Telegram-herald., 1889-07-08
THE WOODEN INDIAN.
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'S1eere, Peg, s'ge got a. coEs 6gt The
top- = -4s eo.1s sA4li p4iat ta4tsR Zee
sgec,aeled so0d carver looksd ~ froa 80
t4s q e2rass@Ed ta2s he Was ls.tsrisg -ad
sd, IA szswer - hls soa's iateFruYtlo1s
~FasRt the heaa red, ss4ny" gU1ys .
lad q tslrteen, viii syn a.9sss 0f iaelP PieuE
p4l2ter' > cs-lc, Vas ceEell2z hls bsst eaer-
g.os al TIE Last nflesn minutes Eelsrs Gll-
ner - tGe aSocFaligz Il = aoedeE sQuz8 ia
cu-5rs wn0se brl-l4Rcy G2d variety w9uii
b4.s Sa4Eea i2e sPlsDs9rs Of tie arst rain
bon. The Att.e shop Nas u sort II tantry
st4tu2Fy La1 RESI- p-sndeat Hath the gorgeous
Pressaes Il half = dozen ois4r-stsrs Iad. .-as
Ia various STATES OF iac0mgletsaess. A til
sQu2W. having = seOrbfa face - yes un2-
corued with eyes, occupied conspicuous
Place Ia tae ro0m; her dF4psry. consisting
of yellow BLAKE. sad = red bunzlO robs,
skillfally arranged 30 - - display = swell
Ing bosom aud = PAR of ElOnstT0us calves
A special order" SAID ths wood u
Nes YORK Star reporter, the man wCss1
have that buffalo robe rea becSgse he
thought 1t would attract attention"
"Our business might be called artistic,'
he contiD ued, but thers hSir't much money
into H. Years ago, when / was young sp-
prentice l lad tbs honor Of n-klag two hBe
ship hgureheads- They represented parties
standin' fgh leugth. with scrolls in their
hands. don't know who the parties was
Gnd don't know the nAInes Of the ships,
but | WAS proud Of the JOB. That sort OF
business, though, dropped on fifteen years
ago. The American people Is economical 10
the detriment Of art, and our business isn't
appreciated as II ought 10 be. do little or
nothing now but make aud repair Indians
and letter cards with sentiments such Us
them"
The carver spoke with the air OF a man
whose art had been prostltuted 10 the sor-
did demands Of trade. De set no store by
tine Indians turned in whole tribes, and
fashioned with small regard for the truth
or nature They don't look like Indians,
you know he said, with amisble frankness.
"No Indian ever had features like that big
fellow there, and l reckon there never was
Il squaw who dressed like that one with the
red buffalo robe If we made 'em like real
Indians they'd be too ugly to sell. We have
no models, but just keep on making them as
they've been made for the last fifly years.
The idea Is 10 maze them look pretty aud 10
work IN as many coIors as possible Some
times we get seven or eight different tints,
besides gliding. What are they made Of!
White pine. IL works easy. We hack 'em
out with saw and hatcheL rough 'em up
with big tools and polish 'em OF with finer
implements. Jimmy, show the gentleman
the logs in tho cellar"
Jimmy promptly led the way TO the IN
derground lumber room, where lay half a
dozen great pine logs from sixteen to
twenty four feet in length Against the
wall leaned a rudely hacked piece Of timber
that looked like damaged gate-post Jim
my averred that IN time this would be j
splendid squaw, with painted skirt and a
headdress of plumes. He pointed out where
each leg would be, which way the face
would turn and how the arms would appear.
The figure, limbs, pedestal and all were
carved from the single log in one piece. 1t
did not seem to contain the promise and po-
tency OF the clevorly a~ved figures in the
shop above, but Jimmy had faith that he and
his father would yet evolve from the un-
slightly log a comely squaw of conventional
pattern.
at takes from six 10 sixteen days tomaze
one of these figures, said the master of the
shop. taking up the thread of his dis
course. ''rhe simpler ones can be whitfield
out In three days ancspainted in three more.
| The big, complicated figures, with toma-
hawks and wampum necklaces and beaded
bows, take IA week or more, and the paint
| ing requires nearly as long. That squaw,
| you see, isn't the right color for
squaw That's only the ground
work. We've got TO paint her copper
color TO o-morrow. Then we've got to put in
/ her eyes. They may be blue, gray or
/ brown After that comes the fine work on
| the feather hesddress. Nobody cares much
/ what they look ike, so they're showy, and
/ paints tho thing that makes 'em sell.
/ What do they costa From SIS 10 SEQ. A
| good Indian, weil taken care Of, will last
| thirty years. Once year he ought to be
| sent back for repairs. Taste in Indians
| does not change much, and my customers
trust TO me to do the thing right. Yes, wo
deal in second hand Indians" ne continued,
! g,ancing up at the faded splendors of a
/ squaw, over whose arm the wood-carvers
street coat was hung for want Of q better
| clothes-rack.
"Wheu a man moves to new place he
/ sometimes gets a fresh Indian. We take
the old ono off his hands aud sell il 10 sorne
small dealer We used 10 make negroes
from AS 10 about go, but later they got un-
popular Then the girl Of the period and
the Grccisn bend had a go; but mostly the
trade runs steady on Indians. Goingt
| Well, you may say that business is dull,
though it might DO worse; but on the
whole, the public doesn't appreciate our art
Us 1t once did"