1902.] Kroeber, The Arapaho. 105 



In the following illustrations, only one of the painted flaps 

 of each parfleche is shown; but of bags, the back and cover, 

 as well as the front, are in most cases represented. The bags 

 are illustrated as if the stitches at their edges had been re- 

 moved and the piece of hide composing the bag spread out flat. 



Fig. I of Plate xviii shows the design on the flap of a par- 

 fleche. The red areas along each side of the design represent 

 a red bank along a stream. The adjacent unpainted space 

 represents sand. Adjacent to this, a triangle formed by blue 

 lines is a hill. The upper part of this is green, and represents 

 grass ; the basal portion, yellow, and represents earth of that 

 color. On the other half of the symmetrical design, the fig- 

 ures of course have the same significance. Between these two 

 halves is a longitudinal stripe which is red in the middle, but 

 white at the ends. This represents a trail. As a road cannot 

 be alike in all its length, this representation of it also has more 

 colors than one. The entire rectangle of the design is the earth. 



While bags of rawhide open along one edge, parfieches, as 

 explained, open in the middle. The two covering flaps of 

 hide are there tied together by strings. These strings pass 

 through holes- near the ends of the two covering pieces (c/. 

 Fig. 3 of this plate). In this specimen (Fig. i) there are two 

 such holes near the edge of the design, where the symbol of 

 the road ends. Through these holes the fastening-strings 

 are passed. Therefore they control access to the contents of 

 the parfleche. As the parfleche does not open except at 

 this place, it is necessary, in order to obtain its contents, to 

 reach these holes; therefore the road is painted leading to 

 them (see Fig. 3 of this plate). Moreover, the white sec- 

 tions of this road are oblong, which is the shape of the par- 

 fleche itself. The two hills and the road between them form 

 a roughly rhombic figure; and very nearly such is the shape 

 of the hide of which this parfleche is made, when it is un- 

 folded and spread out (ordinarily this piece of rawhide 

 is more nearly rectangular than rhombic). 



The maker of this parfleche, an old woman, said that it was 

 made to resemble another one. It represents the land as it 

 is, as nearly as it can be represented. People try to paint 



