ABORIGINAL AMERICAN BABKETRY. 445 



Sdrpvf! sp. The most, valuable of the sedges for basket splints in Mendotdno 

 County is an unidentified species of the bulrush, Sclrpux sp., Tsuwish, in Porno. It 

 is an article of commerce. Being rare near Ukiah, it is purchased at a cent a root 

 from plants collected l)y Clear Lake Indians and in parts of Sonoma County or along 

 the seacoast. The rootstoc-ks, about one-fourth of an inch in diaincter, cdusist of 

 three distinct tissues — the outer, brown, like parchment; the middle; and the heart, 

 a tough, woody structure. The outer surface of this woody tissue, wiiich makes up 

 the great l)nlk of tlie l)lack fiber in the finest Pomo baskets, is slightly ribl)ed and 

 varies from light l)rown to nearly jet-black. The interifir is more or less white. 

 Some of the dark splints are used just as they are, while others are blackened with 

 the juice of poison oak, Bliiis direri^Uoba, or by burying them with charcoal, ashes, 

 and earth for about eighty hours. 



A detailed account of the manipulation of tliese rootstocks at Round Valley is 

 given." 



Smilax califnrniai Gray, the only species of smilax in C-alifornia, does not occur in 

 INIendocino County, but is cf)mmon along the headwaters of the ITpp(>r Sacramento. 

 The fine, long trailing liml)S are exceedingly strong and are used to some extent in 

 Round Valley and perhaps at Ukiah for basket making. The Indians say that the 

 strands have a l)rownisli-black color. 



Tumiun cn/ifornicuni. Splints from tiie roots of tlie C'alif(jrnia mitmeg, Kalic in 

 the Yokaia language and Ko^-bi in Pomo, are said to be used li}' the Ponio in some 

 of their tine baskets. 



17//.S' (■(difornira. She in (Pomo); Afot mo mam (Yuki); Kop (Numlaki) ; wild 

 gra])e. The native wild grape rif the region clindjs over trees in canyons and in 

 damp places to a height of 30 feet or more. The smaller, woody parts of the vine 

 are extremely flexil)le and are very consideral)ly used l)y the tribes for the rims of 

 their large, cone-carrying baskets. It is gathered at almost any time, soaked in 

 water and hot ashes, after which the Ijark is removed and the wood split into a 

 couple of strands, which, although very coarse, are used sul)stantially as tlii'ead. 

 The tribes of Cahfornia make ropus and various houseliold aT'ticles from the vine. 



As a conncctino- link botween the >Salisli and otlior ba.sketry iiortli of 

 the Khiniath River and the true California types there is h(M-e shown 

 the tigure of an ohl piece of basketry l^rought from Oreo'oii n^ore than 

 sixty years agx) (tig. 164). It is the ordinary coiled weave of the 

 West Coast, covered with red and white feathers. The feathers are 

 caught by their stems under the stitches as the work progresses, just 

 as in tlie Pomo and other California tribes of to-day. Jt is interesting 

 to find this t^^pe of work so far north. It points to the fact that 

 many of the gaps which occur in this study. coidd have been easily 

 tilled when the Indians were in their native situations. Holmes has 

 other tigures in the same type of Ijasketry, only the f(>ather work is 

 coml)ined with the ornamentation in the weaving on the surface. 

 Attention is called again to the fact that the imbricated ware stopped 

 short at the ColumlMa River. The plaits of grass or bark overlie one 

 another just as feathers do in the feather work, and the stem of the 

 feather is doubled under the stitches in the same way. To be espe- 

 cially noted are the groups of ^-ertical stripes on the margin and the 

 chevroned design at the bottom. Whether there was genetic relation- 



« Plants used by the Indians of IMendocino, California, \^. 317. 



