The Navajo Indians [pp. 373-380]

71A.e /i,azvajo Indians.
below the separating rods. Through
this space the weaver throws his rudely
made shuttle, introducing after each
stitch a short, straight stick, with which
he beats the thread into place. This
operation is repeated until the blanket
is completed.
The weavers do not work continuously upon a piece once begun, but only
when the notion strikes them,- two and
three months being frequently spent in
the completion of a single fabric. The
blankets vary in size from two a half to
eight feet in length, and from two to
five feet in width. They are always
worked in at least two colors, but more
frequently in many, and in the most
pleasing and oftentimes intricate designs. The designs are always made
up of straight lines, in a multitude of
combinations. Zig-zags, meanders, and
stepped lines are employed in every conceivable form, and in only one blanket
out of more than five hundred that I
have seen have I observed a decided
curved line, and this was probably the
result of some extra-tribal influence on
the weaver. So firmly are they woven
that as a rule they will hold water for a
considerable length of time. For rugs
and portiares they are prized as highly
as Persian and other Oriental textiles,
and many of them have found their way
into the studios of Eastern artists, and
into the parlors of luxurious homes,
where they come in for their just meed
of admiration. The smaller ones sell
for from $8.oo to $25.00, while the larger
bring from $40.00 to $150.00.
As a worker in silver the Navajo leads
all our Indian tribes, as he'does in the
art of weaving. Whether they have
always worked this metal, or whether it
was first introduced among them by
civilized people, is, according to Doctor
Matthews, who gave this particular
branch of their industries his closest
attention, a matter of uncertainty.
However this may be, certain it is that
they do not now mine their material,
but depend for a supply on the coin
which they can obtain from the whites,
in trade or by other means. Their
implements are of the simplest kind,
and the articles that they produce,
though very simple in character, are
yet of interest as demonstrating their
capability for invention and their love
for the ornamental.
The process of working the metal,
though very rude in itself, is yet too
elaborate to be described within the
limits of this paper; and hence I will
dismiss the subject with a few remarks
on some specimens of their completed
work.
The best workmanship that I have
ever seen has been displayed on bracelets, powder chargers, and small tobacco
pouches. The designs on all these consist of a few engraved lines, in original
but very effective combinations. They
never attempt the representation of
natural objects, either on silver or in
their textiles, but content themselves
with combinations of lines, which are
sometimes intended, it may be supposed,
to represent conventionalized figures.
Many of the bracelets that they manufacture make beautiful ornaments for
ladies, and what they design and intend
for tobacco pouches would very often
make handsome and appropriate vinaigrettes. This last may appear somewhat strange; but when it is stated that
these pouches are not large, clumsy
affairs, but very small, oval-shaped receptacles, their propriety for use as
vinaigrettes becomes less startling. As
Indians smoke only cigarettes, a few
pinches of tobacco are sufficient to last
them for quite a period; hence their
tobacco pouches need not assume alarming proportions. I have seen these articles used as ornaments by many ladies,
and the quiet designs and delicate forms,
coupled with the subdued color of the
metal, certainly become the modesty
and refinement we look for in woman,
much more than do the precious gems
1890.]
379'