The chronicle=news., 1912-11-08


brushing the dirt through tn"s"
cracks, This OF course. means thu'
the dirt falls through 10 the first
story, but as only the pigs and III"
other domestic animals occupy that
floor. the result is not serious. This
second story is really thr hom" oi
IN" Indian. for here he sleeps. cooks
and eats and is protected from IN"
sun By the matched bark and grass
roof overhead.
Perhaps the most highly decor
.ated OF the Choco home that visit
I'd was that OF mediciu" man. He.
as in most r!bes. was one OF the lead
ing men OF the community, and |
found him willing to talk freely re-
.eardiuE the life and customs of his
tribe. barring one subject. This for
hidden topic concerned his own pro-
i.ss!OH. | secured a medicine stick.
however. made OF that extremely
light wood commonly known MS cord
Wood in that country. This stick.
painted with mystical black figures.
exhibited. Surrounding each OF the
piles that supported the house CT til"
medicine man wcr. n number Of th.s.
sticks. Long vines. which. hy the way
are used by the Indians In place OF
nails. held these sticks In place. and
III. result was unique. II not artis-
tie. As TO the meaning OF the sticks
and his r"nson for using them Hs
decorations he would. however. give
M. no Information"
Among the articles brought from
;his tribe is a doubl.-hcadcd dance
drum that was evidently uspcndcd
by cord from the musicians neck.
and both hands used to beat time on
the ends. The basketry material that
dccoratos IL and the general work
manship are considered excellent by
Mr.. piti"r. \ gourd rattle also used
to keep time in the dances. completes
the collection OF ChoCn musical In
StrumCntS. Spoon-shap"d wooden
dIppcrs are among the assortment OF
household utensils. Recipients made
OF til. fruit Of u calahash tree are
used by tn. Indian women 10 keep
small objects dry.
II one nigh, Judge by Mr.. Pitticr's
collection. the children OF the Cnoco
'rib. ar. not neglected They are
prov idcd with roughly fashioned toys
aud several OF these were brought In
the collection to Washington. A play
bird. made of marvcously light wood
and nearly equal In size to n chick
cn. shows signs of usage at some lit
Z la. .ah .at.
bored In It's sides and bright coloreI
feathers inserted TO form wings. Two
play boats. one pointed at both ends
and the other only In the bow. are
by Mr.. Pittier to be small
reproductions of the canoes used by
the tribe. They ar. pcopl. fond OF
III. water and perfectly at home In
their canoes. by which much OF the
transportation is accomplished
The remaining portion OF the col
lection is from the Guaimi Indian
trtb" and Is somewhat differcn; In
its character.
As far as clothing Is concerned
the Guaimi tribe is more civilized
than the Choco.' said Mr.. pitiicr.
The women are more fond OF adorn-
mcni and are quite proficient in the
preparation Of n sort OF bark cloth.
Many OF them wear long strips OF
calico cloth purchased from the moro
civilized world. and the men wear
sort of straw hat made by them. 4
sample of this rather shapelcss head
gear may be found in the collection,
They are clever in the weaving OF
imported wool. and a ample of n
many colored gala bag once belong
ing to n prominent member OF the
uibc Is soon to find its place lin the
museum.
Just little might here be told
ABOUT Encarnacim. a member of the
tribe. who was once the posscssor OF
the gala bag. | stopped for severa,
days at his house and was treated
most Hospitality. Encarnacim's faith
r"s"mbled that of the Mormon some-
what. for his home was decorated by
'hiee wives. The latest and young
est of these had her hair cropped
close to her head. The reason for
inns was given through explanation
OF custom common to the tribe.
only the married women were allow
cd TO let their hair grow. and En-
carnacim's birdie had not yet had the
opportunity to allow her hair to grow
the length that marked the dignity
OF the married state. A bead neck
lace belonging to one of Encarna-
ciins s wives and made by himscl. is
In the collection
Several implements such as n ham
mer or beater used in the preparation
OF bark cloth. and remnants of tho
stone age used to pick and flattcn
their grinding stones are among Mr..
pitticr's collection A half-workcd-
up iece OF ticus bark and shell
hammer, used to give the last, soft
'ning beating. show something of the
process OF preparing the bark cloth.