CRADLES OF THE AMERICAN ABORIGINES. 181 



just ready to learn to walk. Regarding the cradle in the light of a 

 chrysalis, we discover not only the tiny creature within has passed 

 through wonderful changes, but that the encapsulating cradle has passed 

 from a horizontal to a vertical function. It was first a trough to be 

 firmly lashed in ; it ends with being a frame on which the juvenile In- 

 dian takes his stand prior to taking his flight into the realm of self-sup- 

 port. Compare this device with the practice of the Pimo and Yuma 

 children of standing upon the mother's cincture and grasping her neck 

 or shoulders. Another Pitt River example is a cradle net or bag, the 

 warp of coarse twine of milkweed fiber laid close together and joined 

 by twined weaving of finer twine, in double rows, an inch and a half 

 apart. Some noteworthy features of this cradle are the following : 

 The whole twining, from beginning to end, seems to be continuous, like 

 plowing a series of double furrows. On the right edge the weaver sim- 

 ply turned and weaved back alongside of the former twine; at the left 

 edge she laid her twine by the side of her warp for an inch and a half, 

 and then turned in for another double row. Indeed, it seems as though 

 the whole cradle were made of one pair of twines. The hood is made 

 by puckering the ends of the warp together and tying them, as with a 

 bag-string. The part over the forehead is formed of a separate set of 

 warp strands. The sun-shade is a round, disk-like structure of twined 

 weaving. 



The Potter Valley cradle-trough is made of willow twigs laid closely 

 together and held in place by an ingenious stitching, to be explained 

 further on (Fig. 14). 



The head of the cradle is a hoop of wood 1 foot in diameter, quite 

 open. It is fastened to the wicker-work by a continuous coil of twine 

 passing around it and between the willow rods consecutively, being 

 caught over the curious braid that holds the twigs together. In the 

 example described the lashing is cotton string, but in a more primitive 

 form it would be sinew or grass cord. The ends of the twigs are cut 

 off flush with the hoop. The sides and bottom of the cradle are scoop- 

 shaped, with high perpendicular sides, the twigs forming it all termi- 

 nating at the head hoop. 



The rods of the cradle-frame are woven together by a series of braids 

 about 2 inches apart. This braid is so constructed as to resemble two 

 rows of coiled sewing on the inside and a close herring-bone on the out- 

 side, and is made as follows: Commence one edge and carry the twine 

 along three osiers, bending to the left, bringing it back two and through 

 to the front, forward two, crossing number one ; through, back two, 

 through to front, just over and over, forward three, back two, forward 

 two, back two, ready to start again. 



Long leather loops are attached to the bottom of the cradle where it 

 joins the upright sides to receive the lacing-string which holds the 

 baby in place. 



The Tule and Tejon cradle-frame consists of three parts : the fonnda- 



