MATERIAL CULTURE 67 



the contents arranged in the middle. The Large flap 

 is then brought over and held by Lacing a', a". The 

 ends are then turned over and laced, b\ b". The 

 closed parfleche may then he secured by both or either 

 of the looped thongs at c', c" '. 



Primarily, parfleche were used for holding dried meat, 

 dried berries, tallow, etc., though utensils and other be- 

 longings found their way into them when convenient. In 

 recent years, they seem to have more of a decorative 

 than a practical value; or rather, according to our 

 impression, they are cherished as mementos of buffalo 

 days, the great good old time of Indian memory, 

 always appropriate and acceptable as gifts. The usual 

 fate of a gift parfleche is to be cut into moccasin soles. 

 With the possible exception of the Osage, the parfleche 

 was common among all these tribes but seldom en- 

 countered elsewhere. 



Rawhide Bags. A rectangular bag (Fig. 25) was 

 also common and quite uniform even to the modes of 

 binding. They were used by women rather than by 

 men. The larger ones may contain skin-dressing tools, 

 the smaller ones, sewing or other small implements, 

 etc. Sometimes, they were used in gathering berries 

 and other vegetable foods. A cylindrical rawhide case 

 used for headdresses and other ceremonial objects is 

 characteristic (Fig. 26). All these objects made of 

 rawhide are further characterized by their highly 

 individualized painted decorations (p. 127). 



