THE OREGON NATURALIST. 5 



I am not qualified to S]ieak at all of these deep, capacious and strong, mostly of the true 



beautiful baskets, and only refer to the fine classical vase oulhnes and proportions, 

 specimens here. These are both coiled and jhe strong, flexible, round baskets and 



twined baskets, and at least three weaves— the pouches of those tribes much in the saddle. 



bontouche, tsy and t; brown is the natural It is quite impossible to enumerate the thousand 



color of the grass, and black, which adds much ^^^^ ^^e uses for which these baskets serve, by 



to lis value. the campfire and on the march, for the hold- 



All are round; some are very shallow, i„g ^f gpoji ^f ^.^^ ^^^ g^„^ ^^^ ^^^-^ f^^ 



others concave and very deep; many quite simple treasures 



capacious one curve inward at the top, and yhgy love these evidences of their handiwork 



others are small at the base, flare rapidly, then and skill, and while in this day of trade and 



gradually gather in toward the lop, the open- barter many are made for sale, the old basket 



ing of which are small. There are plaques maker only parts with her treasures because 



siTniliar to those farther north— all are graceful old age has robbed her of the power of gaining 



aridjjeautiful. the necessaries of life by hard labor, and 



This means endless labor, for birds are stern want looks in at the uplifted curtain of 



snared, that no dainty feather, so artistically the tepee. 



used in the weaving, will be marred; the They love them, and though their uses are 



distant mountains yield the grass and the sea homely, they weave into them theii prayers and 



shore the hiis of shells; beads are obtained by hopes, their im|ireFsions of the '-eautiful world 



'"•^rter. of Nature, and the completed work is as dear 



The Mendocino country and Iloopa valley to them as the canvas of an artist, when the 



Indians make cradles for the infants from the finished masterpiece brings him enduring fame, 

 peeled stems of tough young trees and shrubs. The savage is an ai tist pure and simple; 



One cannot but be impressed by the rare and her unlearned and untutored mind seeks her 



sTtillful combination of beauty and utility in designs in the vivid flash of lightning, the 



these baskels, and the wondeiful adaptabihty fleecy clouds, the seed ]xids of plants, the 



to their vaiious needs. The dwellers of the ripple of a stream, the scales of a fish, the 



north coast obtain their food fiom the sea, so graceful interlacing of twigs and stem';, and the 



they make the loose-woven cedar baik flight of birds across the sky. 

 receptacles for their store, both fiesh and Why should their work so prized, become so 



dried. The ojien mesh of the clam basket, of rare? The commerical value alone, should 



a coarse grass, which perniits the sea water ap]ieal to the powers that be, the grasses 



to escape as the weary digger trails home should be cultivated, and the secrets of dyes 



across the sands at dawn, with a breakfast for understood; the young sh'^tild as well be taught 



the waiting ones be'side the curling smoke of that in the schools as the trying intricacie.s of 



the cnm|iflre. The |ieifectly watertight boiling the less congenial lace making;. It is an art 



and baking baskets of the .Alaskans and in which they excel; the demand is innensir'T, 



Sliastasl and the sujjply should I e (.(|,i,il lo il. How 



The Klickitats would retain the. luscious_ de]5lorable, ih;it our eiiiightened troverninetit 



juices of the beny, and resist the wear and does not foster and eniouragea lieir.tifui and 



'tear of loading and carrying \>v pony-bnck and valuable industry that is ; as.-..ng away, with ihc 



canoe, witlioiit the beautiful ornamentntion, passing of this generation! 

 which is as enilurirg as the basket. Tlioui.h 

 they are savages, they love this bit of benitv 



in their homely lives of drudgery. The The deepest gold mine in the woild is nt 



storage baskels of Calfoniia and Arizona aie Eureka, Cal., and is 2290 ''eet deep. 



