woven in the estufas, and is used almost exclusively in sacred dances
and ceremonies of the tribe, all other garments being made in the houses
or in the open air. The Navajos are celebrated for their skill as
blanket weavers, and the Mokis are equally skilled in the manufacture
of a finer class of the same article, which is much sought after by the
surrounding tribes for ornamental purposes in sacred and other dances.

The vertical threads, as shown in the figure, are the warp threads; the
coarser thread which is inserted transversely between these is the yarn
or weft. The three rods in the center of the blanket are lease rods,
which are introduced among the threads of the warp to separate them and
thus facilitate the insertion of the weft thread. These rods are each
passed in front of one warp thread and behind another, alternately,
across the whole warp, and between each rod the threads are brought from
the back of one to the front of the next, and _vice versa_. The bar held
in hands of the weaver serves as a batten for driving or beating the
weft thread into the angle formed by the crossed warp threads.

This loom resembles in principle the ancient Egyptian, Grecian, and
French looms which are described on pages 55 to 62 of "The History and
Principles of Weaving by Hand and Power," by A. Barlow, London, 1878,
and on pages 41 to 45 of the "Treatise on Weaving and Designing of
Textile Fabrics," by Thomas E. Ashenhurst, Bradford, England, 1881.
See also pp. 200 to 208, Vol. II, of the "Cotton Manufacture of Great
Britain," by A. Ure, London, 1861.




COLLECTIONS FROM CUYAMUNQUE.