Howdy, For our Blackfoot Village finale, 49er Reuben Cole SHAW writes: "Here[August,1849] we saw the Indian squaws boiling meat in baskets. In my younger days I had heard ot this being done, and was at a loss to know how a basket could be made to hold water, but when I saw their filthy method of cooking had filled all the open spaces between the ribs of the basket with dirt, the mystery was explained:-). Their basket for cooking purposes was about 6 or 8 inches deep, 16 to 20 inches in diameter, and almost the exact shape of a large wooden bowl. "In front of each lodge a few rocks were arranged, forming a small fireplace, in which fire was burning, while in and around the fire were quite a number of round, smooth stones.... The heated stones, which were handled with two sticks the thickness of a lead pencil and about a foot long, were being taken from the fire by squaws and placed in the boiling baskets, and the sputtering which followed seemed to be highly satisfactory to the operators. "One of the old squaws, noticing our interest in the matter, handed me the sticks and motioned for me to go to work. I accepted the challenge, and after several trials, succeeded in taking a stone from the fire, dropping it in the boiling water with a splash and burning my hands quite severely. I made no attempt to repeat the experiment, while the old squaw laughed at my dismal failure." And then Shaw discusses the Blackfeet Ladees and their Babees: "Some of the boys were curious to see an Indian baby, but the squaws, at first, flatly refused to show them, when John TURNER, one of our party, who kept in stock a supply of Indian jewelry, fished from his capacious[roomy] pockets a fine string of glittering beads, which, with a few words from our English-speaking Indian, was the means of there being offered for exhibition a nude and very dirty baby, and its neck was at once encircled with the shining baubles; but the mother of the baby intimated that the decoration was not complete without ear-rings, which she insisted on having. John proved equal to the occasion by producing the coveted articles, while, by this time, several other squaws were ready to present their papooses to him for decoration. The children were all provided with beads, from the infant to those 10 or 12 years of age, and the squaws were each presented with a dozen polished brass BUTTONS. "During the excitement that followed the acquisition of so much wealth, the fires were suffered to burn low, the baskets ceased to boil, the dogs were quarreling over the half-cooked meat which they had stolen from the baskets, while the women and children were gathered in a KNOT and in a babel of voices discussed the merits of their precious treasures.":-))))(From "Across the Plains in '49 by Reuben Cole Shaw. ed.Milo Milton Quaile, NY: The Citadel Press 1966). Ok - maybe the movie was a little better:-)). Bob Norris in Dallas <BNorris166aol.com>