140 THE INDIANS OF CALIFORNIA. 
arrowhead is held in the left hand, while the nick in the 
side of the tool is used as a nipper to chip off small frag- 
ments. An Indian usually has a pouch of treasures consist- 
ing of unfinished arrowheads or unworked stones, to be 
slowly wrought out when industriously inclined. The feath- 
ers are so placed on the arrow as to give it a spiral motion 
in its flight, proving that the idea of sending a missile with 
rotary motion is older than the rifling of our guns. 
It would consume too much space to describe all their im- 
plements, and many of them do not differ materially from 
Fig. 38. those that were used by Indians in this 
a section; among them were awls of bone, 
thread of deer sinews, and cord which 
they used for their nets, bird traps, and 
blankets ; — this cord was spun from the 
: inner fibre of a species of milk-weed. 
Their cooking utensils were made from 
the roots of a coarse grass. These roots 
grow near the surface of the ground, and 
in sandy soil can be pulled up in long 
pieces. The pulpy outside skin is re- 
a Cooking or warer basket, moved and the inside is a woody tibre, 
tray, and this also shows extremely tough when green, and durable 
baskets are formed* when made into articles for daily use. 
The Indian women split these roots into thin strips, keep them 
in water when they are making baskets, and take them out 
one at a time, as needed. The water basket is first started 
from a centre at the bottom, and is added to stitch by stitch, 
without a skeleton frame to indicate the intended size (Fig. 
38). A loose strip of grass root is added constantly as a 
new layer to the last rim, and this is sewed on with another 
strip of the same fibre to the finished work beneath, a bone 
awl being used to bore holes through the basket portion. The 
last rim or complete edge of a basket has a larger filling, con- 
sisting of several strips of split grass roots, or sometimes à 
willow stick is used. The larger baskets are ornamented with 
ion M x4 2 Skia di moorrect 
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