[719] 'This art may have been acquired from the New Mexicans, or the Pueblo Indians.' Eaton, in Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. iv., p. 217. 'This manufacture of blankets ... was originally learned from the Mexicans when the two people lived on amicable terms.' Cremony's Apaches, p. 367.
[720] 'The blanket is woven by a tedious and rude process, after the manner of the Pueblo Indians.... The manner of weaving is peculiar, and is, no doubt, original with these people and the neighboring tribes.' Letherman, in Smithsonian Rept., 1855, p. 291; Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. iv., p. 437.
[721] 'The spinning and weaving is done ... by hand. The thread is made entirely by hand, and is coarse and uneven.' Letherman, in Smithsonian Rept., 1855, p. 291. 'The wool or cotton is first prepared by carding. It is then fastened to the spindle near its top, and is held in the left hand. The spindle is held between the thumb and the first finger of the right hand, and stands vertically in the earthen bowl. The operator now gives the spindle a twirl, as a boy turns his top, and while it is revolving, she proceeds to draw out her thread, precisely as is done by our own operatives, in using the common spinning-wheel. As soon as the thread is spun, the spindle is turned in an opposite direction, for the purpose of winding up the thread on the portion of it next to the wooden block.' Backus, in Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. iv., p. 436.
[722] Backus, in Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. iv., p. 436. 'The colors are woven in bands and diamonds. We have never observed blankets with figures of a complicated pattern.' Letherman, in Smithsonian Rept., 1855, p. 291.
[723] 'The colors, which are given in the yarn, are red, black, and blue. The juice of certain plants is employed in dyeing, but it is asserted by recent authorities that the brightest red and blue are obtained by macerating strips of Spanish cochineal, and altamine dyed goods, which have been purchased at the towns.' Backus, in Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. iv., p. 436. 'The colors are red, blue, black, and yellow; black and red being the most common. The red strands are obtained by unravelling red cloth, black by using the wool of black sheep, blue by dissolving indigo in fermented urine, and yellow is said to be by coloring with a particular flower.' Letherman, in Smithsonian Rept., 1855, p. 291. The women 'welche sich in der Wahl der Farben und der Zusammenstellung von bunten Streifen und phantastischen Figuren in dem Gewebe gegenseitig zu übertreffen suchen. Ursprünglich trugen die Decken nur die verschiedenen Farben der Schafe in breiten Streifen, doch seit die Navahoes farbige, wollene Stoffe von Neu-Mexiko beziehen können, verschaffen sie sich solche, um sie in Fäden aufzulösen, und diese dann zu ihrer eigenen Weberei zu verwenden.' Möllhausen, Reisen in die Felsengeb., tom. ii., p. 235; Ruxton's Adven. Mex., p. 195.
[724] 'Ils (the Apaches) travaillent bien les cuirs, font de belles brides.' Lachapelle, Raousset-Boulbon, p. 82. 'They manufacture rough leather.' Pike's Explor. Trav., p. 335. 'Man macht Leder.' Hassel, Mex. Guat., p. 195. 'It has been represented that these tribes (the Navajos) wear leather shoes.... Inquiry from persons who have visited or been stationed in New Mexico, disaffirms this observation, showing that in all cases the Navajo shoes are skins, dressed and smoked after the Indian method.' Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. v., p. 204; Cremony's Apaches, p. 305; Gregg's Com. Prairies, vol. i., p. 286. They 'knit woolen stockings.' Davis' El Gringo, p. 411. 'They also manufacture ... a coarse woolen cloth with which they clothe themselves.' Clark, in Hist. Mag., vol. viii., p. 280; Domenech's Deserts, vol. i., p. 403, vol. ii., pp. 244-5. 'The Navajoes raise no cotton.' Backus, in Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. iv., p. 212. 'Sie sind noch immer in einigen Baumwollengeweben ausgezeichnet.' Thümmel, Mexiko, p. 349. 'These people (the inhabitants of Arizona in 1540) had cotton, but they were not very carefull to vse the same: because there was none among them that knew the arte of weauing, and to make apparel thereof.' Alarchon, in Hakluyt's Voy., vol. iii., p. 433; Bent, in Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. i., p. 243; Ten Broeck, in Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. iv., p. 89; Torquemada, Monarq. Ind., tom. i., p. 680; Alcedo, Diccionario, tom. iii., p. 184.
[725] The Xicarillas, 'manufacture a sort of pottery which resists the action of fire.' Domenech's Deserts, vol. ii., p. 8; Graves, in Ind. Aff. Rept., 1854, p. 177. The Yuma 'women make baskets of willow, and also of tule, which are impervious to water; also earthen ollas or pots, which are used for cooking and for cooling water.' Emory's Rept. U. S. and Mex. Boundary Survey, vol. i., p. 111; Revillagigedo, Carta, MS., p. 21. 'Figure 4. A scoop or dipper, from the Mohave tribe, and as neat and original an article in earthenware as could well be designed by a civilized potter.' Whipple, Ewbank, and Turner's Rept., p. 46, in Pac. R. R. Rept., vol. iii. 'Professor Cox was informed that the New Mexican Indians colored their pottery black by using the gum of the mezquite, which has much the appearance and properties of gum arabic, and then baking it. Much of the ancient pottery from the Colorado Chiquito is colored, the prevailing tints being white, black, and red.' Foster's Pre-Hist. Races, p. 250; Ruxton's Adven. Mex., p. 195. The Yampais had 'some admirably made baskets of so close a texture as to hold water; a wicker jar coated with pine tree gum.' Sitgreaves' Zuñi. Ex., p. 10; Bent, in Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. i., p. 243.
[726] Gregg's Com. Prairies, p. 286. 'In regard to the manufacture of plumage, or feather-work, they certainly display a greater fondness for decorations of this sort than any Indians we have seen.... I saw no exhibition of it in the way of embroidery.' Simpson's Jour. Mil. Recon., p. 79; Thümmel, Mexiko, p. 349.
[727] 'Mines d'argent exploitées par les Comanches, qui en tirent des ornements pour eux et pour leurs chevaux, ainsi que des balles pour leurs fusils.' Domenech, Jour., p. 132.
[728] The Mescaleros had 'a raft of bulrush or cane, floated and supported by some twenty or thirty hollow pumpkins fastened together.' Hutchings' Cal. Mag., vol. iii., p. 56. The Yumas had 'batteaus which could hold 200 or 300 pounds weight.' Id., vol. iv., p. 546. The Mojaves had 'Flössen, die von Binsen-Bündeln zusammengefügt waren (die einzige Art von Fahrzeug, welche ich bei den Bewohnern des Colorado-Thales bemerkte).' Möllhausen, Tagebuch, p. 401. 'Merely bundles of rushes placed side by side, and securely bound together with willow twigs ... their owners paddled them about with considerable dexterity.' Whipple, in Pac. R. R. Rept., vol. iii., p. 117, and plate. Möllhausen, Reisen in die Felsengeb., tom. i., pp. 238, 254; Ives' Colorado Riv., p. 69.