The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-08-28

Il Y devil, big forest nre. Inc
:: -. flames are raging from Mount
'Sanhedrin in the east to Boonvtlle in
the west. and all the Indians in the de-
;vastated region, with their grinning
sQuaws and stolid papooses, are over
=. running the towns to escape the flames.
. saw more rare baskets among them
in: an hour than I had seen before in
nicnths. It's the opportunity of life
time to buy them,' 1 decided and ran
40 my friend, the Indian doctor, to see
. If I wasn't right, for l have discovered
=. that only the "old resident can sue
.cessfully cope in trade with the wiles
.. OF the up-to-date red man. Poor Lo
=: knows his business now. 1 confess l
don't know much about him, but my
friend, the Indian doctor, does, for he
was raised in sight Of their wickiups
= Despite the fact that the fire had run
: the temperature up to 115 degrees in the
shade and every Indian must have left
=. the forest with his or her best baskets
tile. doctor was not encouraging. He
assured me kindly that the rarest
baskets could be purchased from plain
eYeTy-day storekeepers in the town
Shops.
f.: "But what a chance TO get photo
graphs at the same time" l pleaded.
=: You can get the best photographs
from the photographers Also he bland
~ advised. In a matter-of-fact, pains
taking and direct way he gave me to
plainly understand that the Indians
Whereabouts were a dirty, thieving,
lying lot with no higher aspirations
than an occasional square meal.
=: 3ut the lust to acquire queer baskets
was upon me and the Indians about me
were noted for producing rarely beauti-
full shapes and designs. Besides such
a. chance to get photographs did not
seem likely to occur again, so I threw
al 70 10 rrrTra Dc n Nv Ic0l r1r, cd
the impatient photographer, jumped
upon his blackboard and we dashed for
ward TO raid the nearest Indian village.
Basket making, I was assured, would
SOON be lost art among these Indians
because they make so much money
picking hops they do not care TO bother
with the baskets. Entire families camp
out in the hop fields for weeks at
time. The best time to buy baskets is
IN ,midwinter when food is scarce.
The first rancheria consisted of a
cluster. of some three dozen shanties
.perched on the verge of a ravine. We
promptly asked for Captain Jack. 1t
was he who, in a marvellous girdle of
leopard tails, performed the part of the
wild man from Borneo at the Midwinter
: Fair at 10 cents a head. Captain Jack
was absent and in his place we found
: Captain Peter. the sub chief. His high
ness was squatung on the ground
making wampum by cutting shells
into small disks and perforating
them with a borer while his prime
minister laced them on a long string.
He. was dirty, barefooted potentate a
fine specimen of the beautifully hide
GUS. And his first words were bluntly,
""Clear out"
=. But 1 had not come so far to "clear
out and asked him what he was going
10 do with the wampum.
: :@'Oh, plenty more white fools come
buy"
Il think I would like some"
mo sell to-day" and he would not.
= -AfteTward 1 discovered to what use
they put the wampum.
We proposed TO photograph him and
got the camera into position only to be
met with his wild gesticulations:
"Ah, youl You quilt Gimme four
bits. take picture bye and bye when L
dressed up"
He insisted on having his way, so we
took him Sunday best clothes, shoes
and all. The prime minister also in
sisted upon a payment of 25 cents.
While waiting the pleasure of his royal
highness to change his attire we visited
the other cottages. They were window
less, fiowerless and furnitureless in
fact every less but dirtless.
:. It is the fashion among the women
ITO wear the hair cut in a penthouse
bang. just lone enough to peep under,
a tight calico wrapper, bare feet and
brilliant silk neckerchief.
A squaw who spoke excellent English
and who said her name was Mary