232 COILED BASKETRY IN BRITISH COLUMBIA [eTH. ANN. 41 
During many years Mr. Teit has noted only three or four Thomp- 
son baskets with designs arranged in three fields. One of these was 
imbricated only in the central zone, the others being ornamented solely 
with beading. Another similar to this had a middle field equal to 
about half of the entire surface, while a third one was imbricated over 
the upper two-thirds and had a narrow imbricated band at the bottom 
with several vertical bands connecting it with the upper fields. Mr. 
Teit says that it is one of very few specimens he has seen with indi- 
cations of ‘‘droppers”’ which are such a common feature of Lillooet 
baskets. He has noted some eight Thompson baskets imbricated 
over at least the upper two-thirds, with unimbricated lower sections 
without even a trace of designs. A modern style, quite common, is a 
grouping of designs into two sections, one of which occupies more 
than the upper half of the surface while the other covers the remain- 
der, and these two groups differ in type of pattern used. 
Other varieties of present-day Thompson styles which are men- 
tioned by Mr. Teit are the division of the field into horizontal bands 
encircling the basket, all-over patterns, such as ‘‘net’’ or ‘‘mesh” 
designs, and the large rectilinear designs before mentioned which 
occupy one or two fields on the basket face. 
The vertical arrangement of designs in imbricated stripes which 
traverse the unimbricated faces of the baskets from base to rim has 
not been discussed by the Thompson themselves, nor have we dis- 
covered any notes concerning it from Mr. Teit. At the present day 
it is one of the most common arrangements and probably has per- 
sisted from the earliest times to the present, although it has not always 
been so popular as now. 
The specimens collected show that the single field has become 
popular in recent years. Three varieties of this style have devel- 
oped. In the first, the whole basket is imbricated with the excep- 
tion of a small section at the bottom, and the designs occupy the 
whole field (pl. 23, a). In the second, the basket is left bare, ex- 
cept for the designs themselves, which are imbricated and, as in the 
first instance, cover the entire field (pls. 18, d; 22, d; 23, d; 24, 6; 77). 
The third resembles the second, but the designs are in two series, one 
above the other. This recalls the first of the three ancient types, 
except that the upper section lacks the imbricated background (pl. 
24,c). These last two varieties are far more common than the first. 
It is odd that most of the Thompson men admire the Lillooet 
baskets rather than those constructed by their own people. Many 
express a liking for even and regular stitching and coils, and although 
serviceability impresses them, they prefer to see it combined with 
fineness of workmanship. A few of the men show a marked 
preference for certain designs, and consider the women who make 
them very clever and ingenious. 
