Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/435

 the North American Indians.

The women are the chief, if not the only manufacturers ; the men judge that if they performed that office, it would exceedingly depreciate them. The weight of the oar lies on the women, as is the cafe with the German Americans. In the winter feafon, the women gather buffalo's hair, a fort of coarfe- brown curled wool j and having fpun it as fine as they can, and properly doubled it, they put fmall beads of different colours upon the yarn, as they work it : the figures they work in thofe fmall webs, are generally uniform, but fometimes they diverfify them on both fides, The Choktah weave mot-pouches, which have raifed work infide and outfide. They likewife make turkey feather blankets with the long feathers of the neck and breaft of that large fowl they twift the inner end of the feathers very faft into a ftrong double thread of hemp, or the inner bark of the mul berry tree, of the fize and ftrength of coarfe twine, as the fibres are fuffi^- ciently fine, and they work it in the manner of fine netting. As the fea thers are long and glittering, this fort of blankets is not only very warm,, but pleafing to the eye..

They make beautiful ftone pipes ; and the Cheerake the beft of any of : the Indians : for their mountainous country contains many different forts and colours of foils proper for fuch ufes. They eafily form them with their to* mohawks, and afterward finifli them in any defired form with their knives ;, the pipes being of a very foft quality till they are fmoked with, and ufed- to the fire, when they become quite hard. They are often a full fpan long,, and the bowls are about half as large again as thofe of our Eriglifh pipes.. The fore part of each commonly runs out with a fharp peak, two or three- fingers broad, and a quarter of an inch thick on both fides of the bowl,, lengthwife, they cut feveral pictures with a great deal of fkill and labour ; fuch as a buffalo and a panther on the oppofite fides of the bowl ; a rabbit and a fox ;. and, very often, a man and a woman puris naturalibus. Their fculpture cannot much be commended for its modefty. The favages work fo flow, that one of their artifrs is two months at a pipe, with his knife, beforer he finifhes it: indeed, as before obferved, they are great enemies to pro- ufe fweating, and are never in a hurry about a good thing. The ftems are commonly made of foft wood about two feet long, and an inch thick, cut into four fquares, each fcooped till they join very near the hollow of the- ftem : the beaus always hollow the fquares, except a little at each corner tcx hold them together, to which they fatten a parcel of bell-buttons, different 3 forts,

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