ABOKIGIXAL AMERICAN BASKKTKY. 221 



and the same carrier; cedar bark is colored l)l;ick hy soakino- in nnid, 

 and red by means of alder bark chewed. (Swan.) 



The Twana Indians, on Skokomish lleservation, Washinuton, now 

 nse a steel-bladed knife and an aAvl of the same material in basket 

 making-. Formerly they employed a pointed stick or ])one for their 

 imbricated ware and for pressing home the weft of twined baskc^try; 

 bnt in large measnre their lingers are theii- tools. (]\Iyron p](dls.) 

 The same remark applies to basket makers in all the culture areas. 

 Fingers and teeth are still in vogue and can not be dispensed with. 

 The metal awl, however, quite displaces that of l)one, and it is not 

 surprising to find scissors of the ])est make added to the steei-l)laded 

 knife, especially for clipping oti' the projecting- ends of materials. 



Hazel stalks are gathered l)v Oregon tril)es in best form on ground 

 that has been burned over, the young ones springing up straight and 

 strong from the rich soil. The peeled stems are the warp, those split 

 by means of the teeth are the weft, and a d3'e is made from the bark 

 chewed b}^ the l)asket maker. (Mrs. Harriet K. McArthur.) The line 

 white grass, like ivory in smoothness and tint, is o])tained at great 

 elevations, their excursions leading them to the sunnuer snow line of 

 Moifnt Shasta. 



PROCESSES OF IMAXUFACTITRE 



As you gaze on the Indian basket maker at work, herself frecjuentl}^ 

 unkempt, her garments the coarsest, her house and surroundings sug- 

 gestive of anything- but ])eauty, you are amazed. You look about 

 you, as in a cabinet shop or atelier, for models, drawings, patterns, 

 pretty bits of color elfect. There are none. H(>r patterns are in her 

 soul, in her memory and imagination, in the mountains, water courses, 

 lakes, and forests, and in those tribal tales and myths which dominate 

 the actions of every hour. She hears suggestions from another world. 

 Her tools are more disappointing still, for of these there are few — a 

 rude knife, a pointed bone, that is all. Her modeling block is herself. 

 Her plastic body is the repository of forms. Over her knee she molds 

 depressions in her ware, and her lap is equal to all emergencies for 

 convex effects. She herself is the Vishnu of luu- art, the creator of 

 forms. 



The Tlinkit in weaving, saj-s Emmons, sits with the knees drawn up 

 to the chin, the feet close to the body, the shoulders bent over, the 

 jirms around the knees, the hands in front. Sometimes one knee is 

 dropped a little to the side, and, in the cas(^ of old women, they often 

 recline on one hip, with the legs drawn up, the elbows resting on a 

 pillow or l)lanket doubled up. 



In all t3^pes of weave the working strands are constantly dampened 

 by dipping the fingers into a basket or cup of water close at hand, or, 

 in the case of embroidery, 1)v drawing the section of grass stem 



