Page:The Pima Indians.pdf/131

126 from portions of the tree on which black gum has dried into hard scales. After boiling, this dye is in the form of a very thin liquid which is so pale that it is scarcely distinguishable on the dark clay, but after the vessel has been given a sight burning the pattern appears in deep black.

As the new vessel is built up the outside is struck with a paddle (pl., b), and the inside is supported by a flat circular stone about 10 cm. in diameter. A smaller stone is used to polish the outer surfaces. Long, smooth, finger-shaped stones are used in polishing the necks of vessels or in places where there are sharp curves.

The fictile ware of the Pimas is made by coiling. The clay is first thoroughly dried, a condition that is easily and quickly brought about by spreading it on blankets in the sun. It is then sifted to remove the larger particles of stone. It is next mixed with water and kneaded a few minutes, formed into lumps the size of the fist, and laid aside to "ripen" over night. The base of the new vessel is begun by spreading a layer of clay over the bottom of an old vessel of suitable size and smoothing it down with the paddle until it extends out several centimeters from the center (see pl., a, where the vessel shown in the potter's lap has just been taken from the olla over which it was molded). The new bottom is allowed to dry an hour in the sun before it is removed and the process of coiling begun. Dipping the fingers in water, the operator moistens the edges of the new vessel, which has dried enough to retain its shape. Then taking one of the prepared balls of clay she rapidly rolls it between the palms until it is lengthened into a cylinder about 20 cm. long, which is laid on the margin of the vessel and pinched into shape. One or perhaps two more rolls are laid on to complete the circuit and then the paddle is applied with the right hand in quick taps to the outside while the circular stone is held on the inside with the left (pl., b). The handle of the paddle is held downward so that the transverse concavity of the instrument is adapted to the horizontal convexity of the growing vessel, which is held in the lap and the coils applied only so fast as they dry sufficiently to cause it to hold its shape. For this reason it is customary for a potter to model three or four vessels at the same time so there need be no delay by waiting for the last layer to dry. As each coil is finished it is placed where the sun can shine upon it and the work progresses much faster than it could in a less arid climate. As soon as the vessel has been built up a little way so there is room for the paddle to be used above the plane