The San Juan County index. (Aztec, N.M.) 1890-19??, 1901-09-13
MARVELLOUS
BASKETS

The 1923 native Indian baskets. com
prislng the famous Hudson collection
In the National Museum at Washing
ton, AFFORD some interesting gIimpses
into the superstitions and aspirations
OF the primitive Americans. They
show, too, the very highest develop
ment Of the art Of basket making. to-
day, as well as 1. the past The collec-
ton is scientifically valuable from the
fact that It represents the Pomo In
dams before their d%eteriorating In
huence of the white man had made It.
SELF felt while the art was yet at the
zenith Of its development. While the
collection embraces examples OF every
form in domestic work OF gathering
and storing, grinding and cooking the
acorn, which is the staff Of life Of these
Indians, 1t is particularly rich in sacra-
mental or sacrihcial baskets, extremely
rare because CT their sacred character.
These sacred baskets Of the Indian
women and children, and the wonder
fully beautiful baskets Of the Sun"
ceremonials are almost beyond descrip-
ton, so dimcult is It to present any
adequate idea of the combined color
effect Of the rich sheen Of the humming
bird feathers, the tufts Of scarlet from
the top-knot of the woodpecker, the
dainty plumes OF the quail, the sober
wampumi the iridescent mother Of
pearl or haliotes. the shining black
stems Of the maiden hair fern, and
in the later baskets the bright beads,
all Of which, coupled with the exquis-
tie refinement Of the workmanship, the
artistic combination of color and the
marvellous ineness Of the weave rem
der the collection notable and incom-
parable from every point Of view.
To the average observer these are
only interesting as objects Of beauty
and utility. a collection Of Indian bas-
kets, nothing more, but to the trained
eye and intelligence of the ethnolo-
gist they represent a very large part
of the Indian history and philosophy.
They are not only rarely beautiful in
form, color and workmanship, thus ap-
pealing to the collector, the artist and
craftsman, but are valuable by reason
Of the fact that interviewer with the
fibre of reed and willow, grass and
fern, bead and feather are the aspira-
ton and superstition and all the COM
plicated, highly emotional, religious
life Of these primitive peoples. They
are clothed about with a symbolism
rich and complex beyond the compre-
tension Of civilized man. The history
Of the Sun" basket is not known at
present, as these Indians are unstuGied
and unwritten, except as DR.. Hudson
has observed during his years OF con-
tact with them; but the history Of the
women's and children's baskets, whose
function is sacramento or sacrihcial,
has been worked out. When a child,
male or female is born into the tribe
the mother after a few months, or
when the little life seems assured,
makes for him a tiny basket, his birth
right, as it were, which shall stand
for him as a prayer incarnate, as a
bond between him and the mysteries.
With loving, anxious devotion. the
RR5ANaAReaERAtAeia
finest, most perfect grasses, tracing
upon it some delicate, |symbolical de-
sign, dainty feathers or bands inter-
woven with a patience that passes I'M
Outstanding in a mesh, so fine and
close as to be almost invisible to the
naked eye, for this basket is as his life,