The San Francisco call., 1897-07-25

Mrs. Belle Jewett of Pasadena was un-
doubtedly the pioneer basket collector OF
this coast. She it was who first recognized
the ethnol ogical value of these specimens
of Indian handiwork at which the eyes of
the palefaces had long gaZed with either
idle curiosity or careless indifference, and
in the early SOS she began the task of col
lectIng and arranging in chronological
and tribal order the products OF skillful
Indian fingers of the past and present.
Mrs. Jewett's collection now contains over
125 specimens of the work of the coast
| tribes, each one perfect, and the fin est Of
| it's kind.
So original snd so interesting was Mrs.
Jewett's idea that BASKET collecting soon
| became fad with such fortunate peo-
pie as had the time and money to indulge
themse in a fancy which requires a
generous outlay of both. To be basket
collector worthy of the name one must
possess not only lucre and leisure, but a
| liberal education in Indian history, tribal
legends, the different uses OF the vari-
formed baskets, the different weaves made
by the cunning fingers of the patient In
dian women and the manufacture OF the
various dyes and paints and the names OF
the feathers with which they are orna-
menled.
Such collector Is Mrs. Sumner Bugbee
! of Oakland, whose basketroom,"
overlooking from on high the placid
waters of Lake Merritt, reminds one of a
| Baltimore orioles nest and is the admira-
ton of all who are privileged to visit it.
Mrs. Bugbee now owns over 160 sreci-
mems and her collection has the special
merits of variety and completeness. The
! characteristic work of nineteen distinct
tribes is here represented and each speci-
men is perfect. The owner of these woven
riches almost path etically exhibits bit
of basket about as large as ba by's fist.
''This was the beginning" she says. III
! is the first Indian basket that | ever
bought I paid 81 so for it and thought
myself extravagant as 1 was, for the pos
session of that basket inspired me with
an overmastering desire to own others.
You see the result" with a comprehen-
sive wave OF her hand. ''and the END is
not yet"
Among this lady's special treasures are
number of "old Tulare" baskets, among
which is one of the extremely rare
ana VdluaOIe 'DOIJle-n6CkS baSkel-
making as practiced by this weIl-nigh OBJ
soiete tribe, is a lost art. The few scat
tered Tulares that remain if they do any
thing at all in this line affect the meretri-
cious modern style of work, and the bas-
kets made by the painstaking and skillfuI
hands of their ancestors have acquired an
almost fabulous value, which increases
with each passing year.
Each one of these beautiful pieces of
Tulare weave was marked by the maker
with a private and personal mark, equiva-
lent to the signature of an artist on his
pictures. Sometimes it is single bead, a
tiny tuft of feathers, an apparently missed
stitch, an oddly shaped figure or an irreg
uIar dark line; whatever il is it is never
missing on genuine Pulare basket. The
"bottle-necks" extant are few in nun bers
and are considered OF such value that the
ownership of each one is definitely known
at all times and any change therein is at
once reported to those interested in this
line.
The Point Barrow Indians, who inhabit
the highest point of America, are here