THE CAMASS OF THE INDIANS. 



37 



important hay material. The kinds which arc most commonly utilized 

 for this pur] lose are: 



Carex utriculata minor Boott, Carex nudata W. Boott, Carex stipata Muhl., Carex 

 canescens oregana Bailey, all of which are very abundant. Others not so com- 

 mon are: Carex /estiva stricta Bailey, Carex straminea Willd., Carex f estiva Dewey, 

 Carex pratens'is Drejer. 



Carex (jeyeri Boott. Furnishes more forage in its fresh state than any other of the 

 sedges. It is extremely plentiful everywhere iu dry soil. It has an extensive 

 altitudinal range, being found iu the yellow pine forest at G50 meters (2,100 

 feet) altitude and on the summit of the highest ridges at 2,100 meters (0,900 

 feet). It is of general occurrence throughout the region and is readily eaten 

 by all kinds of stock. 



NATIVE FOOD PLANTS. 



The native food plants are few. The paucity of plants suitable for 

 human food is one of the most remarkable circumstances in a region 

 which, supports such vast quantities of vegetation as does this in its 

 forest covering. Probably, for this reason mainly, it contained only a 

 small aboriginal population, and the only localities in which there 

 appear to have been permanent settlements of the Indians were in the 

 slack-water portion of the Cceur d'Alene — possibly some existed in the 

 lower valley of the St. Joseph. The rest of the country was visited 

 by them only in their migratory summer and fall excursions in pursuit 

 of game and Ash. with which the St. Mary and St. Joseph valleys 

 formerly abounded. 



The most valuable food plant in the dietary of the Coeur d'Alene 

 Indians was undoubtedly the camass (Cttmassia csculenta), a plant 

 belonging to the lily family, therefore related to the onion, but lacking 

 all trace of alliaceous flavor and smell. The esculent part of the plant 

 is the bulb, which in the fresh state is of an oblong shape, seldom more 

 than 2.5 cm. (1 inch) in diameter and 4 cm. (If inches) long. It is 

 mucilaginous and possesses very little, if any, definite flavor. The 

 flowers are bright or deep blue, and a camass meadow in full bloom, seen 

 from an elevation, gives the impression that one is looking at a body of 

 very clear water reflecting a cloudless sky. The lower portion of the 

 valley of the St. Joseph, and in jjarticular that of the St. Mary and its 

 tributaries, were, before the advent of settlements, among the classic 

 camass grounds of the Couir d'AIenes. Here the tribe came in large 

 numbers each summer to dig the root and to hunt the deer and elk, 

 which roamed by the thousand in the surrounding forest, and to catch 

 the trout, with which the streams teemed. Every meadow was a camass 

 field. The plant was so plentiful in many places that it is no exagger- 

 ation to say that in the upper St. Mary basin more than one-half of 

 the total herbaceous vegetation in the lowlands was composed of this 

 one species. With the advance of settlements came the utilization of 

 the camass fields as hay meadows. This ended the existence of the 

 plant, except as a weed in the farmers 7 fields, and the camass digging in 



