The products of this celebrated mine, which were objects of traffic all over New Mexico, as well as contiguous countries, probably formed one inducement which led to the Spanish conquest of this region. The turquoises from this mine have always been valued as ornaments by the Indians of New Mexico, and carried far and wide for sale by them. The mine was worked in a most primitive manner with these rude stone hammers, a number of which were secured.
The collections are all now in the National Museum for study and inspection.
The following sketch is introduced here to show the method of using the batten stick represented in Fig. 546. There is not a family among the Pueblos or Navajos that does not possess the necessary implements for weaving blankets, belts and garters. Figs. 500-502 will convey an idea of the variety in design and coloring which prevails in this class of Indian fabrics, while [Fig. 710] represents a blanket weaver at work. The picture is taken from a photograph made on the spot by Mr. Hillers, and is colored in accordance with the actual colors of the yarns and threads used in its manufacture.
Fig. 710. THE BLANKET WEAVER.
The particular class of blankets represented in this illustration is woven in the estufas, and is used almost exclusively in sacred dances and ceremonies of the tribe, all other garments being made in the houses or in the open air. The Navajos are celebrated for their skill as blanket weavers, and the Mokis are equally skilled in the manufacture of a finer class of the same article, which is much sought after by the surrounding tribes for ornamental purposes in sacred and other dances.
The vertical threads, as shown in the figure, are the warp threads; the coarser thread which is inserted transversely between these is the yarn or weft. The three rods in the center of the blanket are lease rods, which are introduced among the threads of the warp to separate them and thus facilitate the insertion of the weft thread. These rods are each passed in front of one warp thread and behind another, alternately, across the whole warp, and between each rod the threads are brought from the back of one to the front of the next, and vice versa. The bar held in hands of the weaver serves as a batten for driving or beating the weft thread into the angle formed by the crossed warp threads.
This loom resembles in principle the ancient Egyptian, Grecian, and French looms which are described on pages 55 to 62 of “The History and Principles of Weaving by Hand and Power,” by A. Barlow, London, 1878, and on pages 41 to 45 of the “Treatise on Weaving and Designing of Textile Fabrics,” by Thomas E. Ashenhurst, Bradford, England, 1881. See also pp. 200 to 208, Vol. II, of the “Cotton Manufacture of Great Britain,” by A. Ure, London, 1861.