Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-10-17

Written for The Evening Star.
sAvA0E ART IN SHELL.
What Peoples Of Old U..d to MAI. ous q ssa
Shells.
THEIR uGR A. vIssEIS ron FOOD AND DnrNK-
AussKL VALVES yoR sPooNs-svoLurlox OF
TIE HANDLE - sHELLs - onNANRHrs, ~
WEAPONS AND IoI AoRfcu1ruaAL 1u1fosEa
TNHE AGE OF SHELL AND TIE AGE OF
L stone may be said to have gone together.
Probably the shells Of mollusks came into use
- utensils at very early date in the history of
mankind, and mutually with products Of the
vegetable world Afforded natural vessels for
food and water. For . long time doubtless no
one thought Of altering their form to render
their employment more convenient, but later
on the edges and points were sharpened and
useless parts we're broken away. The farther
articles Of this material were carried inland
from the source ofsupply the greater the value
that must have attached to them. To the
supcrstitious savage who had never seen the
ocean sea shell with the roar Of the breakers
sounding in its coiled recesses was necessarily
an object Of mystery and veneration.
As vessels for food and drink and rs cups for
paints many species of shells are most con-
veniently shaped. CLAIMS formed Q very i'm
portant food Of the ancient seaboard tribes,
and the emptied valves were utilized in great
variety Of ways. Many Of them were large and
deep, so rs to BIO readily available for cups and
dishes, and as such they are not scorned by the
modern clam baker, who, like the savage inhabi-
tant OF old, makes periodical visits to the sea-
shore to fish and feast. They were also used
rs knives, scrapers and hoes. Shells OF the
great family of fresh water mussels called
.'unios" have always held an important place
in the domestic and mechanical arts OF the
aborlgines Of North America. Their chalky
remains are among the most plentiful relics Of
the mounds and other ancient burial places,
and they come from graves that are centuries
old with all the pearly delicacy OF lining which
they possessed when first taken from the water.
SHELLS FOB SPOONS AND CUPS.
The valves Of many varieties Of these unios
are well adapted to the uses Of man. Not large
enough for food vessels they make most sat-
isfactory spoons and cups and are frequently
found to retain portions Of the pigments left
from the last toilet Of the primeval warrior and
destined tor his employment in the spirit land.
Probably, however, they were much more fire.
quently utilized o. knives and scrspers, and as
such have played their part in the baroaric
feasts Of the primitive village or have assisted
in the bloody work Of scalp taking and torture.
Buried with the dead, they were designed to
serve in the spirit land the purposes to which
they were put in life.
The ubalone' of the Pacific coast affords one
of the best examples Of the varied uses to which
natural shells have been applied by savage
peoples. Its shape adapted it admirably for
the purpose Of q vessel for food or drink.
Probably it formed as important Q factor in the
commerce OF tribes along the western shore Of
the continent as did the large conchs OF the
Atlantic in that OF the mound builders and
In inn are
known to have had . high value at
tached to them, and few years ago a
single fine specimen was considered fair
equivalent in payment for a horse. The homely
oyster shell has also found wide employment
| among eastern Indians in the past and has
doubtless served many important uses, such as
would only be suggested tc those who were
unacquainted with metals. The nautilus
and great variety of other large univalve
sea shells were also made to serve as
vessels. After q while, when long experience
had afford its suggestions, handles were
carved cut Of the shells or added to them, holes
were bored. margins were 81 ound down, useless
parts were broken away and surfaces We're pol
lsned. Various portions even came to be
utilized for ornaments.
SEA SHELLS AS DHINKITa CUPS.
With many nations Of old which were bounti-
fully supplied with convenient vessels of clay
ad stone, as we'll as with others Of the hard
husks Of fruits, sea shells we're. nevertheless.
favorite receptables for drinking purposes.
When the whites first brought such merchant
disc to Lake Superior the astonished Ojibways
listened in amazement to the roaring of the
ocean i'll the big conchs and paid for them from
$3O to GAO apiece In turs. For wandering peo-
piles. such MS the early Indians mostly were,
vessels OF this sort would have q great superb
GRITTY over those of other materials. because
they were NOR heavy and could be trans
ported without danger vi breaking. Vessels OF
she'll have also served as models for the print
tive potter. The ancient peoples Of the Mis-
slsslRpi valley were extremely skillful in
the Reproduction Of natural objects in clay and
the forms of shells were among those which
they most frequently initiated. The handles
carved out OF or added to The she'll utensils
seem to have been intended chiefly for enabling
the holder to eat hot food without danger g.
burning the fingers 1t is a fact very interest
ing to observe INA, mos: of such utensils have
been made from the left valve Of the shell,
which gives sach a position to the handle that
they are most conveniently used by the right
hand. Vessels IN graves nave quite commonly
been found with smaller spoon shells inside OF
them.
AS KNIVES AND WEAPONS.
From u very early date shells must have been
employed by the ancient Americans as nipple
ments weapons for war and the chase. as
appliances for shing. as agric ultura, tools as
knives. goISers scrapers, perfOrators, &c, and
in variety of arts. Among the early
Indians shells artiici.lly shaped and sharp
ened were utilized for forming objects In
wood and clay, i'll dressing game, liz pre-
parnig food anu in the butchery of huma n
beings. Ii is related that when the all power
full Powhatan wished to punish an enemy he
Caused him 10 be tied to a tree and an execu-
toner cut off his joints one after another
with mussie shells. throwing the parts thus
severed INTO the tire, after which the skin was
Il. we'd from the head and face with keen
edged shells. Such knives were also used by
Powhatan women for cutting OF their hair.
A number OF au .hors mention the use of shells
scaipinS knives. The In,ii.ns encountered
by Hendcick Hudson during his first voyage.
in making him welcome, killed tat dog ami
skinned i: in haste with shells which they had .
FOR HOES AND FISH HOOKS.
The first explorers Of the Atlantic seaboard
found many Of he tribes cultivating the soil to
u limited extent with shells used as hoes. On
the Pacific coast hooks of the same material
were much used for fishing, many of
them most admirably shaped In fact.
hooks and other fishing apparatus, made
in whole or in part Of shell. are
extensively employed to this day by the tribes
OF the nor Invest shore and among the natives
Of the Pacific Islands, although bone and ivory
are in much higher favor for those pur-
poses. The natives Of Tahiti make fish
hooks Of mother Of pearl, which serve
the double purpose Ut hook and