HOLMES] 



FABRICS FROM CAVES. 



31 



about midway between tlie creek bed and the slightly overhaugiug ledge 

 above, the whole height being estimated at 300 feet. 



The mat, a very excellent piece of work, is 6 feet G inches by 3 feet 4 

 inches. By reference to plate n it will be seen that it is neatly and 

 artistically made and quite well preserved. The strands are from one- 

 third to three-sixteenths of an inch in width and are even on the 

 edges and smoothly dressed on the back. The hard, glistening outer 

 surface of the cane is light in color and the dressed surface is dark 

 naturally or artificially, and the weaving is so managed that a taste- 

 ful border and a checkered effect are produced by alternately exposing 

 the light and dark sides. This piece prob- (y-^^^t 

 ably very fairly represents the split-cane work 

 of thewholecane-producing region. A similar 

 piece of work from the gulf coast is illustrated 

 in figure 12. 



Inclosed with the mat were three jjieces of 

 fabric of especial interest, all pertaining, no 

 doubt, to the costume of the person buried. 

 The piece of cloth shown in plate iii probably ^^^^^^ 

 served as a mantle or skirt and is 46 inches 

 long by 24 wide. It is of coarse, pliable, yel- 

 lowish-gray stuff, woven in the twined style 

 so common all over America. The fiber was 

 doubtless derived from the native hemp, and 

 the strands are neatly twisted and about the 

 size of average wrapping cord. The waip 

 strands, 24 inches in length, extend across 

 the piece: and on the left margin, as seen in 



. 1 /. , '¥vi. 4.— Section of ciiif showing 



the illustration, they are looped lor the pas- position of grave shelter. 

 sage of a gathering string, while on the left they have been cut to form a 

 short fringe. The opposing series (the woof strands) have been passed 

 through with the length of the cloth in pairs, which are twisted half 

 around at each intersection, inclosing the web strands in alternating 

 pairs as shown in detail in figure 5. These twined strands are placed 

 three-eights of an inch apart, the web being so close that the fabric is 

 but slightly open. The twined strands are carried back and forth in 

 groups of four as shown at the ends in the plate, and are knotted as 

 illustrated in the figure. 



A piece of fabric of much interest is presented in plate iv. It may be 

 an unfinished garment of the class shown in the preceding illustration, 

 but it is more likely a complete skirt, the narrow woven band with its 

 gathering string serving as a belt and the long fringe being the skirt. 

 The length at the gathered edge is 34 inches, and the pendant length 

 is 20 inches. The material and the weaving are the same as in the 

 piece of cloth already described, although the work is somewhat coarser. 



