaning is,
however, not impossible. I have counted the number of circlets on all of
the specimens with which I am acquainted. The result is shown in the
following table:
----------------+-------------------------+------------------+------
| In the cross. | |
+-------------------------+ In the |Total.
|Longitudinal | Transverse| circle, exclusive|
| arm. | arm. | of cross. |
----------------+-------------+-----------+------------------+------
No. 1 (Fig. 1) | 10 | 9 | 23 | 41
No. 2 (Fig. 3) | 10 | 12 | 27 | 48
No. 3 (Fig. 2) | 11 | 9 | 23 | 42
No. 4[A] | 9 | 9 | 20 | 37
No. 5[A] | 12 | 11 | 29 | 51
No. 6[B] | 9 | 9 | 20 | 37
----------------+-------------+-----------+------------------+------
[A] Schoolcraft: Notes on Iroquois, p. 233.
[B] From sketch by Mr. Beauchamp.
The central circlet having been counted with each arm of the cross, the
total number of circlets in each specimen will be one less than the sum
of the three columns.
These circlets may be numerals. The design may be significant of some
rank, the badge of a secret order, or the totem of a clan. The general
arrangement of the figures upon the face of these disks suggests an
incipient calendar.
These beads are doubtless American in origin, as nothing of a similar
form, so far as I can learn, occurs in European countries. The fact that
they are found in widely separated localities indicates that they were
probably used in trade since the advent of the whites. This is possibly
some form of bead held in high esteem by tribes of the Atlantic coast
when first encountered by the whites who have taken up its manufacture
for purposes of trade.