The cooking bowls, mush baskets, and other small baskets are made of spruce roots, 'Hre´, more or less covered with an overlay of bear grass (Xerophyllum, called Too-tĕchl) and maiden hair fern (Adiantum) called Ke´-tsi-shah´-te, meaning Blue-jay knees, because of the slender form and black color. The roots used in the carrying baskets, baby baskets, and other coarse baskets are of hazel, called 'Kun. The common black design in ordinary baskets consists of Spruce roots that have been buried in dark mud and are called Tah´-che-gut-kle-ah. They are ordinarily used in connection with the bear grass (Xerophyllum).
Fragments of Hahwunkwut myths.—Skum, Coyote man, made the world.
When the sun dropped down the Coon caught it up and it was hot, and blackened the insides of his hands.
When the world first floated there was just one big white Redwood tree called Kus-choo´-ke. A big Eagle was sitting on the tree and was king of the world.
The Falcon (Tah´-tes) won the battle for the people.
Hahwunkwut foods.—A large variety of foods are eaten: meat (Chā´-sun) of elk and deer, both fresh and dried, salmon and other fish, fresh and dried, marrow, tallow, salmon eggs (usually smoke-dried), clams of several kinds, mussels, fish milt both dried and fresh, acorn mush and bread, and a number of roots, berries, and other parts of plants. Among the food berries are strawberries, blackberries, salmon-berries, huckleberries, salal berries, elder berries and manzanita berries.
Elder berries are mixed with blackberries and steamed in the ground oven; manzanita berries are mashed and mixed with smoke-dried salmon eggs.
Two kinds of kelp are eaten.
Root masses of the brake fern (Pteris aquilina, called Tah´-sohn-ki) are cooked in the ground oven. They are said to be like milk and have a fine flavor.
Salt is not used.