50 
POTTERY.—WEAPONS OF THE COLORADO INDIANS. 
face, much on the plan of the restored vase in plate 38 ; though not one of the numerous speci¬ 
mens, from which the above have been selected, approaches to it either in design or execution. 
ISio. 9. A portion of a large vase from Cosnino caves. The surface is broken by thin and 
narrow strips overlapping each other like continuous rows of shingles, or rather tiles ; for depres¬ 
sions have been made in succession, by a tool, which, from the fine lines left by it, may have been 
a shell. These strips appear to have been laid on after the body of the vase had been hardened 
in the sun, and, as each was put on, the ribbed tool was used to press it down to its place. 
No. 15 is another specimen on the same plan, much corroded. It is from the big bend of 
Flax river. 
No. 13. A compact, close-grained clay; the impressions on the surface are very slight—prob¬ 
ably made by a pointed instrument. It is from the Little Colorado. 
No. 14 exhibits a rough species of beading or moulding, formed round a vase, and apparently 
by drawing a pointed stick along the plastic material. 
While both ancient and modern aboriginal pottery present a coarse material, seldom equalling 
in closeness of texture our commonest ware, it would seem as if a better taste and greater skill 
had generally prevailed before the discovery than since. In forms and ornament, the old work¬ 
men—or rather workwomen, for they have been, and are, the chief artists in clay—excelled; a 
remark that applies to Chili, Peru, Brazil, and Central America, as well as to Mexico and New 
Mexico. 
No. 12. An ancient fragment from the Little Colorado, one-third larger than the drawing, 
rough, and corroded by the elements and time. The black scroll is embedded on a reddish colored 
clay, and appears to have belonged to a large vessel. It would be interesting to know how this 
fruitful germ of modern scroll-work, and staple element in the decorative art of the nations of 
the East, was suggested to the Aztec modeller—whether by coiled worms, shells, vegetable ten¬ 
drils, or imaginative impulse. 
It may not have occurred to every reader that most, if not all, the elements of decorative art, 
as regards curved and straight lines, which are supposed to have originally occurred to the 
Egyptians, Assyrians, Greeks, and other advanced people of the eastern hemisphere, have been 
exhibited by the ancient occupants of the western one. In the relic just noticed, we have the 
line rolled spirally inwards and outwards—the involute and evolute. In other samples of 
pottery, the guittoche, or curved fillet, in various forms, is met with; also, waving lines, 
arched, invected, engrailed, radiant, embattled ; the trefoil, cross, scroll, and numerous other 
initial forms, though less expanded and diversified than in the Old World. The fillet, frett, 
astragal, ogee, and cavetto, abound in the ruins of Palenque, Cusco, and in architectural 
remains in Central America. 
Plate 41 (lithograph). 
Figure 1. A Yampais bow, 41 feet long. Mojave bows are of similar form, from 4 to 6 feet 
in length, and are made of cottonwood. The quiver, full of arrows, and made of mountain- 
sheep skin, is shown at 4. 
Figure 2. A Chemeliuevis bow, such as is used by every band of the Pah-Utahs. 5. The 
quiver, being the spotted skin of a sjrecies of wild cat. 
Figures 3, 3, 3. Specimens of arrows. 
Figure 1. A Mojave lance. 
Figure 6. Obtained from the Mojaves, and deemed by some of the party a war club.* It 
appears to be a domestic implement; the flat face is worn smooth, and apparently by pounding 
soft substances, probably boiled maize; the edges of the face are cracked, and the lower portion 
The particular specimen referred to may possibly .have been used for domestic purposes ; but it is as well known to be 
an implement of warfare as is the bow or the spear. From their frequent use of this weapon, one tribe is known as the 
Galloteros, or Club Indians. A. W. W. 
