Flathead
or SALISH, INDIANS, in the State of Washington, a tribe inhabiting the region between lat. 48° and 50° N., and lon. 117° and 121° W. They are so named on account of a practice formerly prevalent among them, of flattening the heads of their infants by artificial means. The custom, it is said, has been abandoned by this tribe, though it still exists among several neighboring tribes, to whom the name of Flathead is not generally given. They are short of stature, and badly formed, with wide mouth, thick nose and lips, and large nostrils.