Three modifications of this ornamentation are shown in Figures 15, 16, a and b; in Figure 16, a, the splint is twisted alternately between two rows of warp at a different level; in Figure 15, the splint is curled twice in a different direction, and forms a point; in Figure 16, b, the splint is twisted once between two parallel rows of warp. This is claimed by the Indians to be a native feature; and, since it is found in the oldest baskets from the region, there seems little doubt that it is aboriginal.
The Scatticook seem to have employed almost exclusively pokeberry juice to stain the basket splints dark blue. In none of the specimens made in recent times do we find the painting upon the splints, as is the case among the Mohegans. The only record of this kind of work from the Scatticook is found in an article by W. S. Curtis,[7] describing a collection of old baskets obtained many years ago.
The gauges made by these people are somewhat distinctive (Figures 18 _a_ and _b_, and 19). One of their characteristics is that the decorations are largely functional, the object in the maker’s mind evidently having been to provide a firm grip for the operator and at the same time to produce a decorative effect. This interesting feature is noticeable in the few specimens that were discovered on the reservation, and in several others in the possession of collectors. They are all highly prized by their possessors. In one case there seems to have been an attempt to portray a fish on the handle. Another instrument, a knife used in shaving the splints, is shown in Figure 20.
While we may assume that some influence upon the art of the Connecticut Indians resulted from contact with the Iroquois, there is nothing to show that the former had such symbolic associations in their designs as did the Iroquois.[8] The general similarity of the Connecticut Indian decorations to those of both the Iroquois and the northeastern Algonkins is really too ambiguous to permit a final decision as to their affinities. Aware of these uncertainties, I feel, however, that the evidence sustains the conclusion that the stamped and painted designs are original to the southern New England Indians, and that they spread from them to the Iroquois.