JADE

and pronounced by them to be a remark-
able piece of jadeite from this locality,
very fine in quality and color, with a
specific gravity of 3.35.

There is no known instance of the working
of jade by the Salish for ornamental pur-
poses, as among the Eskimo. Among the
Salish, jade or serpentine is called soka-
la’ist, from stokalait, ‘green;’ dist, ‘stone,’
according to Mr James A. Teit, of Spences
Bridge, British Columbia.

Among the Tlingit of both sexes it was
the custom to wear, in like manner, a
small object, generally of carved stone,
for scratching the head and body, and in
three instances pieces of jade so worn were
found which the wearers regarded as of
greater value than like articles of other
stone. One of these was a small, broken
adze, in bargaining for which a year was
spent.

Great value was attached to jade on
account of its physical properties. Its
strength and toughness combined to make
it highly suited to the manufacture of
keen-edged tools for carving, as the working

INDIAN NOTES