J 



434 COLLECTIONS OF 1880. 



The collections are all now in the National Museum for study and 

 inspection. 



The following sketch is introduced here to show the method of using 

 the batten stick represented in Fig. 546. There is not a family among 

 the Pueblos or Navajos that does not possess the necessary implements 

 for weaving blankets, belts and garters. Figs. 500-502 will convey an 

 idea of the variety in design and coloring which prevails in this class of 

 Indian fabrics, while Fig. 710 rejiresents a blanket weaver at work. 

 The picture is taken trom a photograph made on the spot by Mr. Hillers, 

 and is colored in accordance with the actual colors of the yarns and 

 threads used in its manufacture. 



The particular class of blankets represented in this illustration is 

 woven in the estufas, and is used almost exclusively in sacred dances 

 and ceremonies of the tribe, all other garments being made in the houses 

 or in the open air. The Navajos are celebrated for their skill as blanket 

 weavers, and the Mokis are equally skilled in the manufacture of a finer 

 class of the same ai-ticle, which is much sought after by the surrounding 

 tribes for ornamental purposes in sacred and other dances. 



The vertical threads, as shown in the figure, are the warp threads; the 

 coarser thread which is inserted transversely between these is the yarn 

 or weft. The three rods in the center of the blanket are lease rods, 

 which are introduced among the threads of the warp to separate them 

 and thus facilitate the insertion of the weft thread. These rods are each 

 passed in front of one warp thread and behind another, alternately, 

 across the whole warp, and between each rod the threads are brought 

 from the back of one to the front of the next, and vice versa. The bar 

 held in hands of the weaver serves as a batten for driving or beating 

 the weft thread into the angle formed by the crossed warp threads. 



This loom resembles in principle the ancient Egyptian, Grecian, and 

 French looms which are described on pages 55 to 62 of "The History 

 and Principles of Weavingby Hand and Power," by A. Barlow, London, 

 1878, and on pages 41 to 45 of the " Treatise on Weaving and Designing 

 of Textile Fabrics," by Thomas E. A.shenhnrst, Bradford, England, 1881. 

 See also pp. 200 to 208, Vol. II, of the " Cotton Manufacture of Great 

 Britain," by A. Ure, London, 1861. 



