The Great Falls leader. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1888-1890, 1888-09-08

EXPERIENCES OF THE COLLECTOR
The experiences Of the amateur basket
collector are varied. and no better way in
which to study the habits Of the present
indians can be found The successful
basket f1end must have what is popularly
| known as cheek" must walk into the
bedrooms and private apartments, insist
upon trunks being opened and contents
shown. This may seem a high handed
proceeding, but it Is necessary. as even
while the people wish to sell they, in the
majority OF cases, say at first that thev
have no baskets. and when they are pro.
duced do not wish to sell on account Of
the ancient aunt or grandparent who has
handed them down. If. however. the
would be purchaser has the staying power
the basket can be secured The sellers
generally believe the Americans to be
great fools for paying such prices. A half
breed Informed the writer that the people
were crazy and would give anything; and
s,mea Uaee aaghb m9gsb as ne t5s Sad d. sy 9;
for the new" That basket which thew
use to sift their -four in could serve as an
ornament is beyond their conception; vet
this Is the end to which these old utensils
are put. They are tackled against the
walls to show the figures or color, or hung
over doors or in corners The large ones
find place near the fire to hold the wood.
while others are distributed about the
library for papers and magazines; indeed,
their usefulness grows upon one The
finest collections are photographed by
their owners and make fine and artistic
showing
It Is as an art that the work of these
people comnlends itself, not alone in the
form Of the baskets. but in the marking
and arrangement of colors; and that such
artistic feeling should be- found among
people whose ideas Of art as we recognize
1t, are OF the crudest description. is re
markable After SO many years of asso
citation with white people It would not
appear strange If some Of their ideas of
ornamentation were obtained from them,
yet this Is extremely rare. All the orna
mentation Is unique, possessing an indi
viduality that cannot be mistaken The
lines are often graceful and Of great geo
metrical beauty. radiating from the cen.
ter A common design Is a series Of tri
angular or arrow shaped figures worked
into radiating lines Some seem to repre-
sent flashes of lightning in the ziezag
motion Human figures worked in, often
extending completely around the basket,
with clasped hands, are seen In some of
the best baskets. while deer and other
animals are sometimes introduced The
colors are usually dull reds or browns,
yellows and black, and in almost everv
case the blending is harmonious. Where
these people obtain their ideas is an In
question. but probably from
foliage, the bending grasses,
ETC.. suggesting the lines Of grace and
beauty
METHODS OF BASKET MAKING
It Is not necessary to go far from the
,enters Of civilization to see basket
nakets. The Diggers produce beautiful
baskets not far from San Francisco, while
he Indians about Monterey, Santa Bar.
2ara. Los Angeles and other localities still
make coarse ones In the same primitive
way
The basket work Of the California In.
lians is valuable in several ways It Is
Of the different tribes, and
hey can be traced by It, Some baskets
re beautifully ornamented with feathers,
nd this shows that they were made By
he Indians north Of San Francisco One
or which large sum was recently paid
) ornamented with the red feathers Of the
while around the edge are
he plumes of the plumed quail The
Gathers are woven in while the basket is
eing made Fineness and age are two !
Important qualifications
The California Indians employ two gen.
raj methods in basket making; the coil
} either twined or whipped. The Dig
ers. as before stated, produce fine baskets
T great beauty. while the Klamath and
lcCloud Indians make twined baskets so
ne that they can be used to hold water.
q the baskets from the Eel river tribe q 7
ouble coil is used The Modoc women
roduce some beautiful shapes. We see
ones, inverted truncated cones shallow
ishes, some like hats or half eggs, vases,
'ng and narrow. others fat. with short
s:Es Plaques are common, while some
sskaSa are almost nerfact snharaa MANY