, 1888-06-01
A CALIFORNIA CRAZE.
COLLECTING BASKETS FROM THE
MExIcANS AND INDIANS.

especially in h southern portion, is to
possess a collection of Indian baskets. 1t
Is the correct thing, and some of the most
artistic homes In the state nave rooms
decorated with them. Who started the
craze is not known, but some one discov-
cred h a the baskets possessed great
artistic beauty, were rich In harmonious
coloring and formed attractive ornaments
for library and pGrlor, and the demand
began. 1t was the old story of new lamps
for old, and dealers and others went
around the country exchanging new mod
ern baskets for the old ones Of the Span
ish and Mexican families.
The baskets are exhausted, at least the
old ones, being now in the hands of a few
collectors and others who will not sell
them. The baskets cost from 81 90 to SO
usually, and bring from $40 to $50 apiece.
Unless the reader has seen some of these
works of barbaric art this price will seem
excessive: but the graceful shape, the rich
brown tints, the age and association, give
them a value appreciated by those who
have engaged in their collection. The
cheapest way to make n collection is to 20
to some collector and buy their baskets
outright; but the most pleasurable method
Is to a a carriage and go about the
country among the Indians and Mexicans
and buy them ones self. Many of the
finest baskets come from the Indians
north of San Francisco, and others nave
been collected in Los Angeles, San Diego
and San Bernardino counties. In the lat
ter counties are the remnants of the Mis-
sion Indians, hidden away in the noun.
talns at Pala, Pauma and at Pachanza.
EXPERIENCES OF THE
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 hend must have what is popularity
known as cheek" must walk into the
bedrooms and private apartments, insist
upon trunks being opened and contents
shown. This may seem n 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 they
have no baskets, and when they are pro
duced do not wish to sell on account of
the ancient aunt or g~randparent 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
with n laugh. he said: They pay five
times us much for the old ones MS they do
for the new" hat n basket which they
use to sift their lour in could serve as an
oTllitllenL IL Deyonu thelr conception; yet
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 n 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 mako u fine and artistic
showing
1t Is as au art that the work of these
people commends itself. not alone In the
form of the baskets. but in the marking
and arrangement of colorsi 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 30 many years of asso.
citation with white people 1t would not
appear strange II 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 hat cannot be mistaken. Tho
lines are often graceful and Of great geo.
metrical beauty. radiating from the cen
ter. A common design is Il series of tri-
angular or arrow shaped figures worked
into radiating lines. Some seem to repre-
sent flashes of lightning In the zigzag
motion. Human figures worked in, often
extending completely around the basket,
with clasped hands, are seen in some of
the best baskets, while deer ami other
animals are sometimes introduced. The
celors are usually dull reds or browns,
yellows and black, and In almost every
case the blending Is harmonious. Where
these people obtain their ideas is an in
terestng question, but probably from
nature-the foliage, the bonding grasses,
etc, suggesting the ines of grace and
beauty.
METHODS OF BASKET MAKING.
1t is not necessary to go far from the
centers of civilization to see basket
makets. The Digsers produce beautiful
baskets not far from San Francisco, while
the Indians about Monterey, Santa Bar
bara, Los Angeles and other localities still
make coarse ones in the same primitive
way.
The basket work of the California In
dams is valuable In several ways. 1t is
characteristic of the different tribes, and
they can be traced by 1t. Some baskets
are beautifully ornamented with feathers,
. and this shows that they were made by
the Indians north Of San Francisco. One
for which O large sum was recently paid
is ornamented with the red feathers Of the
woodpecker, while around the edge are
the plumes of the plumed quail. The
feathers are woven in while the basket is
being made. Fneness and age arc two
important qualifications.
The California Indians employ two gen
erul methods In basket making; the coil
Is either twined or whipped Tho Dig
gers, as before stated, produce fine baskets
of great beauty, while the Klamath and
McCloud Indians make twined baskets 30
fine that they can be used to hold water.
In the baskets from the Eel river tribe a
double coil is used. The Modoc women
produce some beautiful shapes. We see
cones, inverted truncated cones, shallow
dishes, some like hats or half eggs, vases,
long and narrow, others fat, with short
necks. Plaques are common. while some
baskets are almost perfect spheres. Many
of these are made of willow slips and pine
roots, stained In the southern county with
nail rust. The material used mostly by
the California Indians is the plant known
scientifically as ''rhus aromatica," or
squaw berry. In the houses or ramadas OF
basketmakers the raw material is seen
twigs cut and scraped, eight or ten inches
In length and tied together with a string,
They are dyed with plants and nail rust
Young girls can be seen soaking the twigs
and scraping off the bark ready for tn,
old women to use. The old baskets may