vreeland - wampum

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W A M P U M : T H E N A T I V E S U B S T I T U T E F O R

C U R R E N C Y IN N O R T H A M E R I C A .

B Y N E H E M I A H V R E E L A N D .

A M P U M is a b e a d m a d e f ro m t he c la m , p e r i w i n k le , c o n c h

and o ther shel ls , used in former t imes by the Ind ians o f

N o r t h A m e r i c a a s m o n e y . I t w a s a l s o a d o p t e d b y t h e

ear ly Du t ch, Fr en ch and B r i t i sh co loni st s for t he sa m e

pu r pose, a nd dif fer ed f rom t he " co w r i es " in be i ng a m anu fact u r ed

art icle ; wh i lst to turn cow ries into m on ey al l that wa s ne ce ssa ry wa s to

f i nd t hem and pu nch a smal l ho le t hr ou gh t hem.

T h e q u e s t i o n of c u r r en c y o r e x c h a n g e w a s o n e o f t h e m o s t s e r i o u s

pr oblem s wi t h whi ch t he co loni st s had t o cont end , and t he scar c i t y of

t h e E u r o p e a n c i r c u l a t in g m e d i u m r e n d e r e d t h e a d o p t io n o f w a m p u m

nece ssar y in gen er a l t r ade. T h e D u t c h wer e t he f ir st t o em ploy i t,

and it went u n der t he nam es " Se aw an t " and " Z e w an t , " whi ls t by

t he Fr e nch it was ca l led " Por ce la i ne, " by t he Indi an s " Se w an ," and

W a m p u m w a s t h e B ri ti s h te r m .

It wa s not a chea p art icle of f icti tious value , for the shel ls from

which i t was made were found only on the sea-shore, and the di ff iculty

and exp ens e o f t hei r su p ply pr opor t i onat e ly i ncr eased t hei r dem and,

acco r di n g t o t he di st ance o f t he Indi ans o f t he i nt er ior , who u sed t hem,

from t he coast . B esi d es serving" t he Indi an as a med i u m for ex ch an ge

a n d a s t a n d a r d o f v a l u e, w a m p u m w a s t h e ir b a d g e o f w e a l t h a n d

posi t ion . Fr o m pr ehi st or i c t i mes t hese beads wer e u sed by t he In di ans

for per sonal decor at i on , t he nu mber o f s t r i ngs wor n mar ki ng t he weal t h

and social posit ion of the w eare r .



Currency in North America. 343

In a l l a ffa ir s o f s t a t e t he chiefs and sach em s wor e w am pu m bel t s

ar ou nd t hei r wai st s or over t hei r shou lder s . In nego t i at i ons wi t h o t her

t r i bes ever y i mpor t ant s t at ement was cor r obor at ed by lay i ng c lown one

or mo r e bel t s . Fr i en dsh i ps wer e cem ent ed by t hem, a l l i ances conf ir med,

t r eat i es negot i at ed, and m ar r i ages so lemn i sed. In a l l o f t hese t he

g i v i n g o f w a m p u m a d d e d d i g n i t y a n d a u t h o r it y t o t h e t r a n s a ct io n .

" T h i s b e l t p r e s e r v e s m y w o r d s , " w a s t h e c o m m o n p h r a s e a m o n g t h e

I r o q u o i s e w h e n p r o m i s e s w e r e m a d e . S o m e o f t h e b e lt s w e r e o f

spec i a l des i gn ancl em ployed t o rat ify eve r y i mpor t ant t r eat y , and i n

e ff ec t w e r e t h e s a m e a s t h e te c h n i ca l " d e l i v e r y " o f a d e e d o f

con vey anc e t o-day . T h e r edm en wer e bor n t r ader s , and it is not ,

therefore, surprising to f ind in the local i t ies of the most inland tr ibes,

shel l s t hat had been j acked u p on bot h t he At lant i c and Paci f i c coast s .

T h e r e w a s a g r e a t v a r i e t y of w a m p u m . T h e tr ib e s t h e n o c c u p y i n g

w h a t i s n o w k n o w n a s C a l if o rn i a, N e w M e x i c o , A r i z o n a , T e n n e s s e e ,

G eo r gi a and Flo r i da u sed dif fer ent k i nds, whi ch ar e shown in t he

i l lustrat ions, but to d escrib e and classi fy al l in detai l wou ld requ ire a

l a r g e v o l u m e .

The var i et y u sed by t he whi t e co loni st s was manu fact u r ed i n

M a s s a c h u s e t t s , N e w Y o r k , a n d N e w J e r s e y . T h e r e w e r e t w o c o l o u rs ,

wh ite ancl da rk p urple. T h e dark,-, m ad e from the hea rt of the clam

W A M P U M O F N E W M E X I C O A N D C A L I F O R N I A , W I T H S AW N S H E L L S B E F O R E D R I L L I N G

A N D R O U N D I N G . S I ZE , A .

shel l , was accou n t ed dou ble t he va lu e o f t he whi t e . T h e dar k wam pu m

was known as " Su cka u ho ck," and i n s ize var i ed f rom t hr ee-ei gh t hs t o



3 4 4 Wampum The Native Substitute for

f ive-eighths o f an inch lo ng by one -eigh th o f an inch th ick, be ing

dri l led le ngth wis e an d s trun g on te ndo ns o f anim als or on fibres o f

h e m p . S u c k a u h o c k s e r v e d t h e p u r p o s e fo r w h i c h g o l d c oi n i s u s e d ,

and the wh ite , o f ha l f the va lue, se rve d in the place o f s i lver co in .W a m p u m m a d e b y t h e I n d i a n i n s o m e c a s e s w a s c r u d e , fo r

roun ding , po l ish ing and dri l l ing with f lint or i ron too ls required gr ea t

pat ience, coupled with consid erab le labour and ski l l. T h e dri l l ing in

some cases was performed with a bow and dri l l , s imi lar to the bow-dri l l

u s e d b y w a t c h m a k e r s a n d j e w e l l e r s o f t h e p r e s e n t d a y , w h i c h c e r t a in l y

date s its origin from preh istoric t imes.

P R E H I S T O R I C W A M P U M F R O M G E O R G I A A N D F L O R I D A , F O U N D I N O L D G R A V E S . S I Z E , -J-.

L a w s o n , t h e C a r o l i n a s u r v e y o r , w r i t i n g o f w a m p u m in t h e y e a r

1 7 1 4 , s p e a k s o f it a s, " A l l m a d e o f s h e l ls w h i c h a r e fo u nd o n t h e c o a s tof Caro l ina , wh ich are ve ry larg e and hard, so the y are ve ry di ff icu lt to

cut ." H e add s that " som e Eng l ish smiths ha ve tr ied to dri ll th is sort

o f s h e l l m o n e y a n d t h e r e b y t h o u g h t t o g e t a n a d v a n t a g e , b u t i t p r o v e d

s o h a r d t h a t n o t h i n g c o u l d b e g a i n e d . " A l t h o u g h a n y o n e w a s f re e t o

m a k e a s m u c h w a m p u m a s h e p l e a s e d , t h e I n d i a n n e v e r b e c a m e

we al thy by such a course , for the rich Indians we re those w ho acquired

weal th through trade, conquest , or both.




I t was t he cu st om t o bu r y s t r i ngs of wam pu m wi t h the dead

war r i or , for t he Indi ans bel i ev ed he wou ld ha ve u se for it in t he ne xt

wor ld, and t hat t hr ou gh t he favou r o f the G r ea t Spi r i t i ts possess i on

wou ld bec om e in no smal l deg r e e h i s passpor t t o the hap py hu nt i n gg r o u n d s . W a m p u m h a s b e e n f ou n d in b o t h v e r y o ld an d in r e c e n t

gr a ve s , bu t su ch wer e o ft en r obbe d for t he we al t h t hey t hu s con t a i ned.

T h e A l g o n q u i n s o f C o n n e c t i c u t u s e d it t o o r n a m e n t t h e i r

mocassi ns . T h e Sach em s ancl gr ea t men o f t he t r i be had bel t s , som e

o f w h i c h c o n t a in e d s o g r e a t a q u a n t i t y o f w a m p u m t h a t t h e E n g l i s h

co loni st s va lu e d t hem at e i gh t pou nd s st er l i ng, and t hese wer e

t r easu r ed by t he chi efs in m u ch t he same m anner as ar e t he cr own

j e w e l s o f t h e p r e s e n t d a y .

I n t he y e a r 1 6 4 1 th e N e w A m s t e r d a m ( N e w Y o r k ) C o u n c i l

pr om u lga t ed an or di nance dec lar i ng t hat in the fut u re a l l coar se

wam pu m wel l s t r u ng, shou ld p ass a t s i x for a s t u yver , and t he wel l

po l i shed bea ds shou ld be va lu e d at four for a s t u yv er .

I M I T A T I O N A N D G E N U I N E W A M P U M . S I Z E, {-.

T h e co lonist s , how ever , d i d not escap e t he cou nt er fe i ter s . T h e

lat t er br ou ght i n t o c i r cu lat ion u nper for at ed bea ds m ade o f s t one, bon e,

g la ss and por cela i ne, wi th t he r esu lt t hat t he gen u i ne w am pu mdep r ec i at ed in va lu e. B ea ds o f por cela i ne wer e manu fact u r ed in

E u r o p e t o i m i t a te w a m p u m , s e n t to A m e r i c a a n d c i r cu l a te d a m o n g t h e

co loni st s , bu t t he Indi ans ever r efu sed t o t ake or r ecogni se t hem.

T h e D i r e c t o r - G e n e r a l S t u y v e s a n t t r i e d t o s t o p c o u n t e r f e i t i n g b y

an or di nance o f M ay 3 0 th, 1650 , dec lar i ng t hat loose or u nst r u ng

wampu m shou ld no longer be lega l t ender , and di v i di ng t he r ecogni sed



346 Wampum The Native Substitute or

m e d i u m i n t o tw o c l a s s e s : ( i ) W e l l s t r u n g a n d p e r f ec t b e a d s t o p a s s a t

the rate o f th ree dark, or s ix wh ite to one stu yv er ; (2) T h e bad ly

s t r u n g w a m p u m a t e i g h t w h i t e o r f ou r d a r k b e a d s t o o n e s t u y v e r .

T h i s m e a s u r e , h o w e v e r , w a s n o t a s u c c e s s , f or t h e s c a r c i t y o f w e l l

s trun g wam pum threa tene d to cause a f inancia l disaster . O n

September 14th, 1650, therefore , the loose and imperfect beads were

a g a i n m a d e l e g a l t e n d e r . S e v e n y e a r s l a te r t h e s u p p l y o f w a m p u m

was so larg e that the be ad s wer e redu ced in va lue to e ight for one

s t u y v e r .

'JT

W A M P U M F R O M A R IZ O N A , N E W Y O R K ( P R E H I S T O R I C ) A N D T E N N E S S E E ( P R E H I S T O R I C ) .

SI Z E, - I .

I n N e w E n g l a n d in t h e y e a r 1 6 3 7 it w a s o r d e r e d t h a t w a m p u m

s h o u ld p a s s a t " s i x a - p e n n y " fo r a n y s u m o f l es s t h a n t w e l v e p e n c e .

O n O cto be r 7 th , T640, it wa s proc la im ed th at white wa m pum shou ldp a s s a t " f o u r a - p e n n y , " b l u e a t " t w o a - p e n n y , " a n d n o t m o r e t h a n

tw elve pe nce in va lue at one t ime should be tend ered unless the

r e c e i v e r d e s i r e d m o r e . O n M a y 2 2 n d , 1 6 6 1 , t h e l a w a u t h o r i z i n g t h e

u s e o f w a m p u m a s l e g a l t e n d e r w a s r e p e a l e d , a n d t o a g r e a t e x t e n t t h e

c o i n i n g o f s i lv e r t h e n d r o v e w a m p u m b e a d s o u t o f c ir c u la t i on .

T h e r e w e r e s e v e r a l p l a c e s in N e w J e r s e y w h e r e w a m p u m w a s

m a d e , C a p e M a y a n d P a s c a c k t u r n i n g o u t t h e b e s t . T h e f a c t o r y




locat ed at the la t ter p lace w as oper at ed b y t he C am pb el l fami ly o f fou r

br ot her s , wh o em i gr at e d f rom Sco t land and set t led near t he head

w a t e r s o f H a c k e n s a c k R i v e r . I n a d d i t io n t o b e i n g m a n u f a c t ur e r s o f

w a m p u m t h e y w e r e f a r m e r s .

Aft er t he c lose o f t he war in t he yea r 17S3 t her e was ver y l i tt le

m one y in c i r cu lat ion , most o f t he t r adi ng bei n g don e by bar t er . T h e

t h e n a n c e s t o r o f o n e of t h e l e a d i n g f am i li es in N e w Y o r k o f t o - d a y

t ook ad van t ag e o f t he condi t i ons t hen ex i s t i ng and a r r an ged wi t h t he

Ca m pb el ls t o fu rni sh h i m wi t h w ampu m , wi t h whi ch he b ou g ht fu r s

from t he Indi ans, and t hu s la id t he fou ndat ion o f t he vas t fort u ne o f

h i s d e s c e n d a n t s .

W A M P U M . " P I P E S " M A D E O F W H I T E S H E L L , U S E D BY I N D I A N S O F T H E P L A I N . S I Z E, J .

S o m e o f t h e I n d i an s g r e w w e a l t h y a n d a s t im e w e n t o n b e c a m emo r e so . T h i s cr eat ed a desi r e and deman d for som et hi n g mo r e

s h o w y in t h e w a y o f s h el l j e w e l l e r y . T o s u p p l y th i s d e m a n d t h e

P a s c a c k f ac to r y m a d e l a r g e w a m p u m b e a d s , m e a s u r i n g fr om o n e i nc h

t o s i x i nches in lengt h and hi gh ly po l i shed. T h e y wer e ca l led " p i pes . "

A ls o r ou nd shel l d i scs w er e mad e ca l led " mo ons " from one t o t hr ee

i nches in di amet er . T h e pi pe var i et y was u sed by t he Indi an war r i or



348 Wampum The ative Substitute for

to dec orate the bre ast o f h is ves t or coat , a l so for bra id ing- in with h is

h a i r in t h e s a m e m a n n e r t h a t s o m e o f t h e g y p s i e s o f E u r o p e u s e s i l v e r

thalers.

T h e m o o n s , m a d e fr om b e a u ti fu l p i n k s h e l l s , w e r e w o r n l i k e a

breast p in at the throat , the we al thy chief ha vin g a fu ll set , wh i le the

p o o r b r a v e h a d o n l y t w o o r t h r e e o f t h e s m a l l e r s i ze . T h e I n d i a n

a c t e d o n t h e t h e o r y t h a t a n y o n e f o r tu n a t e e n o u g h t o p o s s e s s a n y

c o n s i d e r a b l e a m o u n t w o u l d m i s s n o o p p o r t u n i t y o f m a k i n g a d i s p l a y o f

W A M P U M . " M O O N S " O F P I N K S H E L L , U S E D B Y I N D I A N S O F T H E P L A I N . S I Z E ,

the same, for Indians are natura l ly ostentat ious . Pip es and m oo ns thusa c q u i r e d a s t a n d a r d v a l u e i n t r a d i n g a m o n g t h e I n d i a n s o f t h e p l a i n s .

T h e d a y o f w a m p u m b e g a n t o d e c l i n e a b o u t t h e y e a r 1 8 30 , th e r e

be ing l i t tle dem and for it , exc ep t as pip es and mo ons. G las s bead s

were then imported f rom Eu ro pe in large quan ti t ies and usurp ed the

p l a c e o f w a m p u m f or I n d i a n d e c o r a t i o n .

S o far a s t h e c o l o n is t s w e r e c o n c e r n e d w a m p u m w a s b u t a n

arti fic ia l currency . In E ur op e the be ads had only the va lue o f



Currency in North Amer'ica. 349

cu r i os i t ies , bu t t he co loni st s ha d fu rs as a com mo di t y wi t h wh i ch t o

a p p r o a c h t h e E u r o p e a n m a r k e t s. B u t for o v e r a c e n t u r y w a m p u m

play ed a m ost imp or t ant par t in t he cu r r ency o f t he B r i t i sh and D u t c h

C o l o n i e s .

T h e I n d i a n s o f L o n g I s l a n d w e r e t h e g r e a t e s t p r o d u c e r s o f

wam pu m , for t he r eason t hat t hei r su pply o f r aw mat er i a l was t he bes t

and obt a i ne d wi t h li tt le labou r . T h e ear ly nam e of t he i sland w as

S e w a n - b a c k y , o r t h e " l an d o f t h e s e w a n sh e l l. " T h i s m i n t o f w e a l t h

was, how eve r , o f l i tt le benef it t o t he Indi ans o f t he Is land, for t hei r

p o w e r fu l n e i g h b o u r s , t h e N a r r a g a n s e t t s , P e q u o t s a n d M o h a w k s ,

com pel led t hem t o pay lar ge t r i bu t es in wam pu m ; t hu s ke ep i ng t hem in

a st at e o f s laver y .I n t h e e a r l y p a r t o f t h e s e v e n t e e n t h c e n t u r y w a m p u m w a s n o t i n

gen er a l u se i n M assac hu s et t s , for it i s s t a t ed t hat i n 1627 Isaac de

R a s i e r e s s a i le d fr om N e w A m s t e r d a m t o t h e B r i ti s h c o lo n y a t N e w

P l y m o u t h o n a t r a d i n g e x p e d i t i o n , a n d a m o n g o t h e r m e r c h a n d i s e h e

h a d fifty p o u n d s in w a m p u m , w h i c h w a s o n l y a c c e p t e d w i t h g r e a t

r e l u c ta n c e b y t h e N e w E n g l a n d e r s . A b o u t 1 6 4 5 w a m p u m r e a c h e d i ts

hi gh est va lu e in N e w E n glan d. I t was t he chi ef cu r r e ncy not on ly in

W A M P U M F R O M C A L I F O R N I A , B R A Z I L ( P R E H IS T O R I C ) , A N D T H E M A R S H A L L I S L A N D S .

S I Z E ,

N e w Y o r k , b ut in th e m a n y s e t t le m e n t s w h i c h w e r e t h e n u n d e r t h e

cont r o l o f t he au t hor i t i es a t Ne w Y or k. In 1672 t he i nhabi t ant s o f

N e w C a s t l e , D e l a w a r e , i m p o s e d a t a x o f fo ur g u i l d e r s in w a m p u m



350 Wampum: The Native Substitute for Currency.

upon each an ker o f rum imp orted or so ld there . In 1693 the ferr iage

o f a s i n g l e p e r s o n from N e w Y o r k t o B r o o k l y n w a s e i g h t s t u y v e r s in

wampum or two pence in s i lver .

T h e w a m p u m u s e d b y t h e I n d i a n s w h o f o r m e r ly i n h a b i t e d t h e

e a s t e r n p a r t of N o r t h A m e r i c a w a s t h e m o s t d iffi cu lt t o m a n u f a c tu r e o f

a l l the shel l wa m pum know n. T h e w ri ter was curious to find out

wh ether it wa s hard to dri ll the bea ds ; and ha vin g sev era l undri l led

bea ds in his co l lection, he subm itted them to a num ber o f lapidaries

a n d p e a r l d r i ll er s . T h e y h o w e v e r r e fu s e d t o d r il l t h e b e a d s , e x c u s i n g

them selve s on the grou nd tha t their too ls we re not ad apte d for the

purpose. A s a last resort the be ad s we re taken to a ma chinist , with

the result that in the first attem pt the dri l l br ok e and in the secon d the

b e a d w a s b r o k e n , s h o w i n g t h a t it m u s t h a v e t a k e n t h e I n d i a n s , w i t h

their crud e too ls and m ethods , a lon g and laborious t ime to dri ll a

s i n g l e b e a d .

W A M P U M F R O M A F R I C A , J A PA N ( P R E H I S T O R I C ) , A N D M E X I C O ( P R E H I S T O R I C ) . S I Z E , -{-.

T h e u s e o f w a m p u r n w a s n o t co n fi n ed t o N o r t h A m e r i c a a l o n e b u t

w a s t h e p r i m i t i v e fo rm o f m o n e y in m a n y p a r t s o f t h e w o r l d , a s w i ll

be s een f rom the i l lustrat ions he re g ive n of a few variet ies from

Cal i fornia , Brazi l (prehistoric), the M arsh al l Is lands, Afr ica , Japan

(prehistoric) , and Mexico (prehistoric) .

vreeland - wampum

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