area often used the thick stems of the cat-tail (Typha latifolia)
for sleeping mats, with white squaw grass (Xerophyllum tenax) or
the bark of Indian hemp (Apocynum cannabinum) for the twined
weft. Bulrush (Scirpus sp.) was employed for the 20 feet long
wall hangings used to screen sleeping places from draughts.
These were made on the ground with long narrow needles of split
close-grained spiraea.

In the Chilcotin district large baskets were woven in checker
weave with coarse twine and cedar fibres, the latter obtained
chiefly from the Coast tribes at trading centres. Economical as
these were as regards the amount of material required, they did
not possess the rigidity and enduring qualities of the closer
weaves.

oe Coiled, sewn and imbricated baskets

No less than ten variations in the method of these coiled
and sewn baskets are known to experts and are still practised
though to a fast diminishing degree. Five of these are found
among the women of the Interior of British Columbia, the most
proficient weavers being those of the Lower Thompson, Lillooet
and Chilcotin tribes. This form of basketry, however, never
reached the tribes of the Coast of this Province. Among the
Thompson the tradition existed that the art was taught in the
"long ago" by the Culture hero, Coyote; but in spite of this
and other theories the origin is still uncertain. The art to-
day is rare, almost unique and should be preserved.

These "coiled" baskets were made of simple interlocking
coils without foundation, the material used varying slightly
according to the area, cedar root fibres, swamp grasses, etc.
After collection and preparation the coils of fibrous threads
(technically "splints") are coiled and oversewn so that the
stitches interlock. This stitching material varies as do
the "splints" from half an inch in breadth to very fine threads.
The baskets are decorated by the method known as "Imbrication,"
the word deriving from the Latin "imbrex," a title, "that which
is laid over to cover." The term exactly describes the process
of laying strips of a coloured substance (usually the dyed bark
of wild cherry, certain grass stems or cedar bark) over the
stitches which hold the coils in place. The only colours used
in the past for this purpose were black, dull red, or yellow;
never the crude aniline tints which to a regrettable degree
have superseded the former harmonious vegetable dyes.

Space forbids listing all the materials used for the coils

or for those employed as dyes for imbricating purposes. But
it is of interest to note that the dyes had the property of

= (=