Fig. 125. Sculptured Animal Form made of Lava. From an Indian who claimed to have found it in a grave on the Yakima Reservation two miles below Union Gap below Old Yakima. ½ nat. size. (Drawn from photographs 44452, 2-1, 44455, 2-4, and 44503, 6-4. Original catalogue No. 36 in the collection of Mr. Janeck.)
The pipe made of steatite shown in [Fig. 128][402] illustrates the modern type of carving in soft, easily cut stone, as well as the style of white metal inlaying employed here during recent years. In this case, the inlaying is nearly bilaterally symmetrical as may be seen by comparing [Fig. 128a] with the outlines in c and d. The carving is not symmetrical, the human form holding a fish-like form appearing on one side only, while the rear figure evidently represents a turtle which animal is found in the valley. The other two figures are not easily identified but the forward one perhaps represents a dog, the white metal inlay on it possibly representing a harness, but as likely was merely for decoration. The figure on the base of the pipe might represent a lizard or any quadruped with a long tail. This form and the way it is represented as clinging to the cylindrical part of the pipe at least remind us of similar forms seen on totem poles in the region from Puget Sound to Victoria.[403] The technique is rather crude and the style of art does not closely resemble that of the coast, but reminds us of certain sculptures found on pipes and on the carved wooden stems of pipes in the Plains where this particular shape of pipe is much more common than here.
Fig. 126 (202-8121). Handle of Digging Stick made of Horn of Rocky Mountain Sheep. From an Indian woman living near Union Gap below Old Yakima. ¼ nat. size.
In [Fig. 105] is illustrated a fragment of a sculptured tubular pipe made from steatite by cutting or scratching and drilling the soft material rather than by pecking. It was apparently intended to represent an anthropoid form. The mouth is indicated by an incision, the other features of the head are more difficult to determine, but both the arm and the leg stand out in high relief. As previously suggested on [p. 111], this style of art slightly resembles that found in the region from the Lillooet Valley to the Lower Willamette and as far east at least as The Dalles.[404] It is possible that some of the sculptures found in the Thompson River region[405] adjoining the Lillooet Valley on the east and the Yakima region on the north, may be somewhat related to the style of art of this fragmentary pipe. The human form shown in [Fig. 121] has been discussed on [p. 127] as it is incised rather than carved in the round. Clark mentions a "malet of stone curiously carved,"[406] which he says was used by the Indians near the mouth of the Snake River and Eells[407] mentions two stone carvings from the general area of which this is a part which he describes as horses' heads. If this interpretation be correct, the carvings are evidently modern. The fish form shown in [Fig. 119] has been mentioned on [p. 127].
Fig. 127. Pipe made of Stone. From a hillside grave on Toppenish Creek near Fort Simcoe. Collected by Mrs. Lynch. ½ nat. size. (Now in the collection of Mr. George G. Heye, New York.)