ABORIGINAL BASKET-WORK. 295 



curious and elaborate (Fig. 9). The basket-maker had a number of 

 little loops of bark and quill of different color prepared, and every time 

 a stitch was about to be taken the lower end of one of these loops was 

 caught over the splint thread and held down. The next stitch fast 

 ened the two ends of the loops home (that is, each stitch caught the lower 

 part of a new loop and fastened down both ends of the preceding one 

 after it had been doubled back), giving a series of imbrications (Fig. 10). 

 On this specimen are between 3,000 and 4,000 separate loops sewed. 

 This is one of the most striking examples of savage patience and skill, 

 and must have occupied in its construction many hours of a renowned 

 artist. 



Mr. Jones tells us, in the Smithsonian Eeport (1856, p. 323), that the 

 Hong Kutchin Indians, who live on the headwaters of the Yukon Biver, 

 make basket-kettles of tamarack roots woven very neatly and orna 

 mented with hair and dyed porcupine quills. The water is boiled by 

 means of hot stones thrown in. For dyeing the roots and quills they 

 use berries and a kind of grass growing in the swamps. 



In looking at these coiled baskets, standing geographically so far re 

 moved from the Apache and Navajo country, one is reminded that the 

 migration which separated these branches of a great stock may have 

 been northward and not southward, and that the Tinne" may have 

 carried with them the art of making coiled baskets learned in a region 

 where its beauty culminates. 



CHILKAHT INDIANS. 



The basket work of these Indians is superb. Every one who sees 

 it is struck with its perfection of workmanship, shape, and ornamen 

 tation. All the specimens of the National Museum collection are of 

 the band-box shape ; but they can be doubled up flat like a grocer's 

 bag (Fig. 11). The material is the young and tough root of the spruce, 

 split, and used either in the native color or dyed brown or black. 

 The structure belongs to the twined or plaited type before mentioned, 

 and there is such uniformity and delicacy in the warp and woof that a 

 water-tight vessel is produced with very thin walls. In size the wallets 

 vary from a diminutive trinket basket to a capacity of more than a 

 bushel. All sorts of lovely designs in bands, crosses, rhombs, chev 

 rons, triangles, and grecques are produced thus : First, the bottom is 

 woven plain in the color of the. material. Then in the building up of 

 the basket bands of plain color, red and black, are woven into the 

 structure, having the same color on both sides. Afterwards little 

 squares or other plain figures are sewed on in aresene, that is, only 

 half way through, giving the most varied effect on the outside, while 

 the inside shows only the plain colors and the red and black bands. 

 The wild wheat straws are used in this second operation, whipped over 

 and over along the outer threads of the underlying woof, or two straws 

 are twined around in the manner explained above (page 293, bottom). 



