Chippewa Customs

WEAVING OF BAGS

DENSMORE] CHIPPEWA CUSTOMS 157 two or more of the warp strips instead of over one. The strips were about 1~ inches wide. The black dye was the same as for dyeing rushes, and an informant in Canada said that a dark-brown color was obtained by making a decoction of the dark portion of the bark next the rough outer bark and boiling the strips in this dye. In cedar, as in rush mats, it was desirable to keep- the material damp and pliable. A cedar mat on its frame leaned against the shady side of a house is shown in Plate 1, a. In this position the woman could work at it in the morning and evening. The edges of the mats were turned and" sewed over and over" with narrow strips of cedar. A wide variety of patterns are seen in cedar mats, and the effect of the colors is artistic. (PI. 61, b.) (0) Mats for the side'S of wigw~mns.-Thesemats were made from cat-tail reeds (Typha latifolw L.) and were woven on the same frames as the floor mats. The reeds were turned in the same manner to form a selvedge at the beginning of the work, but the method of work was entirely different. The floor mats, as already stated, were woven with basswood twine, but in these mats the reeds were strung together with strands of basswood fiber which had been boiled to make it tough. This fiber was threaded into a bone needle, which was passed horizontally through, the reeds at intervals of 8 or 10 inches. The needle was slightly curved and was usually a,bout 9 inches long. In a majority of instances the" eye" was near one end, but aoYery old needle was obtained in which the eye was midway the length. This needle was very long. (PI. 9, a (g).) The ends of the reeds were often left free, so that only one side of the mat had a selvedge. This made it easier to place the mat in an upright position against the side of the wigwam. (d) Frarnes for dr'1j'in{/ berries.-The reeds used in these frames were identified as P hragmites phrrmgmites (L.) Karst. They were made on a frame like the preceding mats and were woven with b~ss­ wood twine, but differed from the floor mats in that the twine was placed at intervals of 8 or 9 inches instead of close together, and the twine was knotted between each reed. This separated the reeds, and in the finished mat produced spaces through which the air could circulate , thus assisting the drying of the berries. These mats were about 24 by 36 inches in size. WEAVING OF BAGS (a) B(J/f"k.-In weaving bags the Chippewa used the inner bark of the cedar, basswood, and slippery elm. Woven cedar bags were formerly used for holding personal belongings and for storing wild rice, the latter use continuing to the present day. The strips of inner bark were boiled to make them pliable, the basswood being boiled in 158 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 86 a metal kettle which gave it a reddish color. The typical bark bag used for storing rice is woven without a seam, the beginning of the work being done across a short stick which is suspended at the ends (pI. 64, b), the work as completed being drawn down and shaped into a square or obiong bag. When the bag is finished the stick is removed , and the corners sewed down. (PI. 64, OJ.) A barred space is usually left at the upper edge. The bags are filled solidly and laced together with basswood fiber. A different sort of bag was made for boiling the bark from which gum was obtained. It was necessary that the storing bags should be close, but these bags must be open meshed. (PI. 55, a.) Accordingly they were woven somewhat like drying frames for berries. The material for these bags consisted of strips of bark about one-eighth inch wide, fastened together at intervals of about one-hall inch with strands of basswood fiber knotted to make a space between the strips of bark. The weaving was in a long rather narrow piece that was sewed up the sides to form the bag. The ends of the strips of bark were left long, so that the bag when in use might be securely tied at the top. A...