Catlin states that at the time of his visit the “pipe-stone” quarry was guarded with a certain religious reverence from the visit of the white man, the Indians declaring that this red stone was “a part of their flesh,” and that to take it from them would be to tear out their flesh and spill their blood. This highly poetic language may or may not have signified a superstitious reverence for the substance; indeed, it may simply have voiced the fear of these Indians that they might be despoiled of what for them was an especially valuable material, which they asserted had been bestowed upon them by the Great Spirit for the making of pipes exclusively. In our day an old Ojibway Indian, especially skilled in the work, has a name signifying “he who makes pipes,” and carved pipe-bowls of catlinite are usually sold for from $1 to $10 apiece; as much as $20, however, is occasionally paid for a particularly large and finely carved specimen. This substance is also worked up into charms and other small ornaments which are sold to tourists, the annual sales of all descriptions amounting to some $10,000 annually. Catlinite takes a fine polish and is easily worked; a peculiarly attractive variety is red with white and gray spots. [Illustration: HINDU WEARING A COLLECTION OF ANCESTRAL PEBBLES AS AMULETS ] The popular fancy for the “Fairy Stones” from a peak of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Patrick County, Virginia, is said to be directly traceable to the tale, “Trail of the Lonesome Pine,” by John Fox, Jr., who makes one of these pretty staurolite crystals exercise an important influence over the destinies of his hero and heroine. This was cleverly utilized by the manager of a New York theatre, when he gave a souvenir performance of a dramatized version of the story, by presenting one of these “Fairy Stones” to each lady in the audience, a gift not only in perfect _rapport_ with the play, but one highly appreciated by the recipients, few of whom were not unconsciously influenced by the symbolic half-religious, half-mythical quality ascribed to this attractive little gem. Collections of stones and pebbles, often of little or no intrinsic value but supposed to possess occult powers, are handed down from father to son in many Hindu families of the poorer class. The accompanying illustration shows an aged Hindu, as he appeared to a recent traveller, decorated with such stones to the number of about three hundred on a ceremonial occasion. In this case they were all pierced and threaded on cords, so as to be attached to the person, and the old man proudly declared that, thousands of years ago, one of his ancestors was a playmate of the god Krishna, who had bestowed the stones upon him as a special mark of divine favor.