them,"
he says, "who possess particular skill in the carving of pipes, and
make it their profession, or at least the means of gaining part of
their livelihood. He inlaid his pipes very tastefully with figures of
stars and flowers of black and white stones. His work proceeded very
slowly, and he sold his pipes at from $3 to $5 each. The Indians
sometimes pay much higher prices."1 Dr. Daniel Wilson
mentions' an old Ojibway Indian, " whose name is Pababmesad, or the
Flier, but who, from his skill in pipemaking, is more commonly known as
Pwahguneka —'he makes pipes."' The stone is still worked into a large
variety of ornamental pipes, that are sold at prices ranging from $i to
$io each, and at times as high even as $20 for very large pieces of
carving. Catlinite is also worked into a number of ornaments and into
small charms of different kinds, which are offered to visitors at
Minnehaha Falls, Lake Minnetonka, various hotels in St. Paul and
Minneapolis, and in Dakota as far west as Fort Sully, and find a ready
sale. The amount sold annually is perhaps $10,000 worth. This stone,
on account of its compactness, easy working, and the fine polish that
it admits of, should find a more extended use. One curious spotted
variety, red with white and gray spots, is very beautiful, and would
make a good contrast with the common red pipestone in decorative work.
1 Kitschi-Gami Oder Erzahlung Von Obern See (Bremen, 1856), Vol. 2, p. 82. ' Prehistoric Man (London, 1862), Vol. 2, p. 15.
