At 05:53 PM 5/15/98 EDT, you wrote:
>        Yes, the Zapotec Indians of Oaxaca, Mexico use the Purpura patula
>pansa in dying their yarns for weaving.  But, instead of destroying the
>animals, like the Romans & Middle Eastern peoples did, the Zapotecs remove
>the animal, squeeze the "juice" from the mantle and return the animal to
>its rock, to be harvested again the following year.
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Dear Dan:
I know I read about this once before--it may have been in one of Dr.
Tucker's books--but my understanding was that the indians allowed the shells
to secrete their juice on the outward-bound trip in the morning, then
collected more of the secretion on the way home in the evening.  Are you
sure that it is done only once a year?
        Also, do you know if the natives are still using this kind of dye?
Or has it given way to artificial products as everthing else has?
Thanks,
Stew Jones