250 HAIE-BRTJSHES. 



At the present time the Indians of the region about White Water, in 

 Los Angeles County, also make hair-brushes of the tough fibres of the 

 stalk and root of the Agave, which are bent and tied upon themselves, 

 bringing the ends of the fibres together to form the brush portion, the 

 handle consisting of the part where the fibres are bent and tied. A brush 

 of this character, about 4 inches long, is in the Peabody Museum (No. 

 14943). Dr. Yarrow informs me that brushes of this character are used 

 by the Pueblo Indians, especially by the squaws, for washing the hair. 

 Similar hair-brushes are now made from the same material and are in 

 common use by the Indians of Mexico (P. M. 17687), but they are made 

 with more care than those from California, often having a mass of soft 

 fibres surrounding those which are thicker and stiffer in the centre of the 

 brush, and they are also generally bound with twine made of the Agave 

 fibre, in such a manner as to tightly bind the fibres together and form a 

 handle of about one-third or one-half of the brush. This binding is also 

 often ornamented with a figure in bright colors. Dr. Palmer has brought 

 from the Pah Ute Indians hair-brushes (P. M. 12103, 9419) of a similar, 

 though ruder, character. These are made of the coarse fibres of the Agave 

 Utahense. A handful of the fibres are securely bound with sinew which 

 passes two or three times around the bundles 2 or 3 inches from the end 

 to be used as the brush, and this binding is smeared with pitch. One of 

 these brushes is made of fibres about a foot in length. The Brazilian 

 Indians also make brushes, for the hair and for other purposes, of this 

 shape, but of a different material. 



