Smyrna times., 1904-11-16
THE COCOON CRADLE
MODE OF WRAPPING UP THE LITTLE
REDSKIN PAPOOSE.


Which the Indian Baby Bunting
Grows and Thrives-OriGin of This
Queer Cramped Cradle.
Fancy a tiny copper cOlOred papOOse
buckled up snugly in a queer buckskin
bag that resembles nothing in nature
so much as the coy cocoon cradle of |
a baby butterfly and then draw upon |
your Imagination still further pictur- |
ing this odd receptacle swinging from |
the leafy canopy of an Indian wickiup |
or brush arbOr, and you have before |
you an Indian baby and his wonderful |
cradle.
Gorgeous yellow butterflies and
brown Kiowa babies are seldom linked |
together in song or story, yet in real
life their wrappings while in the chrys-
alis state bear remarkable resem-
blance to each other
The cocoon cradle proper and its
various notifications as found among
the different tribes of North American
Indians are constructed from the skins
of animals. And right here we may
pause and trace the origin of another
famous nursery rhyme to the Indian
cocoon cradle, for did not the father
of Baby Bunting go a-hunting to get a
little rabbits skin to wrap that myth
ical baby in? All full blood Kiowa
babies are born into the pho-liyo-ye,
or rabbit circle, and are taught to
dance in the mysterious circle of rab-
belonging to the rabbit order of the
kiOWa sC!dierY.
Hence a rabbit skin would be very
appropriate wrapping for a Kiowa
Baby Bunting, though neither large
enough nor strong enough for his cra-
die. The red deer of the forest, quarry
of the redskinned hunter, gives of his
beautiful covering to make the cradle
that is to swing from the tree top, lit
orally tree tops cut from the cotton
woods and elms that fringe the clear
little streams ripping through the
Kiowa reservation and piled high on a
framework of poles to serve as Il sum
mer parlor'' in front of his fathers
tepee.
The crude deer hide is carefully
dressed by tedious and secret process
known only to these Indians, and when
finished is as soft and plant as the
most expensive chamois skin. Then
loving fingers skillfully embroider with
quilts beautiful beadwOrk designs up
on the delicately tinted deerskin. KiO-
wa cradles are more ornamental than
those of other tribes, and EiOwa
I'm hot m Indian
beadwork now the popular fad of their
paleface sisters. Some of this bead
work embroidery is not only very beau
tiful, but very elaborate. The Sioux
squaws, who alone rival their Kiowa
sisters, ornament the cradles of their
little ones with bands of deerskin. up
on which are wrought in colored beads
gorgeous patterns of men, horses, birds,
fish and flowers. Instead of a wooden
framew ork they substitute a basket
work frame of reeds and sometimes
they use seed and grasses instead Of
beads.
The Cheyenne. Apache and Conan
che Indians all use cocoon cradles pat
termed after the KiOwa cradles. but
theirs are not ornamented as elabO-
rately as those of the KiOwas. In
truth, the grim and warlike COmanche
of the plains wastes very little time il
decorating the receptacle of his off
spring. A stout piece of deerskin, fas
tened to an equally stout wooden frame
and laced up securely with rawhidC
thongs, suffices his simple need
The origin of the cocoon cradle itself
like that of the redskins, seems wrap
ped in mystery. though we might will
reason trace this primitive cradle bacl
to the Lapps of northern Europe, who's
babies sleep in little followed out af
fairs swung down from the lowe
limbs of trees. They are lined witt
moss and laced up. and in shape ar
exactly like the primitive Indian CO
coon cradle from which the mOderl
cocoon cradle, beautiied and improved
has been evolved.
After the beadwork embroidery
completed the deerskin pouch or ba
is fastened securely upon q stron
board whose two upright handles, pre-
1ecting above the headpiece or hoo'
are strengthened by a crosspiece at I'll
back. These handles are very col
YeQleQL Wuen lnG luOtACA 10 OoSy oDSA
her many tasks; if it be warm weathe
baby is swung from the top of IL
brush arbor, his round, brown fa'
peering smilingly from out its ira
pings of gayly beaded deerskin, h
bright little eyes blinking at the su
beams shining through the leafy roc
or the flames of the nightly camph
leaping up to mingle with the moo
light. When trading" at the agen'
stores, the squaw props the cradl
"baby and ALL" against the count
and goes calmly about the importa
business of laying in a supply for h
family in their tepee far out ON t
reservation.
Mother love fills the heart of a po
squaw as completely as it does tn
of her more fortunate paleface sist'