The chronicle=news., 1912-11-08


the. lie OF tn. Indians OF Panama.
the collection Of Curlos brought from
IthHt country by H. P!tcr OF tn. Smith
soIIan institute Is soon 10 lind Its
place among the exhibitions OF the
National museum. Glass eases Will
lIuClosc baskets OF all shapes and sizes
woven hy the Indian women and used
IN their homes.
\ dance drum and 4 Tnttl" ar. soon
20 lie In state. never again TO sound
lin the dances that are customary
Throughout the Choco Indian tribe.
lcrudc little toys have found their
way TO Neutrality-suspicious. that w"r"
dear ~ some time to some lit,l. In
IdIan child. In fact, each one of tn"
lHrticles In this collection WIS NJ one
time in us" among the tribes OF PAN
ANA.
The collection was obtained en-
ltir.ly from tho ChoCo and GuyIm! In
dian tribes" Mr.. Pittcr explained.
They live their lives In the forests
land on tn. plains OF Panama. and
have li,;l. to do with III. white man
or his customs. 4 collection OF the
7
to obtain, for. unlik" many tribes.
they weave their baskets and make
their toys and other articles for their
own us" only. Money means very 1T
tie TO them, and no ChoCo or Quaint
Indian has as vet set up his stand OF
Indian mcm.ntOs 10 he sold to the
whit" people.
During tn. time that | spent with
those two tribes | me, very few white
men. While the Indians are no, hos
title. they have no hearty wclcom.
TO. tn. man from civilized lands.
Perhaps /, would he more accurate
to say that Il is the white man who
I is an unwclcomc visitor. for many In
their own tribes have been In tn"
whit. mans country. and one chief
tain lived and was educated In tn.
United States between the ages OF
INV" and twenty years.
'i' Is not tina, they ar" ignorant
of the existence OF civilized coun-
tries. but simply that they are con-
tent with their own lot and ar. not
ttssisous o; changing their mode o'
life. And theirs is truly an interest
/ Ing and carc-Irc. existence. with
most OF their needs aud comforts
laround them and no worries about
dollars and cents. Only the men who
occasionally 20 TO the towns and cI-
ties have need OF money: consc-
uusntly | found IL OF little use dur
ing my sojourn among tn. Indians.
Instead. | lad.ncd myself with small
mirrors. bright beads and many OF
the other articles tina, the first g"i-
Tiers OF America used for trade with
tn. savages along It's shores. In fact.
many Of the baskets and Indian me-
mcn;os in my collection were bought
! in just this fashion
Among Mr.. Pi,ter's collection are
two Indian wooden pillows. These
Iare roughly carved and stained
Though the latter results probably
from long use. They are gently hoi-
lowed in the center. To the American
mind they scarcely suggest physica!
icomforf. but are considered comfort
able by many Of tn" Choco Indians.
| The Indian pillows bring to mind
n rather disappointing incident con-
necicd with q similar object re-
marked Mr.. pitticr. IT happened
That during my vssi, with the Choco
Indians had occasion to be OF some
assistance to one of the men. lie Of
tered ME MS a return any OF mum
her of objects in his little house. |
iseected, rs one of the most used anC
characteristic mcmcntos. wooden
pillow corresponding to those in the
lcollectiCn. The wife seemed eager
THAT | should have II. and begged
that let her bring II to me the next
Iday. Sure enough she appeared with
the pillow at he time stated. but
what different pillow. The whole
thing had been sCraped until the
wood shone white and clean. In her
eyes it was beautiful. but to me the
atmosphere of actual usage had been
taken away and as a relic II was al
most useless,
The Choco Indians are rather
Iclever in the making OF baskets and
like material. The most OF II is done,
perhaps. by the women. and only
from time to time. They are lcisur-
Iely race and work only when there
is actual need. The baskets are Of
IAN sizes and shapes. some of them
with nicely fitting covers. and all
made of the stems of various plants
lor of strips OF bark. A sample of this
braid or basketry material is in my.
collection. There is also a sort or
lhasketry pouch used by the Choco
hunters to keep their matches and
liirecaps dry. In making their fires
the Choco uses fire fans to fan the
lflame. These are made of basketry
material and in the collection Is a
sample that has seen much usage I'm
lone Indian home. Mats are also made
Iof this material. though they are moi
tmuch used by the tribe.