72 imm kN8 01 I m PLAINS. 



eating; these of mountain sheep horn usually for 

 dipping, skimming and other culinary processes. In 

 making these spoons, the horn was generally scorched 

 over a fire until some of the gluey matter tried out, and 

 then trimmed to the desired shape with a knife. Next 

 it was boiled in water until soft, when the bowl was 

 shaped over a water-worn stone of suitable size and the 

 handle bent into the proper shape. The sizes and forms 

 of such spoons varied a great deal, but no important 

 tribal differences have been observed. In traveling, 

 spoons, as well as bowls, were usually carried in bags 

 of buffalo skin. Among the village tribes, wooden 

 spoons were common, similar to those from Woodland 

 collections. Bowls were fashioned from wood but were 

 rare in the Plateaus and among the southern group. 

 Knots of birch and other hard wood found occasionally 

 along rivers were usually used for bowls. These were 

 worked into shape by burning, scraping down with bits 

 of stone, and finally polishing. They were used in 

 eating, each person usually owning one which he carried 

 with him when invited to a feast. Occasionally, bowls 

 were made of mountain sheep horn; but such were the 

 exception, rather than the rule. The finest bowls 

 seem to have been made by the Dakota, and the crudest 

 by the Comanche and Ute. 



Tools. It is believed that formerly knives were 

 made of bone and stone, but we have no very definite 

 data. In fact, many tribes secured knives and other 

 trade articles by barter with other Indians long before 

 they were visited by explorers; hence, we have little 

 in the way of historical data. 



