color, and looking like short lengths of spaghetti. It is very starchy.

In the spring, a certain root called _mats_ was eaten in great
quantities. This plant was known to the early French employees of the
Hudson's Bay and American Fur Companies as _pomme blanche (Psoralea
esculenta)_.

All parts of such animals as the buffalo, elk, deer, etc., were eaten, save
only the lungs, gall, and one or two other organs. A favorite way of eating
the paunch or stomach was in the raw state. Liver, too, was sometimes eaten
raw. The unborn calf of a fresh-killed animal, especially buffalo, was
considered a great delicacy. The meat of this, when boiled, is white,
tasteless, and insipid. The small intestines of the buffalo were sometimes
dried, but more often were stuffed with long, thin strips of meat. During
the stuffing process, the entrail was turned inside out, thus confining
with the meat the sweet white fat that covers the intestine. The next step
was to roast it a little, after which the ends were tied to prevent the
escape of the juices, and it was thoroughly boiled in water. This is a very
great delicacy, and when properly prepared is equally appreciated by whites
and Indians.

As a rule, there were but two ways of cooking meat,--boiling and
roasting. If roasted, it was thoroughly cooked; but if boiled, it was only
left in the water long enough to lose the red color, say five or ten
minutes. Before they got kettles from the whites, the Blackfeet often
boiled meat in a green hide. A hole was dug in the ground, and the skin,
flesh side up, was laid in it, being supported about the edges of the hole
by pegs. The meat and water having been placed in this hollow, red-hot
stones were dropped in the water until it became hot and the meat was
cooked.

In time of plenty, great quantities of dried meat were prepared for use
when fresh meat could not be obtained. In making dried meat, the thicker
parts of an animal were cut in large, thin sheets and hung in the sun to
dry. If the weather was not fine, the meat was often hung up on lines or
scaffolds in the upper part of the lodge. When properly cured and if of
good quality, the sheets were about one-fourth of an inch thick and very
brittle. The back fat of the buffalo was also dried, and eaten with the
meat as we eat butter with bread. Pemmican was made of the flesh of the
buffalo. The meat was dried in the usual way; and, for this use, only lean
meat, such as the hams, loin, and sh