HISTORICAL

George Myers — Stone
Cecelia McNab — Deadman's Creek
Florence Burton - Kincolith

PIT COOKING

Many of the older Indian people throughout British Col-
umbia renember watching their mothers use steaming pits to
cook food. The pit varied in size and design in different areas,
but the basic method was the same.

In the Southern Cariboo the pits were made large enough
to allow four to six women to cook their food together. A pit
was dug 4’ x 6’ x 6’ deep. |

Sticks three inches thick were laid across the top of the pit.
Stones, six inches thick, were placed on top of the sticks. One
woman reported that stones from the bottom of the stream bed
would crack and should not be used. A fire of fir, alder or
cottonwood was built on top of the stones. The fire heated the
stones and burned the supporting sticks, releasing the rocks
which fell into the bottom of the pit. The hot embers and stones
were spread with a stick evenly over the bottom of the pit.

Sticks, about one inch thick and four feet long, were stuck
in the pit floor between the red hot stones. The upper end of
the sticks should be above the top of the pit. (These sticks were
used when water was added to the pit to steam the food.)

Next, the hot rocks and embers were covered with a two
inch layer of earth. Small twigs of maple bushes, service berry
bushes or rose bushes were spread over this layer of earth.
These twigs were added for flavouring to give a sweet flavour to
the food as it steamed. )

Washed timber grass was placed over the flavouring twigs
and used to line the sides of the pit to keep the food clean.
Mats of closely woven cedar bark or bullrushes were placed on
top of the timber grass and around the sides of the pit.

Each woman would place her food on top of the mats in a
special area. The sclection of food and the amounts to be cooked
were important because the cooking time would be the same for
all; i.e., it would not be possible for one woman to cook a five
inch level of camas roots while her neighbour was cooking a
ten inch layer. Food was shared so that cach woman would
have approximately the same amount to cook.

Mats were placed on top of the food, then more flavouring
twigs.

A layer of damp timber grass was laid over the flavouring
twigs. Earth was piled on the grass until the pit was filled to
vround level.

The sticks sticking out trom the hot rocks were moved
from side to side to slightly enlarge the holes. A small amount

of cold water was poured down the enlarged hole to the rocks

to produce steam. The water was used in small quantities to
keep the rocks from cooling too quickly. The sticks were taken
from the holes and the holes plugged immediately .

A small fire was built on top of the covered pit and allowed
to burn throughout the night. The next morning the food had
cooked and was ready to be uncovered and eaten.

PIT COOKING WITH SKUNK CABBAGE LEAVES
Emma Nelson — Kincolith

In the coastal or swampy areas of British Columbia the
large green leaves of the skunk cabbage were often used to line
steaming pits.

So that they would not tear during the cooking process,
the leaves were toasted. This is done by cutting the large middle
veins of the leaf flush or even with the rest of the leaf. This
helped to keep the leaf from rotting. The leaves were then
passed two or three feet above an open flame to toast or dry.
The toasted skunk cabbage leaves replaced both the timber

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