Boas] DESIGN ELEMENTS 247 
direction on the reverse side, while it slants downward to the right 
on the face of the coil, giving each stitch the appearance of leaning 
to the left. Even were the stitches exactly divided on the face a true 
vertical series could not be obtained on account of the leftward lean- 
ing of each stitch, although a perfectly straight edge could be pro- 
duced. But when the fureation is uneven the second difficulty ap- 
pears in the impossibility of making a straight line (fig. 46). This 
last the Thompson doubtless soon learned to overcome, although 
there are plenty of examples which show that many women did not 
recognize the cause of the trouble. The other more fundamental 
practice continues until the present day in nearly all Thompson 
work, although a few women have succeeded in bringing their splints 
‘over the face of the coil in an almost perfectly vertical direction, 
after the manner of the Chilcotin, thereby securing vertical lines. 
The majority of so-called vertical bands on Thompson baskets show 
a decidedly leftward trend which, however, must not be confused 
with the true diagonal, where each stitch in the series is placed at 
least the distance of one to the right or left of that 
similarly treated by imbrication or beading in the 
coil beneath. 
It is quite likely that the same difficulty of ob- 
taining perfectly vertical effects was encountered 
where purely beaded designs were used. There are 
few specimens, apparently, which show attempts to 
obtain vertical lines in beading, but it is probable that 
this was not the result of failure to produce the desired 
results, but merely that the people adopted the prac- ric. 46.—Biturea- 
tice of beading alternate stitches in successive rows. tn ofcoilstitches 
This would at once give rise to diagonal effects which would be more 
pronounced than the vertical. Slight inaccuracies in the width of the 
splint or in the placing of the stitch would also not be evident. 
When once the stepped diagonal has become thoroughly estab- 
lished, by one means or another, an enormous development in deco- 
rative designs becomes possible. In any series of Thompson baskets 
appear zigzags in numerous varieties or some step figure, or the 
chevron or V, the last one being far more frequently built up from 
the apex than vice versa. The diagonal zigzag in both horizontal 
and vertical arrangements is one of the most common figures. There 
is also that composed of horizontal and approximately vertical lines 
which is seen on many old baskets, and frequently on rectangular 
shapes, where it starts at equal distances around the bottom, ascend- 
ing spirally to the rim, crossing over corners or faces of the basket 
surface. Undoubtedly it is a survival of one way of decorating the 
old round forms. These two types of the zigzag, that composed of 
53666°—28——17 
