ibe.

The Tarahumares are not far advanced in the art of making
pottery. Their work is crude and not very substantial. The industry
is practised only by the women, and the degree of ability varies
considerably. The art is often hereditary. The nicest pottery I found
in the neighbourhood of Panalachic, where it is decorated with certain
designs in red and white. One woman in a western barranca cultivated
a specialty of making large jars for holding tesvino. The largest
jar shown in the illustration was nearly eight feet in circumference.

Women when making pottery taste a little of the clay before commencing
work, ascertaining whether it is the right kind or not. Some of the
clay is acid and not good. The clay which is serviceable is a little
sweet and of a pale yellow colour. The clay is dried and ground, and
then mixed with ground pieces of old pottery instead of sand. To make a
piece of pottery, a lump of clay is hollowed out in the shape of a cup,
and on this foundation the jar is built up, thin layers of clay being
placed on successively, and smoothed carefully over with wet hands,
making the walls thinner and thinner. The vessel is built up standing
on a bowl filled with ashes and covered with a piece of cotton cloth.

I saw a clever woman make a medium-sized jar in twenty-seven
minutes. She was seated in the sun, and finished four vessels in one
afternoon. Then, assisted by her husband, she began to even them
on the outside with a small, smooth, oblong piece of a gourd. The
vessels were then put into the house in order that they might not
dry too quickly. After an interval of fifteen minutes, during which
she nursed her infant, which had been bothering her all the while,
she began work again. First, with the edge of a sharpened stick
she removed all irregularities on the outside and on the brim, and
then with a stone she polished the vessel. To polish the jars seemed
to take the longest time, for each of the workers was engaged on a
vessel for over an hour, and even then had not completed the task. They
polished outside and a little way inside below the brim. Finally they
painted decorations with ochre, and polished again for a long time,
but only the outside. Now the jars were again put into the house to
dry a little more before the polishing was finished.

To burn the jars, they must first be thoroughly dried, as otherwise
the fire would crack them. When the weather is nice the fire may be
made outside the h