214 COILED BASKETRY IN BRITISH COLUMBIA [ETH. ANN. 41 
Informants Nos. 19 and 24 thought that the bottoms of burden 
baskets should be a little more than half as wide as they were long. 
According to them, the width of the mouth should be a little more 
than double that of the bottom, while its length should be a little 
less than double the corresponding measurement of the base. (The 
proportions of the mouth, under these conditions, would be quite 
different from those of the bottom in the same basket. The latter 
would approximate the form of Figure 35, a, while the former would 
resemble 6.) They maintained that the height should be about 
equal to the length of the bottom, and thought the greatest variation 
in burden baskets was in the proportionate length of the mouth. 
Different women were not so particular about proportionate heights. 
A basket which they called a large spa’nék or small tsi.’a measured 
in height roughly 26 cm., length of mouth 41 em., width of mouth 28 
em., length of bottom 23 em., and width of bottom 13 em. Another 
person said it was a little too low, which might well 
be, if actual study of measurements counts for any- 
thing. The width of mouth and height are generally 
practically the same. 
The same informants said tsi.he’tsa baskets were 
lower than real burden baskets. They thought the 
height should be double the width of the bottom 
or a little less, and about the same as the width of 
the mouth, while the length of the mouth should be 
about half again as long as that of the bottom. 
Fic. 35—Form of ~Lhese women said that they and some others meas- 
bottom and mouth yred burden baskets with their fingers and strove to 
of burden basket 0 n : 
obtain these proportions. In measuring for a spa’nék 
they made the length of the bottom about one span (the distance 
between the ends of the extended thumb and middle finger), while 
the width equaled that of the widest part of the hand. The height 
for such a basket was usually about one span. They observed that 
the greatest width of the hand is about equal to the length of the 
middle finger from point to knuckle, or a little less, so they often 
used this instead of the width of the hand as a unit of measurement. 
A slightly larger basket than the above-mentioned spa’nék measures 
one span and one joint (the distance from finger tip to the first joint), 
which determines the length of bottom or height or both. The meas- 
urements vary, so the people say, because there are many shapes and 
sizes of hands. Some women do not measure at all. 
No. 29 claimed that she and a number of others measured their 
baskets more or less in order to obtain better proportions. They 
only measured the length and width of bottoms, however, and the 
height of the sides. Some took only one or two of these measure- 
