As for David Ingram’s perambulations to the north parts, Master Hakluyt, in his first edition printed the same; but it seemeth some incredibilities of his reports caused him to leave him out in the next impression; the reward of lying being, not to be believed in truths.[313] Even the members of Raleigh’s Roanoke Colony of 1585 reported pearls. Hariot stated: Sometimes in feeding on Muscles we found some Pearle: but it was our happe to meet with ragges, or of a pide colour: not having yet discovered those places where we heard of better and more plenty. One of our company, a man of skill in such matters, had gathered from among the Savage people about five thousand: of which number he chooses so many as made a faire chaine, which for their likenesse and uniformity in roundenesse, orientnesse, and piednesse of many excellent colours, with equality in greatnesse, were very faire and rare: and had therefore been presented to her Majesty, had we not by casualty, and through extremity of a storme lost them, with many things els in coming away from the countrey.[314] So far as we can learn, there is no evidence to show that, during the sixteenth or the seventeenth century, any pearls of value were received in Europe from within the present limits of the United States, as was the case with the resources of Venezuela, Panama and Mexico. Many of the accounts quoted above seem wholly fictitious, some of them possibly drawn up for the purpose of promoting exploring expeditions. It is also probable that knowledge of the enormous collections at Venezuela and Panama misled some of the narrators into recognizing as pearls the spherical pieces of shell or even the cylindrical wampum which the Indians made in large quantities and used as money. However, it is unquestionable that pearls of value were in the possession of some of the wealthier tribes. Biedma’s account of the 150 pounds or more of damaged pearls in the graves at Cofaciqui seems wholly reliable, and likewise many other statements; and it is an interesting problem to determine the source from which the Indians obtained them. Most of the narratives refer to the pearls as coming from the coast of the South Sea or Gulf of Mexico. The evidence of Fontaneda, who had spent seventeen years in the country, throws some light on this. He states that pearls were obtained at the mouth of Reed River near Appalachicola, whence they were distributed throughout Florida. This seems to indicate that on the west coast of Florida there might have been extensive reefs of pearl-bearing mollusks, which have since become extinct, although existing shell-heaps do not confirm this. While it is possible and even probable that many of these pearls in the possession of the Indians came from the Gulf of Mexico or even from the Caribbean Sea, it seems much more likely that they came largely from the Unios of the inland lakes and rivers.