186 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1900. 



ill the mountains. Mr. Kust found it on tlie baiikji of a small stream 

 at Bergman post-office at an altitude of about 5,000 feet, growing- in 

 bunches like pampas grass and resembling that variety very closely. 

 These people also make baskets of bulrushes which are dyed black. 

 The rich brown mottling seen in many of the baskets is due to the natu- 

 ral color of the base of the bulrush, the upper stem ))eing lighter in 

 hue. Splints of a hard wood are also emplo3"ed in basket making. A 

 woman was seen reducing these to a uniform size by drawing them 

 through a hole in a tin can cover, and often biting them into shape 

 with her teeth. Children were learning to make baskets, and it appears 

 that many more are manufactured than formerly, since ready sale is 

 found for them. Southern California baskets are much coarser than 

 those farther north in the State. They make rude baskets, from 

 3 to 5 feet in diameter and 3 feet high, of willow splints, in which they 

 store grain, acorns, and other food products. These are placed upon 

 scaffolds about feet high, constructed by setting strong forked posts 

 in the ground and laying poles across. 



At Agua Caliente women were seen making pottery, and specimens 

 were secured at Coahuila, Santa Rosa, and San Felipe. After grind- 

 ing the clay in a mortar and kneading it they form the base of the 

 vessel by placing a small portion upon a flat stone and bringing it into 

 the desired shape with the fingers. When the base has assumed the 

 form of a saucer they hold a smooth waterworn stone on the inside to 

 support it, while with a smaller stone kept wet they rub the outside, 

 curving the walls graduall}^ upward; then drawing in the edge they 

 form the neck by skiljfully manipulating the cla,y with the fingers. To 

 harden and even up the walls of the vessel they hold a smooth stone 

 inside and beat the outside with a rude paddle. Specimens of the 

 modeling tools were secured for the Museum. At Agua Caliente pot- 

 tery is baked in an oven, to form which they dig into the side of a bank 

 and line the walls with cow dung. The vessel is then introduced and 

 covered with the fuel. When the fire is well under way they close up 

 the opening and permit the vessel to remain until properly baked. 



These people spin strong hempen and mescal cords by twisting the 

 thread in the fingers. Next the}'^ hold the newly formed cord against 

 the thigh and twist it under the palm of the hand. At Agua Caliente 

 the}^ make valuable saddle blankets of mescal fiber. These are woven 

 on four stakes driven in the ground, the weavers sitting on opposite 

 sides on the ground. 



At Maliaj'hon Mr. Rust witnessed the spinning of hemp and the 

 making of nets. The hemp is prepared bv beating the ripened stems 

 until the wood is thoroughly broken, when the bark fiber is separated 

 and ready for spinning. The meshes of the net are tied about a stick 

 held between the knees. 



