Chippewa Customs

CANOES

150 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 86 a stick of hazel brush and crushing it so that the tugh fibers were well separated; this was dipped in melted pitch which penetrated between the fibers; it was then wrapped in a thin cloth and the pitch spread thickly over the cloth. The specimen illustrated was 12 inches long, and it was said that it would burn all night. This torch was placed in a socket on the front of a canoe. Behind it was a shield of sufficient size to conceal the occupants of the canoe. In old times this reflector was made of ash bark, bent around, but in later years a board has been used for this purpose. A tallow torch was prepared like a pitch torch. The" grease inside the body of a deer" was melted in a kettle. A stick of any sort of wood was pounded with a stone at one end until it was mashed into fibers. Butternut was said to be good for this purpose. This end was put in the melted tallow until the fibers were filled with it. Then a cloth was wrapped around it, and it was dipped again, this being repeated if necessary. CANOES As the Chippewa traveled chiefly by water, the canoe was an article of great economic importance in the tribe. The size of the canoe varied according to its use, the largest canoes being capable of carrying more than 10 persons. The ordinary length was three double arm spreads, and the width was about 36 inches in the middle. This size would hold about six adults, and if they wished to travel rapidly it would need four men to paddle the canoe. The lines of the canoe varied, some being designed for speed and others for safety in the transportation of commodities. It was said that vVinabojo taught them t make canoes, as well as bows, arrows, and all other useful articles. A good canoe maker was highly respected in the tribe, as the work required skill and experience, and the welfare and safety of the tribe was largely dependent on the proper building of its canoes. Young men were allowed to assist in the work, but canoe making was regarded as a craft which" must be learned by observation and experience." The canoes were made of birch bark which was cut in the early spring, when the bark is most easily removed from the tree. For this purpose a large tree was selected with particularly heavy bark. The tree was felled and the bark was removed. Cedar was used for the ribs, thwarts, and the piece around the top, and the sewing was done with the split roots of either tamarack or spruce. Much stress was laid upon the proper whittling of the ribs, and it was said that only a few men in the tribe (in old days) could make these of really excellent shape. If these were faulty the canoe was easily upset. A good canOe maker had certain mea.&- lJE:S-S)IORE] CHIPPEWA CUSTOMS 151 urements which he used in planning a canoe, the unit of measurement being the" hand spread," or span from the thumb to the end of the middle finger. The details of these measurements are too complicated for present consideration. The principal tool was the curved knife, commonly called a "crooked knife." The" canoe awl" was made of bone several inches long and slightly curved. (PI. 55, b.) This was used in making holes in the bark, through which the split root was passed in sewing together the sheets of bark which formed the body of the canoe, and in attaching the" stay" which formed the upper edge. Over the seams a layer of pitch was applied with a wooden spatula, as noted in a subsequent paragraph. There were different prices for making a canoe. An informant at Mille Lac remembered an instance in which an old man was paid a blanket and two 10-yard pieces of calico for a canoe. A frequent price was a three-point blanket. The camp of Joe Brown, considered the best canoe maker at White Earth, was visited by the writer in 1917 and a portion of the process was photographed. (PI. 57.) Two pairs of short poles were placed upright in the ground, the distance between the pairs representing the width of the canoe. A flat frame, the length and width of the inside of the canoe, was laid on the...