Durango semi-weekly herald., 1905-04-24

l-'itol bairair,,i.. bri Society being
grayish W.. favorite
dyes are red, blue and bach. although
yellow and some of the other mix.
lures such as constitute all reds and
blues are used by them. Tae reds
are made OF secret mixtures known
only TO the Indians; the blue from
the American indigo, and the black
ifom herbs and minerals. These COZ.
ors never fade, no matter what tests
they are put to.
Two posts are planted firmly in the
ground with crossbars tied at the
bottom and top to wnich the warp
is attached. The squaw (who ALWAYS
| does the weaving uses wooden
iork for pounding the yarn into the
warp, then she uses two pieces OF
stone, going over each thread, which
pE The way. is put through separate
~ consequently no two blankets are
| ever alike.
one hnds portrayed in their de.
signs all the superstitions. and fan.
cles OF this particular peopls The
maltese cross, which is supposed To
signify the spirit, the cloud terraces
Which is supposed TO be The broken
oioids at sunset. the lightning snake.
winch Is supposed 10 be the Great
spirit announcing rain. Diamond
patterns, single and in groups, in ir.
regular lines symmetrically woven in
different colors are quite favorite.
Among the older patterns the most
Naiuable blankets are those with the |
red border and an alternate white
and blue or black stripe running
through the center. Some of the Ma.
'aJo blankets are double-woven and
nave different designs on eacn side
IN many of the oldest patterns the |
RED materials are made from fine
Spanish woollen cloth called yayeta
while their blues are made from gov |
ernment blue
These they unravel and weave into 4
their blankets as they would tneir |
native yarn. Sometimes you find in /
tne blanket peculiar figures which
were You to use your Imagination.
you will decide are Intended to repre-
sent horse or man, but you never
ma the figure of bear. fish or a
coyote, as the Indian superstition Is.
when squaw dies her limbs turn
into fish, ner head into bear and
her body into a coyote. For this rea-
son an Indian will never molest any |
OF these creatures.
D. 1t takes from four 10 six months
time for squaw to weave one of
these blankets. depending entirely
upon the size. Decorators use them
in various ways for different pur.
poses-for example. by mailing the
four corners of small blanket to the
wall, it will make handsome paper
or music rack. They are used for
sofa pillows, cnair throws, floor rugs.
table covers-the most servlceable
steamer wrap known; portieres, blan-
kets for bedding and camping. One
Of the most beautiful and antique In
dian blankets known is what is term
ed the squaw dress, mostly woven
IRON vayeta and sewed together,
leaving one end open and small
opening at the other end for the
wearer TO put her head through.
These garments are the full dress"
of the squaw, and are only worn on
state occasions and during seasonable
dances.
1t Is quite the rage now to have
collections of pottery made by Pu-
eblos; bead work by the Utes; has
kets from the Jicarilla Apaches and
Moquis. Water jars. plain and decor
ated, make the handsomest jardi-
nieres. The Navajo is the only In
dian who is silversmith, and some
of mis- creations are enough to tax the
skill of the most expert jeweler. The
Navajo and the Ute reservations are
only a few miles from Durango, con
sequently that city is the headquar-
ters for trade among these Indians.
Morally the Indian of today stands |
on higher level than a great many |
OF his waite brothers, and while their |
customs are not our customs, yet all |
In all the Indian is moral creature.
Very truly yours.
w. h. ARMSTRONG,
Durango Board of Trade, Durango. |