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wapatoo
[< Chinook Jargon wappato]
West
DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
Entry from the DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
This entry may contain outdated or offensive information, terms, and examples.
n.
a tuberous root, Sagittaria latifolia. See 1942 quote. Also spelled wap(p)ato.
Quotations
1811
. . . we also got a quantity of excellent roots, called by the natives wappittoo; in size, they resemble a small potato, for which they are a good substitute when roasted or boiled.
1813
. . . the natives . . . will not hunt them; their sole employment is digging roots, such as commass . . . and waptoe . . . and stealing beaver from traps when opportunity offers.
1855
. . . his bark platter [was] filled top heavy with the most delicious melange of bear's grease, dog's flesh, wappatoes, olellies, amutes, and a profusion of other viands, roots and berries.
1942
In the shallow water of ponds and marshes can frequently be found a plant called "arrowhead"; the tuberous roots of the arrowhead were much used as food by the Indians in the west, who called the plant "wapatoo." The roots (bulbs) were boiled like potatoes or sometimes roasted in hot ashes.