The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-09-24
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Awssicans are . ts.vslins psssla but
how many outside a army elzoass havs
visited q Navajo oan6p d witns>saA ~
manu6ceufv Of Navajo blanket II u .
product Of ne loom really wondsEful In
design and texture when the diaadvau.
tsges under which II twas made are oonsid.
ersd. The Navsioes arc peaceful people
q The Pueblo typa Tho sQNaws weave
blankets and the men tend sheep and
ponies. Many Of them sre rich, and most
Of them are self supporting, deriving their
income from theif,terds. the wool Of their
focks and the manufacture Of their blan-
kets. Tho wool Of what Is termed "the
native wool blanket" is taken from their
own sheep, and native dyes produced from
various herbs give the blanket it's peculiar
ooloring.
A Navajo blanket belongs to the Navajo,
and to him alone. In fact, 1t is a part OF
him. In every hogan. or hut, you will find
these blankets, and o short distance away
amid the sagebrush or on the windward
side Of q rock you can see Navajo sqriaw
squatted on the ground busjly engaged
weaving another.
The outfit is very simple. Two sticks
on which strings are strung long fat
stick to ram each thread home, Q cylinder
shaped one to keep the threads straight. q
small one similar to q comb to prevent
any tangles-this Is the loom which pro.
duces the weird Navajo blanket. Yet
with these tools Navajo squaw manu-
features blanket which may DO used for
rug and will last half a century. 1t
may seem an easy thing to produce one,
but just mako the attemptl
In these days, when Navajo blankets
have become product of the market and
when the Indian is surrounded by civiliza-
ton, with traders stores enabling him to
exchange his blankets for articles of Euro.
pean make, there has arisen new Navajo
blanket made from Germantown wool.
1t Is certainly work Of art, handsome Us
we'll as unique In appearance. The In
dams buy this wool from tho traders, and
1t is curious fact that of the multitude
Of blankets produced no two have been
known to be alike. visited tho store Of
the largest collector of these blankets
when he had over $4,000 worth in stock,
and could discover no exact counterpart.
The Navajoes, as q rule, arc cute and sly
In tho business Their contact with civ
ilization has taught them tho yankee
method" of driving bargain. At Fort
Wingatc, n regular army post situated on
the edge Of the Navajo reservation, it Is
not unusual to SEQ an Indian begin at ono
end Of tho officers quarters ard enter cy-
CRY house trying to sell his blankets.
Sometimes no mectI with success at tho
first house, but it is well established fact
that with each refusal the Price of his ar.
ticlo decreases Tho cprirg and early
summer arc the best times for buying. Dur.
ing tho winter tho squaws arc busy wcav-
ing, and then Gs tho summer approaches
they arc brought into tho settlements.
Sometimes tho squaws como, but never
alone. Tho "buck" accompanies to SEQ
that they AFRO rot cheated. The buck
stalks ahead, followed by tho blanket
laden squaw Tho Indian has no COM
junction in loading his "better half" with
all she can carry.
To find real Navajo blanket weaver
you must go away from tho towns and
villages. Walk across almost any level
plain until you come to the bluff, and
there among tho hillsldcs you will find her
home. l haTo thought rs l watched her
at her work, which goes on from morn till
cvc for months ct time, how wcaricd she
must got and Eayo asked myself, Does she
ever want to rtopS l do not know that,
but l have learned that when money is
scarce sho cannot stop, but must work on
md work on, content to receive us her
share of the profit somo poor tobacco or
bright calico.-kansas City Journal.