Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-08-29
INDIAN COY CORNER
An Establishment of a Lii
brary or Sitting Room.
BLANKETS AND FIXINGS
GRoTESQUE AS WELL AS ARTISTIC
REQUIREMENTS.
A Table of Horrors and Bunch
Of Very Pretty
Articles.
BLANKETS AND FIXINGS

Written for The Evening Star.
A fashionable as well as a really artistic
and unique effect in fitting up the library
or sitting room can be obtained by the up
building of an Indian coy corner For
this the chief essential may be said to be
Navajo blankets, which serve alike for
couch covering and for rugs. These
blankets range in price from 81 to $500.
The finest specimens are old bayettas.
which are very scarce and expensive. as
no duplicates are produced in the present
day. The colors used in these, especially
the red. were obtained from cloth brought
into Mexico by the Spanish and sold to the
padres. who in turn sold 1t to the Indians
at a handsome profit. This fine cloth was
raveled and the thread woven into
blankets.
1t will thus be seen that the cost of the
materials was large in the beginning. and
as 1t is long since any of this variety has
been made the bayettas are quite rare.
But they are very durable and the colorS
the more common and less expensive
blankets woven by the Navajo squaws of
the present day. These Indians raise the
sheep, make their own yarn and dye it
with colors obtained from herbs and min
erals. A bright reddish orange or flame
color enters largely into the coloring; also
scarlet, black, white and blue. The skill
with which the SavageS blend the colorS
and weave the intricate patterns is won
derful and curious. Every thread is woven
in and out the warp on the rough loom by
hand and pressed down tightly with little
stick until the rug is as stiff as a board.
For couch covered with one of these
blankets there are sofa pillows made Of
sheepskins in red. green. orange and all the
shades of tan and brown. Some are painted
with Indian heads and some are worked in
beads SO that you may repOSe with your
cheek resting against the war paint and
feathers of the blood thirsty Geronimo or
Rain-in-the-Face. while your feet are hold
ing down Sitting Bull or some of his ilk.
These cushion covers are made from skin
much larger than the cushion proper, the
superfuous edges being slashed to make a
deep fringe and the top and bottom covers
laced together over the cushion with COL
ored cord or ribbon passed through holes
made in the leather. There are also cush-
ions covered with wool materials in bright
cOOred stripes and designs, filled with fir
and pine needles, wfrie some may be COW
cred with beautiful Mexican drawn work.
put on over a dark color.
The Wall Drapery.
The wall behind your couch may be
draped with one of the bright -colored Mex
lean serapes or shawls, the artistic value
of which is beyond price, but intrinslcally
IL 10 any "iASiS AioAi Fo " %oO. vi YOU may
decorate the space with such interesting
trifles as the headache sticks (war clubs)
of the Sioux and Apache tribes. These
Misunderstanding weapons are made of a
smooth. oval stone as large as a good-sized
hens egg, fastened In some ingenious man
ner to strong stick about foot long
which serves as handle. The whole is
then wound tightly with strips of thin
leather and completely covered with designs
in bright-colored beads. The top of the
handle Is decorated with little tasseIs or
fringes Of slashed leather. However inno-
cent and ornamental these playthings may
look. upon examination you will decide that
a good. hard tap administered by strong
and supple savage wrist would crack q
skull of almost any density and cause as
severe headache as any quantity of lob,
ster la Newburg, or cold beans and hard
cider overnight.
There are also TuScarora and Winnebaco
tomahawks. which give you the shivers to
gaze upon, even though they are hung by
an inoffenSive ribbon to the ornate peg in
your coolest den. They remind you so
forcbly of the bludgeon depicted in the
story book Of Jack the Giant Killer" at
the thought of which you have not yet got
over having little thrills of terror creep up
your spine. To accompany these are lariats
of rawhide. feathered headdresses decorat-
ed bows and arrows, Yaqui quirts or riding
whips. Moqui sash belts, woven of bright
colored wool; strings of wampum, which.
by the way, is becoming quite scarce and