BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 77 PLATE 40
[Illustration: "THE INTERIOR OF THE HUT OF A MANDAN CHIEF"
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 77 PLATE 41
[Illustration: _a._ Mandan wooden bowl. Marked "Ft. Berthold, Dacotah Ter. Drs. Gray and Matthews." Diameter 7-1/4 inches, depth 2 inches. (U.S.N.M. 6341)]
[Illustration: _b._ Mandan earthenware jar, collected by Drs. Gray and Matthews. (U.S.N.M. 8407)]
[Illustration: _c._ Wooden bowl. Marked "Bowl of Mandan Indians, Dakota T. Drs. Gray and Matthews--U. S. A." Diameters 10-3/4 and 9-1/4 inches, depth 3-1/2 inches. (U.S.N.M. 8406)]
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 77 PLATE 42
[Illustration: _a._ Spoon, marked "Buffalo horn spoon, presented by Gen. T. Duncan." Length about 10 inches. (U.S.N.M. 12259)]
[Illustration: _b._ Spoon made of horn of mountain sheep. "Mandan Indians, Dacotah Ter. Drs. Gray and Matthews." Extreme length 16-1/2 inches. (U.S.N.M. 6333)]
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 77 PLATE 43
At the time of Catlin's and Maximilian's visits to the Mandan the latter were making and using their primitive forms of utensils such as had been in use for generations. Wooden mortars, bowls hollowed out of hard knots, spoons made of the horn of buffalo and mountain sheep, and, most interesting of all, dishes and vessels made of pottery--all these were used in the preparation or serving of food. Some remarkable examples of wooden bowls made by the Mandan are now preserved in the collection of the United States National Museum, Washington. One of the most interesting is shown in plate 41, _c_ (U.S.N.M. 8406), and another, of simpler form but equally well made, in plate 41, _a_ (U.S.N.M. 6341). Both examples were evidently quite old even when collected. They are fashioned out of maple knots, worked thin and smooth, and are beautiful specimens. Large spoons, often termed "drinking cups," were, as already mentioned, made of the horns of buffalo and mountain sheep. The former were extensively used by many tribes, and usually resembled the one shown in plate 42, _a_. The spoons made of mountain-sheep horns were often much larger and thinner, of a yellowish hue, and the handles were frequently bent into form or decorated. A very beautiful spoon of this sort is shown in plate 42, _b_. (U.S.N.M. 6333.)