One of the most remarkable customs practiced by the American Indians is
found in the mnemonic use of wampum. This custom had in it a germ of
great promise, one which must in time have become a powerful agent in
the evolution of art and learning. It was a nucleus about which all the
elements of culture could arrange themselves. I shall not at present
undertake to divest the custom of adventitious features such as have
been introduced by contact with European influence. Yet there is no
reason to fear that any of the important or essential features have been
derived from outside sources. It is not possible from any known records
to demonstrate the great antiquity of this use of wampum. It does not
seem probable, however, that a custom so unique and so wide-spread could
have grown up within the historic period; nor is it probable that a
practice foreign to the genius of tradition-loving races could have
become so well established and so dear to their hearts in a few
generations.
Mnemonic records are known to have come into use among many nations at a
very early stage of culture. Picture writing as developed in the north
is but another form of mnemonic record, a fact, a thought, a verse of a
song being associated with an ideographic design, more or less
suggestive of the subject. The Peruvians had their _quipus_, in which
the record was made by associating things to be remembered with knots
made in cords of different colors, each combination having a fixed
association. The Mexicans had gone further and had achieved a system of
picture writing that was very unique and curious, in which a phonetic
element had already made its appearance, while the Mayas could boast the
discovery of a true phonetic system with an alphabet of twenty-seven
sounds.
The mnemonic use of wampum is one which, I imagine, might readily
develop from the practice of gift giving and the exchange of tokens of
friendship, such mementos being preserved for future reference as
reminders of promises of assistance or protection. In time the use of
such mementos would develop into a system capable of recording affairs
of varied and complicated nature; particular facts or features of
treaties would be assigned to particular objects, or portions of
objects. With this much accomplished, but one step was necessary to the
attainment of a hieroglyphic system--the permanent association of a
single object or sign with a particular idea.
The wampum records of the Iroquois were generally in the form of belts,
the beads being strung or woven into patterns formed by the use of
different colors. By association simply they were made to record
history, laws, treaties, and speeches--a fact, a law, a stipulation, or
a declaration being "talked into" a particular part or pattern of the
design with which it was ever afterwards associated, thus giving
additional permanency to tradition and bringing it one step further
forward in the direction of written records. Such records were, of
course, quite useless without the agency of an interpreter. Among the
Iroquois, according to Morgan, one of the Onondaga sachems was made
hereditary "keeper of wampum," whose duty it was to be thoroughly versed
in its interpretation. But knowledge of the contents of these records
was not confined to the keeper, or even to the sachems. At a certain
season each year the belts were taken from the treasure-house and
exposed to the whole tribe, while the history and import of each was
publicly recited. This custom is kept up to the present day. It is
recorded by Ruttenber that among the Mohicans a certain sachem had
charge of the bag of peace which contained the wampum belts and strings
used in establishing peace and friendship with the different
nations.[94]
Aside from records wampum was used in the form of strings and belts for
a variety of purposes; some of them were probably mnemonic, others only
partially so, being based either upon its association with the name of
some chief or clan, or upon a semi-sacred character resulting from its
important uses. It was employed in summoning councils, and the messenger
who journeyed from tribe to tribe found in it a well recognized
passport. When a council was called it was presented by the delegates
from the various tribes as their credentials; it was used in the
ceremony of opening and closing councils, as was also the calumet; it
assisted in solemnizing oaths and in absolving from them; white, it was
a messenger of peace; black, it threatened war, and covered with clay,
it expressed grief. "White wampum was the Iroquois emblem of purity and
faith, it was hung around the neck of the white dog before it was
burned; it was used before the periodical religious festivals for the
confession of sins, no confession being regarded as sincere unless
recorded with white wampum; further than this, it was the customary
offering in condonation of murder, although the purple was sometimes
employed. Six strings was the value of a life, or the quantity sent in
condonation, for the wampum was rather sent as a regretful confession of
the crime, with a petition for forgiveness, than as the actual price of
blood."[95] We readily recognize the influence of the Christian
missionary in a number of these symbolic uses of wampum.
The literature of wampum would fill a volume, but I forbear presenting
more than will give an outline of the subject, confining myself to such
quotations as will serve to show clearly the extent and importance of
this ancient custom and its attendant practices.
The method of handling the belts of wampum in the presence of ceremonial
assemblies is extremely interesting, and cannot be better presented than
in the words of eye-witnesses.
The following is quoted from Brice, who is describing a council held in
the Muskingum Valley in 1764:
"An Indian council, on solemn occasions, was always opened with
preliminary forms, sufficiently wearisome and tedious, but made
indispensable by immemorial custom, for this people are as much bound by
their conventional usages as the most artificial children of
civilization. The forms were varied, to some extent, according to the
imagination of the speaker, but in all essential respects they were
closely similar throughout the tribes of the Algonkin and Iroquois
lineage.
"They run somewhat as follows, each sentence being pronounced with great
solemnity, and confirmed by the delivery of a wampum belt: 'Brothers,
with this belt I open your ears that you may hear; I remove grief and
sorrow from your hearts; I draw from your feet the thorns that pierced
them as you journeyed thither; I clean the seats of the council-house,
that you may sit at ease; I wash your head and body, that your spirits
may be refreshed; I condole with you on the loss of the friends who have
died since we last met; I wipe out any blood which may have been spilt
between us.' This ceremony, which, by the delivery of so many belts of
wampum, entailed no small expense, was never used except on the most
important occasions; and at the councils with Colonel Bouquet the angry
warriors seem wholly to have dispensed with it. * * * And his memory was
refreshed by belts of wampum, which he delivered after every clause in
his harangue, as a pledge of the sincerity and truth of his words.
"These belts were carefully preserved by the hearers as a substitute for
written records, a use for which they were the better adapted, as they
were often worked in hieroglyphics expressing the meaning they were
designed to preserve. Thus at a treaty of peace the principal belt often
bore the figure of an Indian and a white man holding a chain between
them."[96]
From an account of a council held by the Five Nations at Onondaga nearly
two hundred years ago, to which the governor of Canada sent four
representatives, I make the following extract: "During the course of the
proceedings Cannehoot, a Seneca sachem, presented a proposed treaty
between the Wagunhas and the Senecas, speaking as follows: 'We come to
join the two bodies into one. * * * We come to learn wisdom of the
Senecas (giving a belt). We by this belt wipe away the tears from the
eyes of your friends, whose relations have been killed in the war. We
likewise wipe the paint from your soldiers' faces (giving a second
belt). We throw aside the ax which Yonondio put into our hands by this
third belt.' A red marble sun is presented--a pipe made of red marble.
'Yonondio is drunk; we wash our hands clean from his actions (giving a
fourth belt). * * * We have twelve of your nation prisoners; they shall
be brought home in the spring (giving a belt to confirm the promise). We
will bring your prisoners home when the strawberries shall be in
blossom, at which time we intend to visit Corlear (the governor of New
York), and see the place where wampum is made.'
"The belts were accepted by the Five Nations, and their acceptance was a
ratification of the treaty. A large belt was also given to the
messengers from Albany as their share. A wampum belt sent from Albany
was, in the same manner, hung up and afterwards divided."[97]
This indicates a most extravagant use of belts; but since it is probable
that as many were received in return this was a matter of little
importance. The great profusion of wampum used in some of the later
treaties is a matter of surprise. In a council held between four Indian
ambassadors from New England and the French thirty-six fine large belts
were given by the ambassadors to thank them that their people had not
been treated with hostility.[98]
"The appendix to the second volume of Proud's History of Pennsylvania
contains the journals of Frederick Christian Post, who was sent by
Governor Denny, in 1758, to make a treaty with the Alleghany Indians;
and in delivering the governor's answer to the chiefs, on his second
visit in the same year, after proposing to them to unite in a treaty of
peace which had lately been concluded with the Indians at Easton, and
producing sundry belts, one of which was marked with figures
representing the English and the Indians delivering the peace-belt to
one of the commissioners, he proceeds to say: 'Brethren on the Ohio, if
you take the belts we just now gave you, as we do not doubt you will,
then by _this belt_'--producing another and using their figurative style
of speech--'I make a road for you, and invite you to come to
Philadelphia, to your first old council-fire, which we rekindle up
again, and remove disputes, and renew the first old treaties of
friendship. This is a clear and open road for you; therefore, fear
nothing, and come to us with as many as can be of the Delawares,
Shawanese, or the Six Nations; we will be glad to see you; we desire all
tribes and nations of Indians who are in alliance with you may come.'
Whereupon a large white belt, with the figure of a man at each end and
streaks of black representing the road from the Ohio to Philadelphia,
was then given to them."[99]
Lafitau, whose statements are considered unusually trustworthy, as they
were based chiefly on personal observation of the Indian tribes of
Canada, gives the following very instructive account of the mnemonic use
of wampum:
"All affairs are conducted by means of branches [strings] and necklaces
[belts] of porcelain [wampum] which with them take the place of
compacts, written agreements, and contracts. * * * The shell, which is
used for affairs of state, is worked into little cylinders of a quarter
of an inch in length and large in proportion. They are distributed in
two ways, in strings and in belts. The strings are composed of cylinders
threaded without order one after another, like the beads of a rosary;
the beads are usually quite white, and are used for affairs of little
consequence, or as a preparation for other more considerable
presents.[100]
"The belts are large bands, in which little white and purple cylinders
are disposed in rows, and tied down with small thongs of leather, which
makes a very neat fabric. The length and size and color are proportioned
to the importance of the affair. The usual belts are of eleven rows of a
hundred and eighty beads each.
"The 'fisk,' or public treasure, consists principally of these belts,
which, as I have said, with them, take the place of contracts, of public
acts, and of annals or registers. For the savages, having no writing or
letters, and therefore finding themselves soon forgetting the
transactions that occur among them from time to time, supply this
deficiency by making for themselves a local memory by means of words
which they attach to these belts, of which each one refers to some
particular affair, or some circumstance, which it represents while it
exists.
"They are so much consecrated to this use that besides the name
_Gaïonni_, which is their name for the kind of belts most used, they
bestow that of _Garihona_, which means a transaction; that of
_Gaouenda_, voice or word, and of _Gaianderenfera_, which means grandeur
or nobility; because all the affairs dignified by these belts are the
endowment and province of the _agoïanders_ or nobles. It is they who
furnish them; and it is among them that they are redivided when presents
are made to the village, and when replies to the belts of their
ambassadors are sent.
"The _agoïanders_ and the ancients have, besides this, the custom of
looking over them often together, and of dividing among themselves the
care of noting certain ones, which are particularly assigned to them; so
that in this way they do not forget anything.
"Their wampum would soon be exhausted if it did not circulate; but in
almost all affairs, either within or without, the law requires a reply,
word for word, that is to say, for one belt one must give another, to be
of about the same value, observing, however, a slight difference in the
number of beads, which must be proportioned to the rank of the persons
or nations with which they treat.
"They do not believe that any transaction can be concluded without these
belts. Whatever proposition is made to them, or reply given them, by
word of mouth alone, the affair falls through, they say, and they let it
fall through very effectually, as though there had been no question
about it. Europeans little informed or little concerned about their
usages have slightly inconvenienced them on this point in retaining
their belts without giving them a similar response. To avoid the
inconvenience which might arise from this they acquired the style of
giving only a small quantity, excusing themselves on the plea that their
wampum was exhausted; and they supplied the rest with packages of
deer-skin, in return for which they were given trinkets of small value,
so that transactions between the Europeans and them have become a sort
of trade.
"Although all the savage nations of America make various kinds of
ornaments of shells, I believe that it is only those of North America
who employ them in transactions. I cannot even affirm that all of these
do."[101]
A very complete account of wampum is given by Loskiel, from whose work
the following extract is made:
"Four or six strings joined in one breadth, and fastened to each other
with fine thread, make a _belt of wampom_, being about three or four
inches wide, and three feet long, containing, perhaps, four, eight, or
twelve fathom of wampom, in proportion to its required length and
breadth. This is determined by the importance of the subject which these
belts are intended either to explain or confirm, or by the dignity of
the persons to whom they are to be delivered. Everything of moment
transacted at solemn councils, either between the Indians themselves or
with Europeans, is ratified and made valid by strings and belts of
wampom. Formerly, they used to give sanction to their treaties by
delivering a wing of some large bird; and this custom still prevails
among the more western nations, in transacting business with the
Delawares. But the Delawares themselves, the Iroquois, and the nations
in league with them, are now sufficiently provided with handsome and
well-wrought strings and belts of wampom. Upon the delivery of a string,
a long speech may be made and much said upon the subject under
consideration, _but when a belt is given few words are spoken_; but they
must be words of great importance, frequently requiring an explanation.
Whenever the speaker has pronounced some important sentence, he delivers
a string of wampom, adding, 'I give this string of wampom as a
confirmation of what I have spoken'; but the chief subject of his
discourse he confirms with a belt. The answers given to a speech thus
delivered must also be confirmed by strings and belts of wampom, of the
same size and number as those received. Neither the colour nor the other
qualities of wampom are a matter of indifference, but have an immediate
reference to those things which they are meant to confirm. The brown or
deep violet, called black by the Indians, always means something of
severe or doubtful import; but the white is the colour of peace. Thus,
if a string or belt of wampom is intended to confirm a warning against
evil, or an earnest reproof, it is delivered in black. When a nation is
called upon to go to war, or war declared against it, the belt is black,
or marked with red, called by them, the _colour of blood_, having in the
middle the figure of an hatchet in white wampom. * * * They refer to
them as public records, carefully preserving them in a chest made for
that purpose. At certain seasons they meet to study their meaning, and
to renew the ideas of which they were an emblem or confirmation. On such
occasions they sit down around the chest, take out one string or belt
after the other, handing it about to every person present, and that they
may all comprehend its meaning, repeat the words pronounced on its
delivery in their whole convention. By these means they are enabled to
remember the promises reciprocally made by the different parties; and it
is their custom to admit even the young boys, who are related to the
chiefs, to their assemblies; they become early acquainted with all the
affairs of the State; thus the contents of their documents are
transmitted to posterity, and cannot be easily forgotten."[102]
It is to be presumed that if a treaty or a promise were broken, the belt
would be released from its office and in the same form, or worked into
another, could again be used. Otherwise the records, if properly kept,
would in time become extremely cumbersome.
The repudiation of a treaty and of the wampum which accompanied it is
recorded by Brice. It was at a council held at Miami, in 1790, between
Mr. Gamelin and a number of tribes. Mr. Gamelin in beginning his speech
presented each nation with strings of wampum, but "the Indians were
displeased with the treaty, and after consultation returned the wampum,
saying: 'From all quarters we receive speeches from the Americans and
not one is alike. We suppose that they intend to deceive us. Then take
back your branches of wampum.' The Pottawatomies were better pleased
with the speeches and accepted the wampum."[103]
Another good example which illustrates the manner of canceling treaties,
confirmed by wampum, is given by Mr. Gilpin:
"When Washington, then but a youth of twenty-one, was intrusted by the
colonial governor of Virginia with a mission to the western wilds of
Pennsylvania, where the French from Canada were then penetrating and had
already established, as was believed, four posts within our limits and
were seeking to unite the natives in alliance against us, * * * he found
that such an alliance had indeed been formed. He found that they had
exchanged with the French, as its symbol, a wampum belt on which four
houses were rudely embroidered--the representations of the posts which
were to be defended, even at the risk of war. Influenced by his
remonstrances, the Indian sachems consented to withdraw from the
alliance; but they declared that the belt of wampum must be returned
before the agreement could be abolished; and one of the sachems repaired
to the French commander in order to restore to him the token of the
warlike compact, and to proclaim the intention of the red men to take no
part in the impending struggle."[104]
Heckewelder relates that "it once happened that war messengers
endeavored to persuade and compel a nation to accept the belt by laying
it on the shoulders or thigh of the chief, who, however, after shaking
it off without touching it with his hands, afterwards, with a stick,
threw it after them, as if he threw a snake or toad out of his
way."[105]
It is remarkable that other objects were not more frequently used for
mnemonic records. We can only explain the partiality shown to wampum on
the supposition that the idea of value was not entirely lost sight of
and that importance was attached to a record which in itself merited
preservation. Yet instances of the use of other objects are often met
with. Parkman states that "the figures on wampum belts of the Iroquois
were for the most part simply mnemonic. So also were those carved in
wooden tables, or painted on bark or skin, to preserve in memory the
songs of war, hunting, or magic."[106]
At one of the councils at Onondaga in 1690, a treaty was pledged and
recorded in wampum by all the contracting parties but the New England
colonies, which sent a wooden model of a fish as a token of their
adherence to the terms of the treaty.[107]
Hunter, speaking of the manners and customs of the Osages, states that
"they use significant emblems, such as the wing of the swan and wild
goose, wampum, and pipes, in overtures for peace, while arrows, war
clubs, and black and red painting, are used as indications or
declarations of war. Any article, such as a skin painted black, or the
wing of a raven, represents the death of friends, and when colored or
striped with red, that of enemies. Amongst the Canada Indians when peace
was conceded, a reddened hatchet was buried as a symbol of the oblivion
of all past hostility between the contracting parties. A mutual exchange
of neck ornaments sealed the treaty after its terms were debated and
determined. But all was not yet over, for the chiefs on each side
proffered and accepted presents of rare articles, such as calumets of
peace, embroidered deer skins, &c. This kind of ceremonial barter being
terminated to their mutual satisfaction, or otherwise, the conference
broke up."[108]
Gumilla says that the Oronoco Indians ratify their treaties with sticks
which they give reciprocally,[109] and the Araucanians, according to
Molina, carry in their hands, when they conclude a peace, the branches
of a tree, regarded as sacred by them, which they present to each
other.[110]
I have already enumerated the various kinds of beads and shown the
sources from which they were derived and the uses to which they were
applied. I have yet to describe the manner in which they are strung or
combined in strings and belts.
The beads chosen as most convenient for stringing or weaving into
fabrics were small cylinders from one-eighth to one-quarter of an inch
in diameter, and from one-quarter to one-half an inch in length. White
strings or belts were sufficient for the expression of simple ideas or
the association of simple facts, but the combinations of colors in
patterns rendered it possible to record much more complicated affairs.
In belts used for mnemonic purposes the colors were generally arranged
without reference to the character of the facts or thoughts to be
intrusted to them, but in a few cases the figures are ideographic, and
are significant of the event to be memorized. Strings cannot be utilized
in this way.
_Wampum in strings._--From Mr. Beauchamp's notes I have compiled the
following brief account of the use of strings of wampum among the modern
Iroquois. Six strings of purple beads united in a cluster represent the
six nations. When the tribes meet the strands are arranged in a circle,
which signifies that the council is opened. The Onondagas are
represented by seven strings, which contain a few white beads; the
Cayugas by six strands, all purple, and the Tuscaroras by seven strands,
nearly all purple. The Mohawks have six strings, on which there are two
purple beads to one white. These are illustrated in Fig. 2, Plate XLIV.
There are four strings in the Oneida cluster; these contain two purple
to one white bead. The Senecas have four strings, with two purple beads
to one white. The three nations which were brothers are represented by
similar clusters.
When a new chief is installed the address delivered on the occasion is
"talked into" ten very long strings of white wampum. Three strings,
mostly white, represent the name of the new chief. One of these clusters
is shown in Fig. 1, Plate XLIV.[111] When a chief dies he is mourned on
ten strings of black wampum. If he has merely lost his office, six short
strings are used.
According to Mr. Beauchamp, possession of beads gives authority, and
they are also used as credentials, or, as the Indians express it,
"Chief's wampum all same as your letter." Such of these strings as
remain in existence are still in use among the Iroquois, and are
considered very precious by them, being made of antique hand-made beads.
In the literature relating to our Indian tribes we find occasional
reference to the use of strings of wampum in ways that indicate that
they were invested with certain protective and authoritative qualities,
doubtless from their association with the name of some chief, clan, or
tribe.
It is recorded that on one occasion Logan, the Mingo chief, saved a
captive white from torture by rushing through the circle of Indians and
throwing a string of wampum about the prisoner's neck. Through the
virtue of this string he was enabled to lead him away and adopt him into
his family.
A somewhat different use is mentioned by Pike, to whom a Chippewa chief
made a speech, during which he presented his pipe to Mr. Pike to bear to
the Sioux. Attached to the pipe were seven strings of wampum, which
signified that authority was given by seven chiefs of the Chippewa to
conclude peace or make war.[112]
_Wampum belts._--In the manufacture of belts a great deal of skill and
taste have been shown. The large figured varieties were intricate in
design and extremely pleasing in color. Belts of wampum beads were
probably used simply as a part of the costume long before they became
the vehicles of tradition, and beads were doubtless used in other parts
of the costume in a similar manner. It is said that in New England they
were made by the women; in later times it is probable that the whites
engaged to some extent in their manufacture.
Mr. Morgan gives such a good account of the details of belt making that
I beg leave to quote him in full:
"In making a belt no particular pattern was followed; sometimes they are
of the width of three fingers and three feet long, in other instances as
wide as the hand and over three feet in length; sometimes they are all
of one color, in others variegated, and in still others woven with the
figures of men to symbolize, by their attitudes, the objects or events
they were designed to commemorate. The most common width was three
fingers, or the width of seven beads, the length ranging from two to six
feet. In belt making, which is a simple process, eight strands or cords
of bark thread are first twisted, from filaments of slippery elm, of the
requisite length and size; after which they are passed through a strip
of deer-skin to separate them at equal distances from each other in
parallel lines. A piece of splint is then sprung in the form of a bow,
to which each end of the several strings is secured, and by which all of
them are held in tension, like warp threads in a weaving machine. Seven
beads, these making the intended width of the belt, are then run upon a
thread by means of a needle, and are passed under the cords at right
angles, so as to bring one bead lengthwise between each cord and the one
next in position. The thread is then passed back again along the upper
side of the cords and again through each of the beads; so that each bead
is held firmly in its place by means of two threads, one passing under
and one above the cords. This process is continued until the belt
reaches its intended length, when the ends of the cords are tied, the
end of the belt covered and afterward trimmed with ribbons. In ancient
times both the cords and the thread were of sinew."[113]
In another place Mr. Morgan states that belts were also made by covering
one side of a deer-skin belt with beads, probably by sewing them
on;[114] a method which is everywhere common in the use of glass beads
in modern work, but is not noticed in any of the mnemonic belts now
extant. It is a remarkable as well as a lamentable fact that none of the
great collections of the country can boast the possession of a wampum
belt. Considering their importance in our early history, and the great
numbers that at one time must have been in existence, this is rather
extraordinary. I have taken considerable pains to collect accurate
representations of a number of examples of the ancient belts for this
work, and am only sorry that I am unable to present them in color--the
only method by which they can be adequately shown. As those which have
come to my notice represent but a few localities, I shall insert
descriptions of a number from regions as remote as possible. There is,
however, great uniformity in design and method of construction; the
result, probably, of their international character. From Heckewelder I
quote the following:
"Their belts of wampum are of different dimensions, both as to the
length and breadth. White and black wampum are the kinds they use; the
former denoting that which is good, as peace, friendship, good-will,
&c.; the latter the reverse; yet occasionally the black also is made use
of on peace errands, when the white cannot be procured; but previous to
its being produced for such purpose, it must be daubed all over with
chalk, white clay, or anything which changes the color from black to
white. * * * A black belt with the mark of a hatchet made on it with red
paint is a war belt, which, when sent to a nation, together with a twist
or roll of tobacco, is an invitation to join in a war. * * * Roads from
one friendly nation to another are generally marked on the belt by one
or two rows of white wampum interwoven in the black, and running through
the middle, and from end to end. It means that they are on good terms,
and keep up a friendly intercourse with each other."[115]
A belt accepted by the Indians of Western Pennsylvania from the French
in a treaty which secured to the latter four forts within English
territory had embroidered upon it four houses, pictographic
representations of the forts.
Another example of the belts used in Pennsylvania, upwards of a century
ago, is described in Beatty's Journal. The Delawares, in explaining to
Beatty a former treaty with Sir William Johnson, "showed a large belt of
wampum of friendship which Sir William Johnson had given them. On each
edge of this were several rows of black wampum, and in the middle were
several rows of white wampum. In the middle of the belt was a figure of
a diamond, in white wampum, which they called the council fire. The
white streak they called the path from him to them and them to
him."[116]
Loskiel states that "the Indian women are very dexterous in weaving the
strings of wampom into belts, and marking them with different figures,
perfectly agreeing with the different subjects contained in the speech.
These figures are marked with white wampom upon black, and with black
upon the white belts. For example, in a _belt of peace_, they very
dexterously represent, in black wampom, two hands joined. The belt of
peace is white, a fathom long and a hand's breadth."[117]
In Plate XXXVII I present a fac-simile reproduction of a plate from the
well known work of Lafitau,[118] in which we have a graphic yet highly
conventional representation of a council or treaty in which wampum belts
were used. It is probably drawn from description and is far from
truthful in detail. The more important facts are, however, very clearly
presented. No information is given either of the people or the locality.
The scene is laid in the middle of a broad featureless plain, the
monotony of which is broken by three highly conventionalized trees. The
parties to the treaty are ranged in two rows, placed, face to face. The
chief who speaks stands at the farther end holding a belt in his right
hand. Three other belts lie upon the mat at his feet, while a fifth is
shown on a large scale in the foreground. The patterns can not be
clearly made out, but in a general way resemble very closely the designs
woven into the belts of the Iroquois.
[Illustration: PL. XXXVII--USE OF WAMPUM BELTS IN INDIAN COUNCIL.
_Facsimile_ of a plate in Lafitau.]
The small belt shown in Fig. 1. Plate XXXVIII, is probably one of the
most recent examples. The cut is copied from Plate 1 of the Fifth Annual
Report of the Regents of the University of New York on the condition of
the State Cabinet of Natural History, p. 72. The beads of which it is
composed formerly belonged to the celebrated Mohawk chief, Joseph Brant.
They were afterwards purchased from his daughter by Mr. Morgan. In 1850
they were taken to Tonawanda, in the State of New York, and made into
this belt. The trimmings are apparently of ribbons, and the symmetry and
uniformity of the whole work give it a new look not noticeable in the
other specimens. The design consists of a row of dark diamond-shaped
figures upon a white ground. It is now preserved in the State Cabinet of
Natural History at Albany.
A belt of unusual form is shown in Fig. 2, Plate XXXVIII. It was kindly
lent by Mrs. E. A. Smith, of Jersey City, by whom it was obtained from
the Mohawks. It is 26 inches (251 beads) in length and in width varies
from three inches (11 beads) at one end to about one inch (5 beads) at
the other. It is bifurcated at the wide end, five rows having been
omitted from the middle of the belt for about one-third of the length.
Near the middle of the belt one row of beads is dropped from each side.
Between this and the smaller end at nearly equal intervals it is twice
depleted in a like manner. The beads are quite irregular in shape and
size, but rather new looking and are strung in the usual manner, the
longitudinal strings being buckskin and the transverse small cords of
vegetable fiber. The ends and edges are all neatly finished by wrapping
the marginal strings with a thin fillet of buckskin. The figures are in
white beads upon a ground of purple. The form of this belt indicates
that it has been adapted to some particular use, the placing of cords at
the corners and shoulders suggesting its attachment in a fixed position
to some part of the person or costume.
[Illustration: PL. XXXVIII--WAMPUM BELTS.
1. Mohawk Belt.
2. Mohawk Belt.]
In Plates XXXIX, XL, XLI and XLII, I present a series of illustrations
of the wampum belts belonging to the Onondagas. They are preserved as a
most precious treasure by these people at their agency in Onondaga
County, New York. The drawings were made by Mr. Trill from a series of
minute photographs made from the original belts by General J. S. Clark,
of Auburn, New York. These were obtained for me by the Rev. W. M.
Beauchamp, of Baldwinsville, New York, who has also very kindly
furnished many of the facts embodied in the following descriptions.[119]
These belts are made in the usual manner, and present a great variety of
shapes, sizes, and designs. Their full history has never been obtained
by the whites, and it is not probable that the Indians themselves have
preserved a very full account of their origin and significance. They are
all ancient, and, judging by their appearance, must date far back in the
history of the League. Many of them are quite fragmentary, and fears are
entertained that they will gradually fall to pieces and be lost. It is
to be hoped that measures will be taken to have them preserved at least
in the form of accurate chromo-lithographs. Mr. Beauchamp states that
they are yearly wasting away, as a little wampum is annually cast into
the fire at the burning of the "white dog," and these belts are the
source of supply.
The small belt presented in Fig. 1, Plate XXXIX, is somewhat
fragmentary, an unknown number of beads having been lost from the ends.
It is seven rows wide and at present two hundred beads long. The design
consists of a series of five double diamonds worked in dark wampum upon
white. At one end a few rows of an additional figure remain, and at the
other a small white cross is worked upon a ground of dark beads. The
number of figures may be significant of the number of parties to a
treaty.
Fig. 2 represents a well preserved belt, seven rows in width and about
three hundred and twenty in length. The ground is of dark wampum, on
which are worked five hexagonal figures of white wampum. For a short
space at the ends alternate rows are white. As was suggested in regard
to the preceding belt, the figures in this may represent the parties to
a treaty.
The belt shown in Fig. 3 differs from the others in being pictographic.
It is also quite perfect, although the character of the beads indicates
considerable age. It is seven rows in width and three hundred and fifty
beads in length. The figures are white, on a dark ground, and consist of
a cross near one end, connected by a single row of beads with the head
of the figure of a man toward the other end. Beneath the feet of the
elementary man the figure of a diamond is worked. The cross is probably
significant of the mission of the man who comes from a long distance to
the lodge or council of the red man. This is probably a French belt.
[Illustration: PL. XXXIX--WAMPUM BELTS BELONGING TO THE ONONDAGAS.]
The remnant of a very handsome belt is shown in Plate XL. Considerable
wampum has been lost from both ends, but the design appears to be nearly
perfect, and consists of a trowel or heart-shaped figure in the center
with two rectangular figures on the right and two on the left. These are
in white upon a dark ground. Mr. Beauchamp states that it is said to be
very old, and is thought to represent the formation of the Iroquois
league and to signify "one heart for all the nations." He doubts its
great antiquity as the beads are too regular for hand-made cylinders.
The belt is thirty-eight rows wide and about two hundred beads in
length.
[Illustration: PL. XL--WAMPUM BELT BELONGING TO THE ONONDAGAS.]
The large elaborately figured belt shown in Plate XLI is almost perfect.
The lateral margins are white; a broad notched band of dark wampum
occupies the middle of this belt; through this from end to end runs a
chain of white diamonds, sixteen in number, which may represent States
or nations. It is forty-five rows wide and two hundred and forty beads
long.
[Illustration: PL. XLI--WAMPUM BELT BELONGING TO THE ONONDAGAS.]
The magnificent belt shown in Plate XLII, is probably the finest example
in existence. It is fifteen rows wide and six hundred and fifty in
length, making the enormous total of nine thousand seven hundred and
fifty beads. Mr. Beauchamp believes that this belt, or one like it, has
been described as representing the formation of the League. From
Webster's[120] statement, that it was "made by George Washington," he
surmises that it is a belt memorizing a covenant between the Indians and
the government. In the center is a house which has three gables and
three compartments. Next the house on either side are two pictographic
men, who appear to stand beneath protecting arms which pass over their
heads, connect with the house, and grasp the hands of the first
personages immediately on the right and left. In all there are fifteen
figures of men, two being connected with the house; of the others, six
stand on the right and seven on the left of the central group. It is
suggested by Mr. Beauchamp that these figures may represent the thirteen
colonies.
[Illustration: PL. XLII--WAMPUM BELT BELONGING TO THE ONONDAGAS.]
Six other belts are shown in the photographs procured by General Price.
One of them is thirteen rows wide and two hundred and fifty beads in
length. The light ground is decorated with groups of triple chevrons.
This belt is somewhat fragmentary. Another is forty-nine rows wide,
being the widest example known. The original length cannot be
determined, but at present it is two hundred and forty beads in length,
and hence contains about twelve thousand beads. The pattern is simple,
consisting of a dark ground notched at the edges with triangular figures
of white. As the four remaining belts of this fine collection have no
features of especial interest, they need not be described here.
The remarkable belt shown in Plate XLIII has an extremely interesting,
although a somewhat incomplete, history attached to it. It is believed
to be the original belt delivered by the Leni-Lenape sachems to William
Penn at the celebrated treaty under the elm tree at Shackamaxon in 1682.
Although there is no documentary evidence to show that this identical
belt was delivered on that occasion, it is conceded on all hands that it
came into the possession of the great founder of Pennsylvania at some
one of his treaties with the tribes that occupied the province ceded to
him. Up to the year 1857 this belt remained in the keeping of the Penn
family. In March, 1857, it was presented to the Pennsylvania Historical
Society by Granville John Penn, a great grandson of William Penn. Mr.
Penn, in his speech on this occasion,[121] states that there can be no
doubt that this is the identical belt used at the treaty, and presents
his views in the following language: "In the first place, its dimensions
are greater than of those used on more ordinary occasions, of which we
have one still in our possession--this belt being composed of eighteen
strings of wampum--which is a proof that it was the record of some very
important negotiation. In the next place, in the center of the belt,
which is of white wampum, are delineated in dark-colored beads, in a
rude but graphic style, two figures--that of an Indian grasping with the
hand of friendship the hand of a man evidently intended to be
represented in the European costume, wearing a hat; which can only be
interpreted as having reference to the treaty of peace and friendship
which was then concluded between William Penn and the Indians, and
recorded by them in their own simple but descriptive mode of expressing
their meaning, by the employment of hieroglyphics. Then the fact of its
having been preserved in the family of the founder from that period to
the present time, having descended through three generations, gives an
authenticity to the document which leaves no doubt of its genuineness;
and as the chain and medal which were presented by the Parliament to his
father, the admiral, for his naval services, have descended amongst the
family archives unaccompanied by any written document, but is recorded
on the journals of the House of Commons, equal authenticity may be
claimed for the wampum belt confirmatory of the treaty made by his son
with the Indians; which event is recorded on the page of history,
though, like the older relic, it has been unaccompanied in its descent
by any document in writing."
[Illustration: PL. XLIII--THE PENN BELT. (1/4)]
It will be seen, by reference to the accompanying illustration, that
beside the two figures of men there are three oblique bands of dark
wampum, one on the left and two on the right. The one next the central
group on the right is somewhat broken, and consists of two long bands
and one short one. It is probable that these bands were used to record,
by association, some important features of the treaty in which the belt
was used. The beads are strung upon cords made of sinew or vegetable
fibre, while the longitudinal fillets are of buckskin. This belt may be
seen at the rooms of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
[Illustration: PL. XLIV--STRINGS OF WAMPUM.
1. Name of New Chief.
2. "Mohawk."]