Birch baskets deserve more than passing reference for they
are well adapted to a people who still lead a more or less
migratory existence, being easy to fashion and light to trans-
port. The birch tree is available where cedar and spruce are
absent and the bark permits of fairly quick manipulation, though
experience is called for when handling the sheets as they are
Stripped from the tree. The shape of the basket desired is cut
from a set of "patterns," then stitched together with previously
prepared threads of spruce root. The rim is strengthened by a
hoop of willow twigs, after which the basket is ready for use;
very fine specimens are occasionally decorated with incised or
painted designs.

Sources of materials and acknowledgments

The wealth of British Columbia Indian material available
made selection of typical examples somewhat difficult on ac-
count of subtle tribal variations and the multiplicity of de-
Signs with their numerous forms of application. The specimens
selected for illustrations were chosen to show the various lines
of artistic craftsmanship carried in the past to a high degree
of perfection by the Indian tribes of this Province. The majority
of the specimens figured are in the collection of the Provincial
Museum, Victoria, B. C.; a few are reproduced from authentic il-
lustrations preserved in the Provincial Archives, the originals
of which are in the National Museum of Canada at Ottawa, the
British Museum at London or in other institutions in New York,
Chicago or Berlin. The remainder are in private collections in
British Columbia. The source of each figure is given in the
list of illustrations.

The majority of the figures were skilfully drawn and painted
by Miss Betty Newton of Victoria, B. C. The photographic plates
from which the present illustrations were taken, were prepared by
the late Gus A. Maves, also of this city. =

AE Ose