BLOW GUN AND QUIVER Cherokee—North Carolina.

Case No. 1:

Made of wild cane and six feet long, this type blow gun was used for shooting poison darts. Some guns are as long as twenty feet. A blow gun is extraordinary in that it has for example, the power to shoot a dart a quarter of an inch into a pine door. This power is probably due to the choke bore design of the gun.

The darts are fifteen to eighteen inches long and are made of locust wood. They are sharpened and hardened over a flame at one end and, at the opposite end are wrapped at an angle with the silk from a thistle plant. As the air is blown into the gun the thistle silk fluffs and creates a shoulder to blow against. The dart is retarded in its movement by the taper of the bore. It is not known what implement was employed to produce this tapered bore.

Many years ago this type blow gun, with poison darts, was used in warfare by the Cherokee, Choctaw, Catawaba, and Houma tribes. Displayed with the blow gun and darts is the basket quiver which held the darts. These specimens were brought to Oklahoma before 1860, by the grandfather of Jim Backwater. (See Plate 21)

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The Clark Field Collection of Indian Baskets is composed of one thousand and ninety six specimens, as of date (1964), from throughout North America and represents almost every basket making tribe of that area. Due to the wide scope of tribal representation and the beauty of these outstanding specimens, this collection is rated by the U. S. Indian Arts and Crafts Board as the most outstanding Indian basket collection in North America.

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Plate No. 1

1a HOUSEHOLD Chippewa Minnesota Size: 3¾″ × 8¼″

1b TRINKET Eskimo Alaska Size: 3½″ × 3½″

1c DECORATIVE Attu Aleutian Islands, Alaska Size: 5″ × 6″

1d DECORATIVE Attu Aleutian Islands, Alaska Size: 3¼″ × 3¾″

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Plate No. 2

2a WATER JUG Chiricahua Apache New Mexico Size: 13½″ × 9½″

2b WATER JUG Havasupai Arizona Size: 12″ × 10″

2c HISTORICAL—UTILITARIAN Wampanoag Massachusetts Size: 6¾″ × 9″

2d HISTORICAL—UTILITARIAN Pennacook Massachusetts Size: 14½″ × 20″

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Plate No. 3

3a CRADLE Pomo California Size: 16″ × 12″ × 7″

3b CRADLE Hoopa California Size: 16¾″ × 9½″

3c CRADLE Ute Colorado Size: 34″ × 12″

3d FISHING CREEL Algonquin Quebec, Canada Size: 10½″ × 10½″ × 8½″

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PLATE No. 4

4a FISH TRAP Catawba North Carolina Size: 64″ × 16″

4b GAMBLING MAT Pomo California Size: 28″ diameter

4c GAMBLING TRAY Seneca—Cayuga New York and Oklahoma Size: 12″ × 3¼″

4d GAMBLING TRAY Pawnee Nebraska and Oklahoma Size: 9″ × 2″

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Plate No. 5

5a BERRY GATHERING Yakima Washington Size: 20″ × 14½″

5b BERRY GATHERING Choctaw Mississippi Size: 10″ × 10″

5c EFFIGY—TRINKET Papago Arizona Size: 8½″ × 7″

5d EFFIGY—TRINKET Alibamu Alabama and Texas Size: 6″ × 7″

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Plate No. 6

6a STORAGE Cherokee North Carolina Size: 18½″ × 18″

6b STORAGE Shoshone—(Panamint) Death Valley, California Size: 24″ × 9″

6c STORAGE Tonto Apache Arizona Size: 29½″ × 19″

6d STORAGE Ottawa Michigan Size: 10½″ × 14″ × 10″

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Plate No. 7

7a STORAGE Cherokee North Carolina Size: 13¾″ × 12″ × 12″

7b STORAGE Basket Maker II New Mexico Size: 5⅝″ × 4″

7c STORAGE Algonquin Quebec, Canada Size: 12½″ × 18½″ × 15½″

7d STORAGE Chippewa Wisconsin Size: 17″ × 9″ × 12″

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Plate No. 8

8a STORAGE Pima Arizona Size: 21½″ × 18″

8b STORAGE Hopi Arizona Size: 13″ × 17″

8c GATHERING Chippewa Wisconsin Size: 30″ × 20″ × 7½″

8d HOUSEHOLD TRINKET Passamaquoddy—Malecite Maine Size: 3″ × 5″

CARD CASE Huron Quebec, Canada Size: 4″ × 2¾″

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Plate No. 9

9a HARVEST Cahuilla (Mission) California Size: 8½″ × 22″

9b WINNOWING TRAY Pima Arizona Size: 3″ × 19″

9c COOKING Thlinkit Alaska Size: 11½″ × 14″

9d ROASTING Yurok (2) California Size: 2½″ × 10½″ and 3″ × 21½″ Modoc (1) Oregon Size: 3½″ × 14½″

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Plate No. 10

10a COLANDER Penobscot Maine Size: 5½″ × 11½″

10b PORRIDGE BOWL Paiute California Size: 8″ × 12″

10c STEWING GRASSHOPPERS Paiute California Size: 12″ × 9″

10d GRINDING TRAY Hoopa California Size: 4½″ × 16½″

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Plate No. 11

11a MANIOC PRESS Carib Guatemala and Venezuela 72″ × 2½″ not expanded 40″ × 4″ expanded (filled)

11b FOOD BOWL Mission California Size: 5½″ × 15″

11c FOOD BOWL Shoshone (Panamint) California Size: 3⅜″ × 7½″

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Plate No. 12

12a FOOD PLATTER Cahuilla (Mission) California Size: 4½″ × 20″

12b FOOD BOWL Shoshone (Panamint) California Size: 4″ × 8½″

12c FOOD PLATTER Chemehueve Arizona Size: 3″ × 15″

12d FOOD PLATTER Yavapai Apache Arizona Size: 4″ × 12½″

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Plate No. 13

13a FOOD PLATTER Western Apache Arizona Size: 4¾″ × 21½″

13b FOOD PLATTER Papago Arizona Size: 2¾″ × 11½″

13c CARRYING (Tump-Line) Karoc California Size: 9¾″ × 13″

13d CARRYING Papago Arizona Size: 12″ × 25½″ × 20½″

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Plate No. 14

14a CARRYING (Grasshopper) Cahuilla (Mission) California Size: 14″ × 9″

14b GATHERING (Clams) Quinault Washington Size: 12¾″ × 16″ × 10″

14c CARRYING Maidu California Size: 29½″ × 19″

14d CARRYING Gabrielenos (Mission) California Size: 19″ × 25″

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Plate No. 15

15a CARRYING (Sally Bag) Umatilla Oregon Size: 17½″ × 13½″

15b HOUSEHOLD (Farm) Cherokee Oklahoma Size: 6″ × 9½″

15c HOUSEHOLD Chitimacha Louisiana Size: 6½″ × 9″ × 6″

15d HOUSEHOLD (Tobacco) Hoopa California Size: 4½″ × 4⅜″

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Plate No. 16

16a HOUSEHOLD Yokut California Size: 6″ × 12″

16b HOUSEHOLD (Farm) Rappahannock Virginia Size: 9½″ × 20″ × 17″

16c HOUSEHOLD (Wall Pocket) Choctaw Oklahoma Size: 14″ × 12″

16d HOUSEHOLD Cherokee Oklahoma Size: 9½″ × 12″

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Plate No. 17

17a CEREMONIAL Washoe Nevada Circumference 52″ 13″ hi, 8″ orifice

17b CEREMONIAL (Wine) Papago Arizona Size: 7¼″ × 15½″

17c CEREMONIAL (Carrying) White Mountain Apache Arizona Size: 13¾″ × 14″ × 15″

17d MOURNING BOWL Menominee Wisconsin Size: 7″ × 8″

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Plate No. 18

18a CEREMONIAL (Jumping Dance) Hoopa California Top: 15″ × 3½″ Middle: 18″ × 4½″ Bottom: 20″ × 5½″

18b CEREMONIAL (Wedding) Pomo California Size: 5⅝″ × 12″

18c MORTUARY Pomo California Size: 5″ × 14″

18d MORTUARY Pomo California Size: 5″ × 9½″

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Plate No. 19

19a CEREMONIAL (Wedding) Hopi Arizona Size: 2½″ × 15″

19b CEREMONIAL (Wedding) Navajo Arizona Size: 4″ × 13″

19c CEREMONIAL (Medicine Tray) Paiute Arizona Size: 3″ × 14½″

19d RINSING (Clothes) Niantic Connecticut Size: 6″ × 11″ × 11″

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Plate No. 20

SOYAL INITIATION CEREMONY (Prayer Offering Ceremony) Hopi Arizona

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Plate No. 21

BLOW GUN, QUIVER and DART Cherokee North Carolina

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