ABORIGINAL AMERICAN BASKETRY. 483 



inrtkiiio- haskctry, the first two for l)in(liu<;- luatci-ial. the latter for the 

 l)o(lv. Tlie I'ecd o-rass is split, some of it dyed, usually brown. I'ho 

 basket is beouii at tiie center of the bottom, the thickness of the coil 

 of o-rass dependino- upon the size of the basket to be made. A bone 

 pricker is used. The coil is begun by la3dno- one end of the filament 

 upon tlie bunch of grass and taking a few wraps about it to hold it 

 down. 'Piiis is bent doutde and the sewing progresses l)y catching the 

 filament ovei- the bunch of grass through the coil of the sowing filament 

 made at the last tuj'n. 



Basket making among the Coahuillas belongs to the old women. 

 They sit flat on the ground with the feet thrust out in front. The 

 <left artist holds her work in her lap, at her right lies the grass for the 

 foundation, on her left, soaking in a pot of water, her variously c<)l- 

 ored splints. Her only tool is her awl, '' wish,'' anciently of bon«^ or a 

 cactus spine set in a piece of asphaltum; but now a nail servers the pur- 

 pose, one end pointed, the other in a handle of manzanita wood. The 

 sewing materials are named according to colors — the scapes of jmieux 

 se il; the red portion, i i ul; dyed Idack they are se-il-tu-iksh. Splints 

 from sumac are se-lit and the grass of the foundation suul. No model 

 or pattern is ever used. The border is finished by simply cutting the 

 sewing material close on the inner side. The most common form, 

 se-whaldal, of Coahuilla basket has a flat l)ottom and gently flaring- 

 sides, a depth of from 4 to 7 inches and a width of from 13 to '10 

 inches. These are for holding foods, including seeds, grains and 

 fruits, household utensils, and basket matei-ials. Small, globular bas- 

 kets, with bulging sides and rather wide mouths, 5 to 10 inches in 

 diameter, are called te-vin-ze-mal. They are the prettiest and the 

 most carefully ornamented and are used to hold trinkets and sewing 

 materials. The deep packing l)askets, se kwa-vel-em, are about IS 

 inches deep and are used for packing loads. Rawhide strings, ka wi 

 ve, are tied to opposite edges to pass around the forehead, but usually 

 the basket is sustained in a net. They are used not only for food gath- 

 ering, but on the threshing-floor for storing foods. The chi-pat-mal is 

 a round, almost flat basket, 10 to 18 inches in diameter and one or more 

 inches deep, used for harvesting. The woman beats it full of grass 

 seeds or fills it with elder berries or cactus fruit, and transfers the 

 contents to the packing basket on her back. It makes a good tray, 

 platter, fruit dish, or receptacle for meal, and is exclusively the 

 winnower. 



The basket hat, yu-ma-wal, shaped like a truncated cone, is worn by 

 women especiall}^ to protect the head from the carrying band. It 

 serves also for a water dipper or mixing pan. The chi-pa-cha-kish, 

 holding al>out 2 quarts, is an openwork ))asketof network, made from 

 the unsplit, flattened scapes of the se-il, or Juncus. They are often 



