Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-11-07
the SAVAGE BASKET NAKED.
A study which Would Throw LtsAs ..
the Question 81 Iadtau Mfgrastons.
PROF. o. r. MAsoN's TALK BEFORE THE AN
METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY PATTERNs AND
METHODS cBARAcrERrsrIc OF npiAx
wEAyERS.

society upon basket making among the lower
races. He began by saying that I'm most mu-
seums containing specimens relating o. suthro-
pology the arrangement IL ethnic one that
is, ali things relating 10 each tribe nation are
brought together In the sanle vitrine aicove os
room This plan has great advantages aud the
ethnlc idea In by no means discarded In Tie
national museum. The fundamental copcrp-
ton there. however. IL u parely natural history
one. classes Of things. csoshing, foods vessels,
species Their structure, function geographic
range, degree OF perfection, ontogeny s,snd
bbnSSsesens are studied Just rs we stads birds.
| lessor Mason insisted strenuously upon the a.
sertlon that nothing whatever relating 10 man
II truly anthropological until II f. laid upon the
dissecting table and treated precisely AS tbs.
naturalist treats his specimen.
furthermore IL was argued that We must
look upon every human production ~ a nafu-
raj effect OF natural cause; man. the caus..r OF
these effects, being just as much part N ma
OF things around him just as smoothly As any
other cause OF any other phenomenon Now
cause; IL is perfectly legitimate, therefore,. 20
reason from art products "a their makers. We
thus may follow the ups and downs OF human
ity ana Us mlgrations by following the various
For the purpose OF showing that human In
ventions are susceptible OF q purely sclentinc
treatment that they difier In essential
respect from other specimens In our cabinets,
the speaker placed before the audience large
CoLLECrIoN OF BASKETS
gathered from all parts OF the world. Although
baskets, like the leaves OF the forest, Appear
outwardly I'm the greatest variety OF form and
color, they belong structurally 70 very sew
types. easily recognizable and trsceable
throughout the world. Beginning with the Es-
patterns-the twined and the cooled. What il
a twined basket? Let us call the vertical
and the covering over OF these SS hor,.s wi
parts the WET In twined basket the upright
warp elements are simple enough. but the
weaver uses her Wet straws I'm pairs, giving
them a hali-turn between each pair OF warp
stfaws, SO that when the work is done it looks
the strands OF q two-ply Irvine at every
haf-turn. The fabric is really double.
What is a coiled baskets Any child VINO has
ever played with putty or who has ever made "A
little mat by coiiing thick braid OF worsted
knows. The savage Invariably proceeds thus.
She takes a rod, a small bundle Of tvgs, straws,
or leai-veins and coils IL around, wrapping or
seiZing las the sailors say) the bundle Of strnws
with thread OF straw, split root, OF bark,
catching her stitches always into the fabric
underneath. The Eskimo woman makes her
twined wallets OF coarse shore grasses. or
rushes and her cooled baskets OF wild rye aud
other plants. Both fabrics are OF the coarsest
kind, and IL is evident that she learned both
methods from her Indian neighbors. the coiled
from the Athabascans the twined from the In
dams OF the Pacific coast.
THE ATHABAsCANs
use the long, tough spruce roots I'm their coiled
baskets. The Sitkans and Queen Charlotte
islanders employ the same substance In their
twined basketry. The former produce lar
shaped baskets of great beauty and ornament
them by sewing into the texture strips Of bark,
feathers, porcupne qails, beads, etc. The
Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, aud reaches ia
highest perfection in California Some OF the
specimens from the latter locality have won the
admiration OF the world by their symmetry,
delicacy Of texture and elaborate ornamental.
ton. One OF the beautiful specimens from the
Sacramento valley having lost its label, a gen.
tleman i'm the audience nj once recognized the
source and named correctly the very tribe who
made it. This coiled basketry receives a very
curious treatment among the Mokis, Who con-
struct a bread plate of very thick coils OF yucca
fiber, introducing great profusion u ornar
ment.
Let return now to the twined basketry
which hotly enters into the contest for the
golden apple with the coiied ware. Al sitka
Ii puts on its gayest apparel. Not only do
these Indians fabricate from spruce root Q
watertight flexible basket rs thin buckskin,
but they cover the whole surface with the Wild
est profusion OF geometric ornaments, 10 put ON
as To show only on the outer side. This n easily
DONE since the twiner i'm twining al ways placed
a stitch on the outside OF a warp strand every
time one was placed on the inside. Ii you are
paying attention you will see that the basket
each twist to produce an exterior decoration
entirely unseen within. This twined basketry
lis made coarsely by Utes. Zunis and Mokis, and
with some pretentions TO beauty by some tribes
in northern California.
IN AND OUT WEAVING.
We now come TO type 3, which is neither
more nor less than In and out weaving, such ~
appears in all the baskets you will see I'm Wash.
ington. But q marvellous diversity OF appear-
ance is produced by material, color, absolute
and relative size Of parts, and form Of the
sci. Again, this in and out weaving may be
twilled in an infinite variety Of patterns. The
Indians of British Columbia having more cedar
bark than they know what TO do with fsbricats
everything they need i'm the textile line by
simple checker and diagonal weaving without
twill. The Indians OF Washington Territory,
on the other hand, have studied out a great
of ll.A xt.-Sx l.nSE
which would be difficult 10 initiate In cloth.
When the warp sticks are wide or far apart
a aha tne Se sp arm are rar ana pnexe1
called osier is produced. Tins form In seen
through Central America, Mexico, at Zuni and
among the Mokis of Arizona, where IL reaches
its elimination in the beautiful bread trays re-
sembling oid-iashioned pie plates In shape.
~ st, rays d afy Sus S 81 ar an & h
dreds Of patterns, no two alike. The woven
ware i'm twill reaches great perfection In south
America in the use OF the cane, but eliminates
in Oceanica i'm the use Of the palm le&i. The
southern Indians OF the United states employ
twilied weaving altogetner In mt their AZ. o ,
employed universally by the Algonkfn and
Iroquois tribes, who were without doubt the
teachers OF all our white basket makers.
IN AFRICA AND wAsHISGroN TERRITORY.
1t remains TO speak OF one more type Of
basketry which Prof. Mason dwelt upon with
much pleasure, because IL Is confined TO two far
distant parts OF the earth, Cape Flattery, In
Washington Territory, and the heart oil Afr1ca
1t can be easily understood by any one who
will look for a moment Mt o bird cage, consist
ing Of upright and horizontal wires sewed 70
gether by a continuous coil of fine wire. Fish
traps are made i'm this way all over the world
a series OF rods 10 Joined TO q series OF hoops by
coiled sewing, but only I'm these two areas did
the aboriginese thinh OF applying the method
to basketry. The speaker styled this type the
bird cage or the fish trap pattern. The Indian
woman prepared threads OF cedar bark, which
she would use for her two sets Of element
parts at right angles. Fixing them I'm place &C.
cording TO the shape Of the vessel she would
weave, she deity sews them together with
bright yellow grasses, mixing in some that oho
has dyed to produce geometric patternA
moments reflection would show that n one
by this method of embroidery, she would have
all her stitches diagonal on the outside and
perpendicular on the inside. This phenomenon
Is readily distinguishable on the Congo shields
because the bamboo splinS with which the
sewing is done are much coarDer. The AM
cans, especially the Nile tribes and Berbcrs,
employ the coied method I'm palm Leaf The
Siamese are sktllful In this kind Of ware. me
Chinese and japanese employ plain, diagonal
and twilled weaving. The European elvfins1
nations have nothing new 20 offer, but prectsos
In conclusion Prof Mason said that The study
Of Indian basketry would contribute 10 mite
tons Prof W. w turner long ego showed
that the Athabascan Of Britain America and
the Apache and Navajo Of New Mexico are H.
same people. Their basketry ts Identical q
method to-day. On the other hand We have
more than Q hint OF the southern origin e TIE
Zuni In the osier bssketry similar 70 that e
\ .~t~ rlur~ 49, 49, 49,