178 THE KOOTANIE INDIANS. 



peltries' undressed skins, trapped by the Kootanie 

 Indians, a fine tribe owning large herds of cattle 

 and a great number of horses. 



All the savages I saw wore small brass crosses 

 suspended from their necks, and invariably made 

 the sign of the cross on their breasts when they 

 shook hands. Two Romish priests have been 

 long resident in the Flathead country; these 

 indefatigable men pay ' regular visits to the 

 Kootanies, and from their teachings these out- 

 ward signs of Christianity have been learned. 



Their canoes are of a most singular shape, 

 not unlike the Kallispellem canoe shown in the 

 illustration of Syniakwateen. They are made of 

 a large sheet of bark, stripped from the spruce- 

 fir, which is tightly sewn at both ends, but sloped 

 to form a conical point. The length of the bot- 

 tom of the one I measured was 12 feet, the 

 width between the gunwales only ?J>- feet; the 

 bark is supported on ribs of split wood, and 

 gummed where there are any holes or weak 

 places. 



When an Indian paddles it, he sits at the 

 extreme end, and thus sinks the conical point, 

 which serves to steady the canoe like a fish's 

 tail, while the other is raised clea.r above the 

 surface. They are more easily upset than any 



