1923] 



SMITH, THE RED EARTH INDIANS 



37 



article and charge accordingly. Their mats are made from small 

 rushes and are so very tightly woven as shown in figure 17 that we 

 think they would hold water. They use only native materials, find- 

 ing a soft, tough string in the fiber of the nettle. They employ a bone 

 needle in sewing their cattail mats and a tightly twisted slender cord 

 of nettle fiber as shown in figure 18. Mrs. Keosatok also gave valu- 

 able information on aboriginal native foods. 



Mrs. Joseph Tesson, whose husband was the first to purchase land 

 there, is quite old and wrinkled but exceedingly bright in her reminis- 



FlG. 18. — Making cat-tail mat, Mrs. Keosatok, Tama, Iowa. 



censes of aboriginal foods. She speaks only Meskwaki, but demon- 

 strates as she goes along with gesticulations. 



One and all, the Meskwaki seemed very friendly to the writer, 

 and even asked him to come around and take their photographs. 

 Generally the tourist has to pay a dollar for this privilege. The writer 

 was much interested in visiting with the Meskwaki jeweler, White 

 Breast, and his numerous progeny. White Breast buys sheet silver 

 and in his little jewelry shop turns out buttons, medallions, rings set 

 with abalone, necklaces, bracelets and the many things that the Indi- 

 ans prize at a very reasonable price. 



