54 AKORIGINAL POTTERY OF EASTERN UNITED STATES [eth.ann.20 



clays iire niixed in ubout equal proportions; they are placed together 

 and pounded with a stick or with such tools as happen to be conven- 

 ient. By adding- water a paste of about the consistency of putty is 

 soon produced, which in this state is ready for use; it may, however, 

 be pi'eserved an indefinite period provided it does not freeze. 



In making a vessel a sufficient quantity of the paste was placed l)y 

 the Catawl)a women on a board and rolled into cylinders about an inch 

 thick, which were cut up into sections eight or ten inches long. A 

 small mass of clay was then taken, from which a disk about five inches 

 in diameter was formed; this, turned up at the edges, served as the 

 bottom of the vessel. It was placed on a board and one of the stri2:)s 

 of clay, properly flattened out, was carried around its circumference 

 and Ijroken off on completing the circuit. The margin was bent 

 slightly upward and the junction was rubbed over with the thumb nail 

 to unite it. The process was repeated until the bowl was complete, 

 the last strip being turned slightly outward with the fingers to form 

 the rim. The joints were then ru))bed over with the nails, and the 

 whole surface, inside and out, was I'ubbed with a piece of gourd shell 

 until it became quite even. During the smoothing process the vessel 

 was lieaten with the hands and dexterously turned by tossing in the 

 air. The work up to this point had occupied about fifteen minutes. 

 In the case of vessels reijuiring ears or handles, small cylinders of stiff 

 clay were shaped, set in holes bored through the vessel, and clinched 

 inside, and the joints were carefully smoothed over. The vessel was 

 then allowed' to dry until the next day. Having remained in the sun 

 for a number of hours it was again placed on a lioard which was held 

 in the lap and the surface was scraped with a bit of gourd shell until 

 the walls were sufficiently thin and even. Some parts, including the 

 edges, were pared off' with a knife. When the scraping or paring- 

 dislodged grains of sand, the holes were filled with bits of clay from 

 the ])ottom of the vessel and the surface was smoothed over with the 

 fingers. The surface was now ru))bed over with the gourd shell and 

 polisli(>d with a smooth pel)ble which, in this case, had Ijeen lirought 

 from South Carolina by the elder woman. This part of the process, 

 occupying about fifteen minutes, finished the second day's woric. 



After the vessel had dried until the afternoon of the third day, 

 in the sun, as far as possible, the surface was again rubbed inside and 

 out with the polishing stone. This work occupied half an hour. 

 After this tlie vase was placed ])efore the tire where not exposed to 

 drafts and dried or baked foi' an hour; it was then ready for firing, 

 which was conducted indoors. Oak })ark was used for firing; Sally 

 Wahuhu stated that poplar bark gave a superior color and finish. 

 Bark was preferred to wood because it was more easily broken up and 

 was more convenient. A heap of bark was laid on a bed of living coals; 

 th(> \essel was filled with broken bark and inverted over the pile of 

 ignited ))ark and then completely covered with the same fuel. The 



