a hole one foot deep and wide was dug in the ground and lined 
with a permanent bag of bison skin. Stones heated red hot were 
placed into this container filled with water, to which the food was 
added for boiling. After the food was boiled the bag was removed 
and washed, and then hung to dry. Stubbs (1966) stated that 
wood boiling and utility pots were often used in permanent 
grounds. They made these by hollowing out large burls from pine, 
fir and larch tree trunks. Because these burls were pitchy they 
were resistant to decay. Food was boiled in them by the hot rock 
method. Left in the camps where they were made, wooden pots 
could be used on subsequent trips and lasted for many years. 
The proportion of vegetal food used varied during the different 
periods of Flathead existence. With the introduction of the horse 
and the more extensive reliance on buffalo hunting east of the 
continental divide, the digging of roots and gathering of berries 
became of lesser importance as these tasks could not always be 
done while hunting buffalo. Though some of the old people 
remained in the camps in the Rocky Mountains and still collected 
roots and berries, there was a general tendency to neglect these 
foods. With the near extinction of the buffalo in the 1880s, the 
Flatheads depended more significantly on vegetal foods again 
(Teit, 1930). 
Flatheads used other kinds of plants for food, though in lesser 
quantities. Pines (Pinus albicaulis, P. monticola, and P. ponde- 
rosa) furnished edible seeds. The leafy parts of various plants 
(Balsamorhiza sagittata, Chenopodium sp., Heracleum lanatum, 
Rorripa nasturtium-aquaticum, and Cirsium spp.) were eaten as 
greens. Gums, saps, and inner barks were collected from various 
trees for eating (Larix occidentalis, Pinus contorta, P. ponderosa, 
and Populus trichocarpa). Various mushrooms (such as species 
of Armillaria, Collybia, Russula, and Lycoperdon) were eaten. 
The black tree moss (Alectoria) was fire baked with camas. 
Nodding onion (Allium cernuum), kinnikinnick (A rctostaphylos 
uva-ursi) and mint (Mentha arvensis) furnished condiments, 
while beverages were made from birch (Betula occidentalis), 
camas (Camassia quamash), mint (Mentha arvensis), and horse- 
mint (Monarda fistulosa). 
298 
