made there it must have been before the memory of those now living. The only pierced matting made there as far as they have ever known is the tule tent mat,[250] but the strands of this were not twisted, being like those shown in Fig. 70. They had a weave similar to this and the same in general effect in the common mat used for beds and on which to sit, known as the floor mat, but the strands were woven and not stitched.[251] Certain rush bags of the Quinault and the Makah resemble this type of matting but the rushes are not pierced. [245] Teit (a), Fig. 131c. [246] _Cf._ Smith (d), Fig. 117. [247] Smith (c), p. 423, Teit (a), p. 188. [248] Spinden, p. 195. [249] Spinden, p. 195. [250] Teit (a), Fig. 131c. [251] Teit (a), Fig. 131d. [Illustration: Fig. 71 _a_ (202-8229). Fragment of Matting, made of Twined Rush, stitched together with twisted cord. From under the pelvis of skeleton in grave No. 33 (4) in a rock-slide, near the mouth of Cherry Creek, below Ellensburg. _b_ Diagram of Stitch of _a_. 1/2 nat. size.] Matting (202-8162) made of tule stalks stitched together with cords twisted to the right, but made of large stalks was found in a recent grave, No. 10 (5) in the rock-slide on the north side of the Naches River, half a mile above its mouth. Part of this was of a similar type and stitched with similar cords and part was of the more common form of sewed matting such as is shown in Fig. 70. This grave had been rifled, and the presence of bark, a portion of a fire drill (202-8157), part of a wooden bow (202-8159), two pieces of a finely woven basket (202-8160) and copper tubes apparently of rolled copper, suggest that it was modern. Fig. 72 illustrates the technique of a piece of matting of open twine weaving made of rush which was found under the pelvis of the skeleton in grave No. 33 (4) of a youth in a rock-slide near the mouth of Cherry Creek, below Ellensburg. Spinden states that mats were made in the Nez Perce area, of cat-tail stalks held together by two twined cords and that mats were used for house and floor coverings and as sheets upon which to dry berries.[252] [252] Spinden, p. 195. The string of all these fragments of matting was too much decayed or fragmentary for determination. It will be remembered that both sewed and woven matting were found in the graves of the Thompson River region,[253] as well as among the living Indians. It seems probable that these mats were made and used one above the other like great shingles for covering the summer house, for beds and for wrapping the dead, while the thinner pieces may have served for garments. Food was probably spread on them to dry and they no doubt served many other purposes. The art of weaving was practised to a considerable extent in the Nez Perce region to the east, although it had very slight development in the Plains area, still further east.[254] [253] Smith (c), p. 423. [254] Spinden, p. 190.