Evening star., 1898-11-21
ART OF INDIAN S
Prof, Holmes Discoveries Among
Diggers Of California.
THEIR WONDERFUL BASKET WORK
Examination Of Evidences Of the
Antiquity of Man.
FAD FOR COLLECTION S

| Professor William H. Holmes, the scien-
| tiSt, and one of the head curators of the
| National Museum, has returned to the city
| from two months exploration of Califor-
| mia and the islands off the coast. Many
| important discoveries were made and Prof.
| Holmes brought with him wealth of ma
terial to contribute to popular and scien
ti1c learning Of anthropology.
The object of the expedition was the ex-
animation of the collections. museums and
Indian tribes of California for chronological
and archaeological data, and also, most i'm
portant of all. to scrutinize and collect the
evidences Of the antiquity of man which
| have been reported from time to time as
having been found IN California.
Upon the latter sabject Prof. Holmes will
say nothing at this time as he has not
formulated his conclusions Speaking in a
general way Of thej trip, Prof. Holmes said
to a Star reporter today:
Purpose of the Trip.
Il left the city on September % last to
| make collections for the bureau Of ethnol-
ogy Of the National Museum, or, more prop
erly speaking. by direction of the secretary
of the Smithsonian Institution. One object
seums and indiana tribes, including those
collections already-in museums; and an
other was to examine alleged evidences of
the antiquity of man In America reported
as having been found f1 gravel deposits in
California S-'-'s #-riIenth +
Il stopped at Chicago, where I visited the
museums, and at Omaha, where the con-
greSS of American Indian tribes was then
on exhibition. Then l crossed the Rockies
nj niA r hoy haap
many times across by way of Utah and Ne
yada. ebut never before was 1 aware of the
enormous areas of barren land which OBJ
served along my new route. Mountains as
we'll as plains were totally devoid of vege-
tation and these desert lands extend from
Canada through the United States to Mex
leo. In California, of course, it is different
valleys and rich tracts alternating through
out.
My first visit was to the Digger Indians,
which are scattered through the middle
and northern parts of the state. They are
called digger because their main occupa-
ton IS digging in the ground for roots,
which they use for food and also for basket
making. 1 found them squalid and poor
They do not appear to be cared for by the
government, as there are but few reserva-
tions to be found in the state
The Digger Indians
They subsist almost wholly upon aeorns
which they grind into meal They use stone
nortars and pestles. The mortars are,
usually. large rocks of sandstone or lime
stone. in the surface of which large pits are
made.
Il presume that the scattering of these
indians about the state is due to the diff
Guilty they have in procuring acorns. True,
they nave little game and fish, but acorns
are their staple. Although living around
towns of white people. these Indians still
exist In the most primitive way, and, so far
as can be discovered, there has been no
change in this respect during all the time
the country has been inhabited by fhe white
race.
Their only art Is basket making, and to-
Gay they use baskets in which to boil their
acorn meal. Mixing the meal with water,
tney put the mush in the basket and in il
place hot stones. Long sticks with crooked
ends are used to remove the stones when
they become cold This tribe Is dying off
very fast Where there were thousands
twenty years ago, there are today only
hundreds. Summed up, they are remark
able mainly because they continue to sub
SlSt upon acOrnS pounded and boiled in the
crude way described 7 -
-! made a great many photographs, from
which hg ire groups will be built for eXhi-
bition in the museum. These will tell the
story or the Indian family, men. women
and chlldren, their occupations and cos
tunes | consider this object method as
the best for imparting information upon
anthrcpological subjects.
The Beautiful Baskets.
The baskets these Indians make are
most beautiful in, construction. They are
woven by the scstaN5i the male Indian
takes no part in il ekssquaw goes into the
woods and sathefts life roots and ferns
which form the material for the baskets
The roots are scrapad until they are of one
size, and the mansfaGture of one basket
by a squaw will ehke as long as three
months. 1t takes weeks alone to collect
the material. The, market value Of has
ket is $50, but the sdnaws do not get that
price, as the baskets7als bought by traders
There are grsat smany collections in
the museums and private houses of San
Francisco. They afSI & course, largely In
dian antiquities-nnetierh as well as ancient
among the people of California. 1t is won.
oerful, the extent and value of some Of
them suppose chat the collections Of
baskets are worth tens of thousands of
dollars L know of single collections of
basketry alone that are worth from two
thousand to four thousand dollars.
Islands OF the Coast.
Il visited also the islands off the coast
or California, and saw the ancient soap
stone quarries from which the Indians used
to obtain their pots and utensils. A num-
Der of graves were opened. and interesting
relics were found. There were no skeletons
discoyerable; the soil Is loose, and they
quickly decay. The Indians abandoned
these islands long ago, and the quarries
and old village sites are all that remain to
prove their existence. The Island of San
Catalina in particular, Is high and beau
tifui and has a marvellous climate It IS
on the coast. in the neighborhood Of Les
Angeles. There Is no water to speak of,
and Wild goats are about the only animals
existing upon 1t. The island is fast be-
coming resort tor health-seekers.'