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The Native Races [of the Pacific states], Volume 1, Wild Tribes, Volume 1

Note 624 — Chapter IV · CALIFORNIANS. (continued 2)

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The pipe of the chief 'was made of a dense transparent green stone, very highly polished, about two and a half inches long, and of an oval figure, the bowl being in the same situation with the stem. A small piece of burnt clay is placed in the bottom of the bowl to separate the tobacco from the end of the stem.' Lewis and Clarke's Trav., p. 267. Pots made of 'a stone found in the hills ... which, though soft and white in its natural state, becomes very hard and black after exposure to the fire.' Id., p. 312. 'These vessels, although rude and without gloss, are nevertheless strong, and reflect much credit on Indian ingenuity.' Ross' Fur Hunters, vol. i., p. 274. Pipe-stems 'resemble a walking-stick more than anything else, and they are generally of ash, and from two-and-a-half to three feet long.' Id., vol. ii., p. 109. 'Cooking vessels very much resembling reversed bee-hives, made of basket work covered with buffalo skins.' Domenech's Deserts, vol. ii., p. 244. Stansbury discovered pieces of broken Indian pottery and obsidian about Salt Lake. Stansbury's Rept., p. 182. The material of baskets 'was mostly willow twig, with a layer of gum, probably from the pine tree.' Burton's City of the Saints, p. 573. The Utahs 'manufacture very beautiful and serviceable blankets.' Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. v., p. 200. 'Considering that they have nothing but stone hammers and flint knives it is truly wonderful to see the exquisite finish and neatness of their implements of war and hunting, as well as their ear-rings and waist-bands, made of an amalgam of silver and lead.' Prince, in Cal. Farmer, Oct. 18, 1861. 'Les Indiens en font des jarres, des pots, des plats de diverses formes. Ces vaisseaux communiquent une odeur et une saveur très-agréables à tout ce qu'ils renferment; ce qui provient sans doute de la dissolution de quelque substance bitumineuse contenue dans l'argile.' Stuart, in Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1821, tom. xii., p. 83. 'The pipes of these Indians are either made of wood or of red earth; sometimes these earthen pipes are exceedingly valuable, and Indians have been known to give a horse in exchange for one of them.' Remy and Brenchley's Journ., vol. i., p. 130; Parker's Explor. Tour, pp. 128-32, 228-9, 234.

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