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Indians of California by Edward Chever (12 pages)
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Page: of 12
LOST AND FOUND 125
grass. These roots grow near the surface of the ground,
and in sandy soil can be pulled up in long pieces. The
pulpy outside skin is removed and the inside is a
woody fiber, extremely tough when green, and durable
when made into articles for daily use. The Indian
women split these roots into thin strips, keep them in
water when they are making baskets, and take them
out one at a time, as needed. The water basket is first
started from a center at the bottom, and is added to
stitch by stitch, without a skeleton frame to indicate
the intended size [Fig. 5]. A loose strip of grass root
is added constantly as a new layer to the last rim, and
this is sewed on with another strip of the same fiber
to the finishec. work beneath, a bone awl being used
to bore holes through the basket portion. The last rim
or complete edge of a basket has a larger filling,
Figure 5. a, Cooking or water basket; b, Flat mat used as a plate or
tray, and this also shows how the bottoms of the baskets are formed
[Note: The radiating lines in this figure are incorrect].
consisting of several strips of split grass roots, or
sometimes a willow stick is used. The larger baskets
are ornamented with figures woven in of a darker
color; the girls sometimes add beads and feathers for
smaller baskets [Fig. 6]. The conical baskets used for
carrying burdens is woven instead of being sewed
together, and is of looser texture and lighter in weight
[Fig. 7]. They are quite durable, however, and are used
to carry wood, acorns, or household goods on a
journey. The water baskets were also durable and
would hold hot water.’ Water was made to boil in them
by dropping in stones previously heated. The women
skillfully used two sticks in handling hot stones or
coals as we would tongs. In bread making the women
pounded the acorns between two stones, a hollowed
one serving for a mortar [Fig. 8], until it was reduced
to a powder as fine as our corn meal. They removed
some of the bitterness of the meal by scraping hollows
in the sand and leaching it, by causing water to
percolate slowly through it. To prepare it for cooking
the dough was wrapped in green leaves and these balls
were covered with hot stones. It comes out dark
colored and not appetizing, but it is nutritious and
was eaten with gratitude by Fremont’s men in 1844.
Fish and meat were sometimes cooked in this way. A
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Figure 6. a, The yoke used to carry the conical basket; b, The awl
used in sewing the basket; c, Fragment of basket from the Museum
of the Peabody Academy, showing the character of the stitch used
on the outside; d, Inside view of the same, showing that each stitch
from above runs diagonally through the one below it of the last
series, and is brought out between the threads on the outside.