diff --git a/lib/mongo/collection.rb b/lib/mongo/collection.rb
index 2d23b91..549af21 100644
--- a/lib/mongo/collection.rb
+++ b/lib/mongo/collection.rb
@@ -72,13 +72,14 @@ module XGen
           cursor = find(selector, h)
           cursor.next_object    # don't need to explicitly close b/c of limit
         end
-
+        
         # Save an updated +object+ to the collection, or insert it if it doesn't exist already.
         def save(object)
-          if id = object[:_id] || object['_id']
-            modify({:_id => id}, object)
-          else
+          id = object[:_id] || object['_id']
+          if id.nil? || find_first({'_id' => id}).nil?
             insert(object)
+          else
+            modify({:_id => id}, object)
           end
         end
 
diff --git a/lib/mongo/db.rb b/lib/mongo/db.rb
index 69c9494..ad19003 100644
--- a/lib/mongo/db.rb
+++ b/lib/mongo/db.rb
@@ -447,10 +447,10 @@ module XGen
         # enforce a uniqueness constraint.
         def create_index(collection_name, field_or_spec, unique=false)
           field_h = OrderedHash.new
-          if field_or_spec.is_a? String
-            field_h[field_or_spec] = 1
+          if field_or_spec.is_a?(String) || field_or_spec.is_a?(Symbol)
+            field_h[field_or_spec.to_s] = 1
           else
-            field_or_spec.each { |f| field_h[f[0]] = f[1] }
+            field_or_spec.each { |f| field_h[f[0].to_s] = f[1] }
           end
           name = gen_index_name(field_h)
           sel = {
diff --git a/tests/test_db_api.rb b/tests/test_db_api.rb
index 8403bd5..a906210 100644
--- a/tests/test_db_api.rb
+++ b/tests/test_db_api.rb
@@ -295,6 +295,20 @@ class DBAPITest < Test::Unit::TestCase
   ensure
     @@db.drop_index(@@coll.name, name)
   end
+  
+  def test_index_create_with_symbol
+    name = @@db.create_index(@@coll.name, :a)
+    list = @@db.index_information(@@coll.name)
+    assert_equal @@coll.index_information, list
+    assert_equal 2, list.length
+
+    info = list[1]
+    assert_equal name, 'a_1'
+    assert_equal name, info[:name]
+    assert_equal 1, info[:keys]['a']
+  ensure
+    @@db.drop_index(@@coll.name, name)
+  end
 
   def test_multiple_index_cols
     name = @@db.create_index(@@coll.name, [['a', DESCENDING], ['b', ASCENDING], ['c', DESCENDING]])
@@ -307,6 +321,20 @@ class DBAPITest < Test::Unit::TestCase
   ensure
     @@db.drop_index(@@coll.name, name)
   end
+  
+  def test_multiple_index_cols_with_symbols
+    name = @@db.create_index(@@coll.name, [[:a, DESCENDING], [:b, ASCENDING], [:c, DESCENDING]])
+    list = @@db.index_information(@@coll.name)
+    assert_equal 2, list.length
+
+    info = list[1]
+    assert_equal name, 'a_-1_b_1_c_-1'
+    assert_equal name, info[:name]
+    keys = info[:keys].keys
+    assert_equal ['a', 'b', 'c'], keys.sort
+  ensure
+    @@db.drop_index(@@coll.name, name)
+  end
 
   def test_unique_index
     @@db.drop_collection("blah")
@@ -600,6 +628,14 @@ class DBAPITest < Test::Unit::TestCase
     @@coll.save(a)
     assert_equal 2, @@coll.count
   end
+  
+  def test_save_with_object_that_has_id_but_does_not_actually_exist_in_collection
+    @@coll.clear
+    
+    a = {'_id' => '1', 'hello' => 'world'}
+    @@coll.save(a)    
+    assert_equal(1, @@coll.count)
+  end
 
   def test_invalid_key_names
     @@coll.clear