First Across the Continent: The Story of the Exploring Expedition of Lewis and Clark in 1804-5-6Brooks, Noah
History
First Across the Continent: The Story of the Exploring Expedition of Lewis and Clark in 1804-5-6
Brooks, Noah
Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804-1806); United States -- Discovery and exploration; West (U.S.) -- Description and travel
“Their hats are made of cedar-bark and bear-grass, interwoven together
in the form of a European hat, with a small brim of about two inches,
and a high crown widening upward. They are light, ornamented with
various colors and figures, and being nearly water-proof, are much more
durable than either chip or straw hats. These hats form a small article
of traffic with the whites, and their manufacture is one of the best
exertions of Indian industry. They are, however, very dexterous in
making a variety of domestic utensils, among which are bowls, spoons,
scewers (skewers), spits, and baskets. The bowl or trough is of
different shapes--round, semicircular, in the form of a canoe, or cubic,
and generally dug out of a single piece of wood; the larger vessels have
holes in the sides by way of handles, and all are executed with great
neatness. In these vessels they boil their food, by throwing hot stones
into the water, and extract oil from different animals in the same way.
Spoons are not very abundant, nor is there anything remarkable in their
shape, except that they are large and the bowl broad. Meat is roasted on
one end of a sharp skewer, placed erect before the fire, with the other
end fixed in the ground.
“But the most curious workmanship is that of the basket. It is formed of
cedar-bark and bear-grass, so closely interwoven that it is water-tight,
without the aid of either gum or resin. The form is generally conic, or
rather the segment (frustum) of a cone, of which the smaller end is
the bottom of the basket; and being made of all sizes, from that of the
smallest cup to the capacity of five or six gallons, they answer the
double purpose of a covering for the head or to contain water. Some
of them are highly ornamented with strands of bear-grass, woven into
figures of various colors, which require great labor; yet they are made
very expeditiously and sold for a trifle. It is for the construction
of these baskets that the bear-grass forms an article of considerable
traffic. It grows only near the snowy region of the high mountains; the
blade, which is two feet long and about three-eighths of an inch wide,
is smooth, strong, and pliant; the young blades particularly, from
their not being exposed to the sun and air, have an appearance of great
neatness, and are generally preferred. Other bags and baskets, not
waterproof, are made of cedar-bark, silk-grass, rushes, flags, and
common coarse sedge, for the use of families. In these manufactures,
as in the ordinary work of the house, the instrument most in use is a
knife, or rather a dagger. The handle of it is small, and has a strong
loop of twine for the thumb, to prevent its being wrested from the band.
On each side is a blade, double-edged and pointed; the longer from nine
to ten inches, the shorter from four to five. This knife is carried
habitually in the hand, sometimes exposed, but mostly, when in company
with strangers, is put under the robe.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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