The Monmouth inquirer., 1925-06-18
WAMPUM, INDIAN
MONEY And The FAKE.
How to Distinguish them.
Carved Wampum in Museums.

How to Distinguish them.
Carved Wampum in Museums.
So much has been lately written
about Wampum, the very early Indi-
an commodity of trade which leaves
the reader with confused impress ion
as to the real old-made by Indians and
the counterfeit made by enterprising
white manufacturers with rapidly re-
yolving tools, that we venture a-Afew
words which we hope will enable our
readers to form their own conclusion.
A recent article we read telling Of the
manufacture of wampum by machinery
by white men, is certainly very unfair
to the native shrewdness of these Lords
Of the Land for they had stopped to
use it as money as soon as they de-
tected the substitutes, now mostly
shown in museums, many OF which
were undoubtedly made by machinery
by their skilled white brethren, which
was Of course done very soon after they
found out that wampam was only 8
shell that by machinery could be easily
converted into some semblance oi the
orig nal.
Owing to Indians soon acquired distrust
of the whites, we do not believe many
red men were ever cheated by the ma
chine made article unless they had first
imbibed freely of the fire-water furnish
ed by white brethren.
Beautiful colored CLAIMS and pure
white muscles were used by Indians
when they made wampum and the pro-
duct made by them was never plenti
full
AS early as 1860 the Indians were in
formed by Roger Williams, of New Eng
land, of the counterfeit machine manu-
featured wampum clam shells. Before
this warning however, about 1920, the
Indians had stopped the manufacture
Of wampum as money, but still con-
tInued to Manufacture wampum belts,
head scarfs or necklaces, scoops, show
els, horns to blow, fish hooks, needles,
whistles. armlets, anklets, &c. The
wampum belts and head necklaces
were used in peace treaties q wampum
belt, still in existence, having been Civ
en- in 1852 to bind the VIM. Penn treaty.
The black, red and blue part of the
inside clam-shell they used was consid-
cred the most valuable, while the white
which was found in almost any clam
shell, was used for edgings and a con-
trast Of coloring in making the design,
generally elongated squares, diam0pEa
shaped, circles, &c, the different coI-
ored beads used in rotation, making
pretty piece. A stone or flint awl or
implement was first used to break out
the part near the wanted size.
The hole In the wampum was drilled
by stone or flint awl attached to
stick revolved in a cross-piece stick
held in the hand The revolving stick
had tn ong of raw hide or anything
that would answer for string, which
winds or unwinds as it is pulled in OPP
posite directions. The top cross piece
being pressed at the same time the
string was pulled the stone awl slowly
bored a hole through the piece Of shell,
when part through, the shell would be
turned around and the hole completed.
After iron ore was found in America
the Indians generally used a nail in
stead of stone awl, but still left the
hole jagged, which is also means to
tell whether Indian made.
By this process it will be seen that
the finished wampum would be crude
Of different sizes, of an uneven round
ness and the cylinders not symmetrical
and this is the surest method of telling
those Indian made. The white BROTH
er made the cylinders and beads of an
almost even size and with an unusual
lustrous polish done by machinery
then unknown to the Indians.
To test whether made by pale-face
machinery or genuine Indian them
wampum the Indian rubbed made
slowly back and forth across the nose to
detect their unevenness and peculiar
ridges. If smooth and regularly made
they would not barter anything for it.
| The value of genuine Indian-made
wampum when it was used as money
was calculated by the length of the
string, the size and length of the single
bead or cylinder and also its proximity
to the seashore. The reason why wam-
pun was never plentiful among the In
dams was on account of it's manufac
ture being very laborious and hence be-
meath the dignity of the noble red war;
rior and he generally let his squaw do
the drudging labor while he contented
himself with providing game and fish
for his family,
Picture an Indian brave, or his
Ndrudging squaw, wasting any unusual
labor on anything but wood and
as they conclusively thought, the
ever enduring stone. Their rude carv-
ings on these will convince anyone they
did not make any articles of highly
pOlisiieu anu peaubiAuiy cdANeu "aAA-
pum.
Lot the untutored American Indian,
He fought, gained and fished
The world was his, why be drudge2
He let his squaw do all she wished.
Bow, arrow and spear made him brave,
He conqured and many scalps did take
But the pale-face came; alas for him,
His wampum money they quickly faxed
Two Indian face masks from the
Smithsonian Institution, Washington,
d. c.. are among the scarce articles on
j IL. .;4:...a L.,.lis.,.