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.
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