Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1888-05-26
A CALIFORNIA CRAZE.
COLLECTING BASKETS FROM THE
MExlcANS AND INDIANS.

The latest fad or craze In California,
especially In the southern portion, Ii TO
possess collection Of Indian baskets Il
Is the correct thing, and some Of the most
artistic homes In the state have rooms
decorated with them. Who started the
craze Is not known, but some one discov.
cred that the baskets possessed great
artistic beauty. were rich In harmonious
coloring and formed attractive ornaments
f6f library and parlor, and the demand
began. IL 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 exhauste,, at least the
old ones, being now in the hands of few
collectors and others who will not sell
them. The baskets cost from 81. 80 to 90
usually, and bring from tl0 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 value appreciated by those who
have engaged In their collection The
cheapest way to make o collection Is to go
to some collector and buy their baskets
outright but the most pleasurable method
Is to take q carriage and 60 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 have
been collected In Los Angeles, San Diego
and San Eernardino counties. In the lat
ter counties are the remnants Of the Mis-.
sion Indians, hidden away In the noun.
tains at Pala. Pauma and ut Pachanza.
EXPERIENCES OF THE COLLECTOR.
The experiences Of the amateur basket
collector are varied, and no better way in
which to study tho habits Of the present
Indians can be found. The successful
basket fend 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 they
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. II, 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 laugh, he said: They pay five
times as much for the old ones as they do
for the new" That basket which they
use to sift their -four in could serve as an
ornament Is beyond their 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 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 a fine and artistic
showing.
II Is as IN art that the work Of these
people commends 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 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 that cannot be mistaken. The
lines are often graceful and Of great geo.
metrical beauty. radiating from the cen
ter. common design Is q 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
eAtenuihg completely around the basket,
with clasped hands, are seen In some OF
one oes' baskets, wmle deer and other
sn.iais Ii are sol,etihes intIoducea. Inc
n ooi1rs are nsuaily ouli reos or browns,
yeiioWs ana Dlack, ana In almost every
.aso .h 'ie oienuing ls HARMONIOUS. Where
,nese people OBTAIN their Ideas Is an in
.eIesns question: put prooaply from
na.uro--tne tonnage, the oending grasses,
etc., suggesting the lines OF grace and
beauty
METHODS OF BASKET MAKING.
II is not necessary to go far from the
centers of civilization to see basket
makets. The Diggers 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
dans is valuable in several ways Il is
characteristic of the different tribes. and
they can be traced by It. Some baskets
are beautifully ornamented with feathers,
and this shows that they were made by
. the Indians north Of San Francisco. One
for which large sum was RECENTLY Maid
Is ornamented with the red feathers Of the
woodpecker. while around the edge ore
the plumes of the plumed ouaiI The
feathers are woven in while the basket 20
being made, Fineness and are are two
important oualifcations