Note 535 — Chapter IV · CALIFORNIANS.
Reading edition
The shells 'they broke and rubbed down to a circular shape, to the size of a dime, and strung them on a thread of sinews.' Taylor, in Cal. Farmer, March 2, 1860. 'Three kinds of money were employed ... white shell-beads, or rather buttons, pierced in the centre and strung together, were rated at $5 a yard; periwinkles, at $1 a yard; fancy marine shells, at various prices, from $3 to $10, or $15, according to their beauty.' Powers, in Overland Monthly, vol. x., p. 325.