Boas] SELECTION OF DESIGN 301 
but has been dead for many years, are such historical details cher- 
ished and remembered. She was a famous basket and blanket 
maker, who wrought many classic designs. The only variations she 
ever attempted were those which came to her in dreams. She was an 
authority on designs, their names, and history. 
A new design or variation is readily copied, if easy to make, 
especially if it is attractive. Probably in this way many have become 
the common property of everyone, are made everywhere, and un- 
doubtedly are now quite old. With these are generally associated 
the greatest number of variations since they are constantly being 
changed in some minor detail, but not enough to render them unrec- 
ognizable. This dynamic condition has probably always existed 
more or less. Occasionally it happens that they are so distorted or 
blended with foreign elements that their names, meanings, and 
origins have become uncertain, or are totally lost. On the other 
hand, some patterns are rare, having fallen almost completely into 
disuse because they have proved unsuitable or unpopular, while 
others are known only within limited areas. The young people 
have formed quite different tastes from their elders, and their atti- 
tude has had not a little bearing on the character of designs chosen. 
It is said they have conceived a dislike for certain forms of bead, 
dentalia, and tree patterns, which in consequence are rarely selected 
for decorative purposes at the present day. 
There are a few designs which are inherited, but not as property 
or because they were invented by ancestors. They are taught to 
the daughters by the mother or grandmother and thus handed down. 
In some cases an old design may be retained in one family without 
really belonging there, having been forgotten by others who once 
employed it, or having been brought from a distance. 
Occasionally a young woman will use an ancient design which 
has been taught her, but which her friends have never happened to 
see. Old women, however, will often recognize it at once as having 
been popular when they were young. There are probably many 
cases like that of two informants, Nos. 33 and 34,” who are good 
neighbors and friends and who copy each other’s designs to a very 
considerable extent. They often agree to make the same pattern 
on baskets on which they happen to be working at the same time. 
They try to employ only the most striking figures because these 
always attract more attention and assist in a ready sale. They also 
work together in trying out new patterns or creating novel varia- 
tions of old ones, but usually they do not invent anything very 
original. Such an achievement is indeed rare. These two women 
52 See p. 453. 
