The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-08-17
INDIAN MANUFACTURES.

The Ingenuity and Skin Displayed BY
Navajo WOrkmen.
The writer has two pairs of moccasins,
one pair was bought from a Navajo
brave as he wore them, the soles being
still incrusted with the mud of New
Mexico. Although the brave was a
full-grown man, the moccasins are so
small that the boy of twelve to whom
they were sent, and who has the aver
These Indians ride SO constantly on
their ponies that the feet are not SO
much developed as the feet of those
who walk more. The soles of the
moccasins are broad and have just the
outlines of the human foot. The instep
is very low, showing that the wearer's
foot was fat The soles are of raw
hide, and as matter of course there is
no heel. The uppers are of deerskin,
tanned. The tanning is the result OF
long rubbing with the brains of some
animal. The deerskin under this treat
ment becomes exceedingly soft and
plant and is of beautiful yellow
color The fastening consists of two
silver buttons beaten from coins, which
slip through buttonholes cut from the
deers!1in. The Navajo moccasins are
entirely without ornament, as is
the custom of the tribe in making
them.
The other pair was made by Chey-
enne squaw and presented to an army
officer by her husband, a squaw-man,
which means white man married to
an Indian woman. They are dainty IN
manufact and quite small, CORE
spending in size with No. l ladies'
shoe. Ornament runs riot upon them.
From toe to heel beads of every hue are
sewn thickly upon the yellow deerskin
uppers, so thickly that the leather is
visible only at the edges The cut OF
the uppers is very much what is known
as an Oxford tie. The soles are of stiff
rawhide, shaped like the foot In this
the Indian seems more sensible than
we, taking nature in fashioning his
footgear. The fastening is done by
strings of deerskin passing through
Sits cut around the ankle. Two queer
little tags of deerskin dangle from the
heel, which must have some use, for
they are certainly not ornamental.
In my collection of Indian curiosities
are three Navajo blankets of brilliant
dyes and fanciful design. The savages
prize their blankets so highly that they
part with them only as matter of ne
cessity Their method of blanket
weaving is very crude and simple. The
squaw takes two sticks that measure
in length what the blanket is to be in
width. One stick is fastened securely
to tree and the other is laid upon the
ground, the distance between them
regulating the length of the blanket
The warp is then tied closely from stick
to stick. The squaw draws upon the
ground the pattern that she designs
to follow, and then seats herself
She weaves the wool backward and
forward with her hands, beating
the threads together with an instru-
meut filled with teeth. So closely does
she beat them that the finished blanket
will hold water. There is no deviation
from the pattern in any part Of the
blanket, and it is impossible to tell
where one thread ends and another be-
gins The pattern is identical On both
sides, the same spot of color occurring
on one side as on the other. The re-
suit is bizarre, fantastic and brilliant.
The whole surface of one of our
blankets is covered with what resem-
bles multitudinous streaks of yellow,
zigzag lightning upon blood-red
ground.
The Navajos have also a gift for
working in metals that would do credit
to a trained silversmith- Their skill is
wonderful considering the crude char
acter of their tools, made by them
selves of stone and iron. / have q
bracelet made by one OF them Of q sill
yer dollar. beaten into length and
shape and then covered with tracery
of delicate engraving
| have also vinaigrette made by
them, an exact imitation Of those used
by ladies' II is of silver. with silver
chains to suspend it The vinagrette
proper is the size of silver half-dollar,
tiny stopper filing the orince- 1t is
extensively and beautifully engraved,
the work. of course, all having been
done by hand
Indians show wonderful powers of
imitation. A gentleman told me Of
seeing in Zuni village piece Of pot
terry, the ornamentstion encircling i;
being the words, Boston baked beans
Every letter. though utterly meaning
less 70 the moIder, was perfectly accu-
rate, having been copied. no doubt,
from the Ia bel on tin can -Philsdel-
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