44 E7HNO-BOTANY Of THE COAHUILLA INDIANS 



in black. The inspection and collection of these baskets is fascinating 

 employment. The eye is constantly delighted with graceful forms and 

 harmoniously arranged colors. 



26. Baskets are made in different forms for different purposes, and 

 are given different names. The most comon is the se-whal-lal. It 

 has a flat bottom and gently flaring sides, a depth of from four to 

 seven inches and a width of from thirteen to twenty. These are exceed- 

 ingly useful. They are filled with all kinds of things : foods, includ- 

 ing seeds, grains, and fruits ; household utensils and basket materials. 

 The second class are globular in shape, with bulging sides and rather 

 wide mouths. They are quite small, the greatest diameter varying 

 from five to ten inches. These are called te-vin-ge-mal, and are per- 

 haps the prettiest and most carefully ornamented of any. They are 

 used for holding the costura (Sp.) or sewing materials of the women, 

 and also the various small treasures of the family, ornaments, pictures, 

 papers. 



The great deep packing baskets are called se-kwd-vd-em. They 

 are beautiful objects, with a usual depth of about eighteen inches. 

 Their use is principally for packing, and they are carried on the back. 

 Sometimes a pair of rawhide strings, kd-wi-ve, are tied to opposite 

 edges to pass around the forehead and sustain it below the shoulders, 

 but usually it is borne in a " carrying net." Such a basket accom- 

 panies the woman in all her quests for food. They are also used on 

 the threshing floor and for storing quantities of seeds, grains, and 

 other foods. The chi-pat-mal is a round, almost flat basket, with a 

 diameter of sixteen or eighteen inches, and a depth of an inch or so. 

 Its uses are several. In the first place, it is the proper basket for 

 gathering. The woman beats it full of grass seeds or fills it with elder 

 berries or cactus fruit, and then transfers the contents to the packing 

 basket on her back. It makes also a useful tray, a good platter, a fruit 

 dish, and is of great service in grinding at the mill to receive the meal. 

 It is also exclusively the basket used in winnowing. Finally, there is 

 the basket hat or yu-mu-wal, an object with a very wide use. It is 

 shaped like a truncated cone, and is made to fit the head. It may be 

 worn by a woman at any time, but especially when a burden is to be 

 carried, when it protects the head from the carrying band which passes 

 around the forehead. It also does constant duty as a dipper, as it is 

 nearly water tight, and as a small mixing pan. 



The Coahuillas also make an open basket, woven in loose meshes, 

 like a net, of the unsplit flattened scapes of the Juncus, se-il. These 



