CALUMET, a symbolical instrument of great impor-
tance among the American Indians. The calumet is a pipe
made of a soft red marble, and a long reed, ornamented
with the wings and feathers of birds. No affair of conse-
quence is transacted without the calumet. It always ap-
pears in meetings of commerce or exchanges; in congresses
for determining of peace or war; and even in the midst of
battle. The acceptance of the calumet is a mark of con-
currence with the terms proposed, as the refusal is a mark
of rejection. When they treat of war, the pipe and all its
ornaments are usually red. The size and decorations of
the calumet are for the most part proportioned to the rank
of the person to whom it is presented, and to the impor-
tance of the occasion. The calumet of war consists of a red
stone, like marble, and the tube is a hollow reed. They
adorn it with feathers of various colours, and name it the
calumet of the sun. From the winged ornaments of the
calumet, and its uses, writers compare it to the ancient
caduceus, which was carried by the caduceatores, with
terms to the hostile states.