Flatheads

Flatheads, a term officially but incorrectly applied to the Selish Indians, a small tribe dwelling on Clarke's Fork, in Idaho. The men are industrious and willing to learn, and have become good farmers; preferring peace, they nevertheless make brave warriors, but have never fought against the whites. A grammar of their difficult language has been published by Mengarini (New York, 1861). The term Flatheads refers to the very ancient practice of flattening the skulls of young infants by various mechanical means, such as was prevalent in Peru, both before and after the arrival of the Incas, among the Caribs in Central America and Mexico, in Florida, and among the mound-builders of the Ohio and Mississippi valleys. Among modern Indians it is mostly confined to the Chinooks (q.v.) and other tribes of the north-west coast of North America.