Chippewa Customs

FIRE MAKING AND USES OF FIRE

142 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 86 posts and a bottom or floor raised a little above the ground. Before the trader began to pack the furs he laid three cords across the bottom of the frame, these cords being long enough to tie over the bale of furs when the frame had been filled. The trader then packed the furs, placing the- largest at the bottom, and folding the sides if they were too large. Bearskins were usually placed at the bottom, then smaller skins laid flat. The hides dried on a frame (see section on tanning) were shipped as they were taken from the tanning frame. The bale was topped with a bearskin if this was available, otherwise a wolfskin was used at the top. Each bale was numbered and its contents listed. When the frame was filled the cords were tied around the furs. The packing usually was done outdoors, and the trader had a stout frame with a lever so that he could press down the pack of furs and tighten the cords. The furs collected from the Indians were usually shipped to Leipzig, which was then the fur market of the world. FIRE MAKING AND USES OF FIRE A Chippewa said: "The greatest wonder that ever came to the Indians was fire. Like everything else, it came to them through the Mide. Some one asked, 'What do you want us to do with this ~' A man replied, 'This is for warmth and for cooking.' The Indians were afraid of it at first, but soon learned that it was usefuL" They found that the fire burned them, causing pain, but the Mide provided a "medicine" which they could put on their hands and on the soles of their feet, after which they could thrust their hands into the fire or walk in the flames without being hurt. A song was sung when this " fire-charm" was used. (Bull. 45, No. 86.) Three methods of obtaining a spark of fire were used among the Chippewa. The simplest was the striking together of two stones, the" punk" being held in the same hand as one of the stones. Next in probable development may be placed the striking together of stone and metal, and in later times the obtaining of a spark by friction between two pieces of wood, the apparatus comprising a bow, a stick of ash, and a cedar hearth with shredded bark" to catch the spark." Birch and cedar bark were used, but the latter was considered the more inflammable of the two. (PI. 51, a, b, (J, d.) The obtaining of fire by the use of flint and steel was the more common of the three customs above noted. The form of the steel varied from a broken file to a well-shaped piece of iron, suggesting the work of a blacksmith. (PI. 52, h, upper.) The most common form is the one shown below the first. (PI. 52, h, lower.) This was ootained, from an old, woman wh9 said it belonged to her grandmother. DENSMOREJ C]=fIPPEWA CtrS'I'OMS 143 With the flint and steel was carried a piece of decayed wood, or "punk." A bit of flint appears as f, and decayed wood as g, in Plate 52. A Chippewa said, "Fire was the first and best tool that the Indians had." Before axes were common the Chippewa obtained wood by burning a fallen tree into sections. A log of soft wood was selected and fires were made at intervals beneath it. The fire was allowed to burn only enough so that the log could be broken. Mide drums and similar articles were hollowed by charring the wood and scraping it out. The heat of a fire was used in scorching wood as a decorat~on. Heated stone or metal points were used in burning holes in pipes, flutes, and other wooden articles. Heated stones were used in the sweat lodge. A Canadian Chippewa said that in a winter camp long ago his people obtained water by putting a snowball on the end of a stick and placing the stick in the ground near the fire, slanting over a birch-bark dish. The snow melted and the water fell into the dish. One or two men traveling in the winter sometimes made a high bank of snow on the windward side of their little camp and slept between the snow bank and the fire. It was said that a winter traveler sometimes...