ll live coal
and put it in the horn, and on this coal placed a piece of punk, and then
plugged up the horn with the stopper. The punk smouldered in this almost
air-tight chamber, and, in the course of two or three hours, the man looked
at it, and if it was nearly consumed, put another piece of punk in the
horn. The first young men who reached the appointed camping ground would
gather two or three large piles of wood in different places, and as soon as
some one who carried a fire horn reached camp, he turned out his spark at
one of these piles of wood, and a little blowing and nursing gave a blaze
which started the fire. The other fires were kindled from this first one,
and when the women reached camp and had put the lodges up, they went to
these fires, and got coals with which to start those in their lodges. This
custom of borrowing coals persisted up to the last days of the buffalo, and
indeed may even be noticed still.

The punk here mentioned is a fungus, which grows on the birch tree. The
Indians used to gather this in large quantities and dry it. It was very
abundant at the Touchwood Hills (whence the name) on Beaver Creek, a
tributary of the Saskatchewan from the south.

The Blackfeet made buckets, cups, basins, and dishes from the lining of the
buffalo's paunch. This was torn off in large pieces, and was stretched over
a flattened willow or cherry hoop at the bottom and top. These hoops were
sometimes inside and sometimes outside the bucket or dish. In the latter
case, the hoop at the bottom was often sewed to the paunch, which came down
over it, double on the outside, the needle holes being pitched with gum or
tallow. The hoop at the upper edge was also sewed to the paunch, and a
rawhide bail passed under it, to carry it by. These buckets were shaped
somewhat like our wooden ones, and were of different sizes, some of them
holding four or five gallons. They were more or less flexible, and when
carried in a pack, they could be flattened down like a crush hat, and so
took up but little room. If set on the ground when full, they would stand
up for a while, but as they soon softened and fell down, they were usually
hung up by the bail on a little tripod. Cups were made in the same way as
buckets, but on a smaller scale and without the bail. Of course, nothing
hot could be placed in these vessels.

It is doubtful if the Blackfeet ever made any pottery or basket ware. They,
however, made bowls and kettles of stone. Th