The following note is taken verbatim from the Merriam files.
The Nose Stick: The Redwood Hoi-let'-hah tell me that their
tribe never perforated the nose during life, but when a person died
they charred a piece of poison oak to make it strong, and sharpened
it and bored a hole with it through the septum of the dead person's
nose and then put handsome Dentalium shell money in the hole before
burying the person.
The Tol-lo-wah of Crescent City and Karok of Upper Klamath
River (Orleans Bar to Happy Camp) were the only Indians the
Redwoods knew who dared wear the nose shell when alive--the other
tribes were afraid to do so.