256 COILED BASKETRY IN BRITISH COLUMBIA [erm ann. 41 
328, 333, 339-341, most of those from 608-614, some of the hammer 
figures like 808, as well as 394, 416-418, 515, 604, 605, 641, 656, 657, 
660, 661, and 675. 
Generally these patterns become real designs as soon as they are 
reduced to a specified arrangement, or one that becomes commonly 
adopted. Some of these may be similar to those shown in Plate 46, e, 9. 
Mr. Teit describes a typical tlné’ka basket thus (pls. 22, b; 76): 
One side pictures a buck deer, another a bow and arrow, a third a man, and 
the fourth a moon. This is one of a small group of baskets with designs that 
illustrate a continuous story. As arranged in this order, the Indians give the 
patterns the following explanation: ‘‘It was moonlight. A man was hunting in 
the moonlight and saw a buck deer running away and shot it with a bow and 
arrow in the back.’”’ Some of the interpreters feel sure that the maker had this 
idea in mind when she made the basket. Such instances are exceedingly rare. 
* * * Another tlné’ka basket is nut-shaped and bears quite unrelated designs. 
On it there are three large patterns about equally spaced—a snowshoe, a beetle 
(nkokaurm), and an eight-pointed arrowhead star with a square center. 
It will be seen that the Indians’ classification of designs into those 
which are tleé’ka and not tlmé’ka corresponds roughly to our own 
which takes into account the realistic designs and the purely geo- 
metric. In addition, their undecided and vague conception in 
regard to patterns which may once have been tleé’ka but are now in 
process of change toward conventionalization and therefore toward 
increased geometricity, as indicated by their conflicting classification, 
matches our own rather ill-defined term ‘“‘ conventional.” 
There are a vast number of patterns which may be described as 
being on the borderland between realistic and geometric. Their 
classification is difficult, owing to the fact that even realistic designs 
on basketry are necessarily more or less conventional. The only 
criterion to be employed in doubtful cases is the judgment of the 
student and the name applied to the pattern. Where more than 
one name is given the design is considered as in the borderland class. 
Only those which are obviously pictures belong to the realistic group. 
From what has already been said in regard to design elements 
and their arrangement in fields, to the use of lines and their re- 
lation to geometric figures which are often merely a chance result 
of their intersection or combination, not ends in themselves, and 
from the recognition by the Indian of the reverse patterns on vertical 
stripes it seems that it is quite unwarranted by the facts to suppose 
that all these geometric combinations, so simply derived from playing 
with the technique, ever originated in an attempt to depict natural 
or artificial objects; in other words, had their inception in realistic 
art. This viewpoint is strengthened by the fact that to most of the 
simple geometric figures so many different and utterly unrelated 
interpretations are given that it is quite evident that the process of 
reading in meanings has been carried very far. While the resem- 
