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NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



for making lines and notches, and a fine grained, waterworn 

 pebble for smoothing, showing the polish of long use. The excep- 

 tion is the carved paddle for stamping the pottery — a broad bladed 

 wooden affair about 8 inches long, carefully carved to produce a 

 checkerwork pattern when struck against soft clay. More paddles 

 were later collected bearing different figures, some quite complex. 

 Other accessories were a common axe, a bucket of water, a low 

 sided wooden tray for kneading clay and a flat oval piece of wood 

 used as a stand to build large jars upon and provided with a 

 handle at either end for convenience in turning; some saucers of 

 china or gourd, and some pieces of cotton sheeting. 



After Iwi Katalsta had dug her clay from a bed on Soco creek, 

 the exact location of which she did not seem inclined to reveal, 

 she was accustomed to mold it into a cake some 14 inches long, 

 resembling in forma loaf of bread, in which shape it was dried and 

 laid away for future use. When we visited her home at " Yellow 

 Hill " [pi. 1] and requested her to make us some pottery she 

 broke off the end of this cake and proceeded to pulverize it on 

 her hearthstone, using the back of a common axe as a crushing 

 instrument. In old times, she explained, a " long rock " was used 

 for this purpose. 



When sufficiently pulverized the clay was placed in a wooden 

 tray, moistened and again thoroughly pounded [pi. 2]. This time 

 Iwi used a hammerstone which she kept especially to crush hickory 

 nuts, but which she often used in place of the axe in pounding 

 the dampened clay. From time to time the mass was kneaded 

 and a little more water or dry clay added as seemed necessary to 

 obtain the required consistency. Sometimes, I was informed, a 

 fine sand was added at this stage as a tempering material ; but in 

 this case it was omitted. Iwi had a vessel of the pot form in 

 mind. Taking a large handful of the clay she patted it into a 

 ball which she took in both hands and pressing her thumbs deeply 

 into one side, began to turn it rapidly [pi. 3]. In a surprisingly 

 short time a small bowl with fairly thin sides was produced to 

 serve as a base for the future vessel. During this process she 

 had taken care to keep her hands wet. Then supporting the inside 

 of the bowl with the fingers of her left hand she struck it sharply 

 on the outside with her carved paddle, slightly turning the embryo 

 vessel before each stroke and moistening the paddle now and then 

 in a vessel of water which stood near. The bowl-shaped base 

 was then carefully laid upon a bit of cotton cloth resting on a 

 common china saucer. When questioned as to what the Indians 



