i62 A Pre-Columbian Dinner 



The truth is, we know very little of the 

 Indian prior to European conta6l. Carpet- 

 knight archaeologists and kid-gloved explorers 

 crowd the pages of periodical literature, it 

 is true, but we are little, if any, the wiser. 



It is supposed, and is even asserted, that 

 the Indian knew nothing of forks ; but that 

 he plunged his fingers into the boiling pot or 

 held in his bare hands the steaming joints of 

 bear or venison is quite improbable. Now, 

 the archaeologist talks glibly of bone awls 

 whenever a sharpened splinter of bone is 

 presented him, as if such instruments were 

 only intended to perforate leather. They 

 doubtless had other uses, and I am sure that 

 more than one split and sharpened bone which 

 has been found would have served excellently 

 well as a one-tined fork wherewith to lift from 

 the pot a bit of meat. Whether or not such 

 forks were in use, there were wooden spoons, 

 as a bit of the bowl and a mere splinter of the 

 handle serve to show. Kalm tells us that they 

 used the laurel for making this utensil, but I 

 fancied my fragment was hickory. Potsherds 

 everywhere spoke of the Indians' feasting, 

 and it is now known that, besides bowls and 

 shallow dishes of ordinary sizes, they also 



