﻿JULY 
  19, 
  1922 
  METCALF: 
  AQUATIC 
  PLANTS 
  01^ 
  MISSOURI 
  307 
  

  

  made 
  very 
  long 
  by 
  splicing 
  several 
  pieces 
  and 
  twisting 
  them 
  before 
  they 
  

   became 
  dry. 
  One 
  end 
  would 
  be 
  fastened 
  to 
  a 
  tree 
  and 
  the 
  line 
  pulled 
  

   and 
  stretched. 
  

  

  Cords. 
  — 
  ^Spanish 
  moss, 
  after 
  being 
  properly 
  prepared, 
  was 
  used 
  in 
  

   making 
  ropes 
  and 
  lighter 
  cords. 
  Some 
  were 
  made 
  by 
  twisting, 
  others 
  

   by 
  braiding. 
  

  

  Saddles. 
  — 
  Saddles, 
  or 
  pads 
  used 
  as 
  saddles, 
  were 
  made 
  by 
  weaving 
  

   the 
  soft 
  cords 
  of 
  moss. 
  

  

  Weapons. 
  — 
  Blowguns 
  and 
  bows 
  and 
  arrows 
  were 
  made 
  and 
  used. 
  

   Blowguns 
  were 
  made 
  of 
  pieces 
  of 
  cane, 
  the 
  perforation 
  being 
  formed 
  by 
  

   first 
  preparing 
  a 
  long, 
  slender 
  piece 
  of 
  hard 
  wood 
  and 
  forcing 
  it 
  down 
  

   one 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  cane 
  and 
  then 
  down 
  the 
  other 
  until 
  the 
  entire 
  length 
  was 
  

   open 
  and 
  clear. 
  Darts 
  were 
  made 
  of 
  pieces 
  of 
  hard 
  pine, 
  worked 
  and 
  

   smoothed, 
  then 
  tufted 
  with 
  some 
  soft 
  material. 
  

  

  Transportation.- 
  — 
  Canoes 
  were 
  made 
  of 
  a 
  single 
  log, 
  cypress 
  being 
  

   the 
  favorite 
  wood. 
  Canoes, 
  or 
  dugouts, 
  20 
  feet 
  in 
  length 
  and 
  3 
  feet 
  

   in 
  width 
  were 
  not 
  uncommon, 
  although 
  much 
  smaller 
  ones 
  were 
  used 
  

   on 
  the 
  shallow, 
  narrow 
  bayous. 
  The 
  larger 
  canoes 
  were 
  used 
  in 
  

   crossing 
  Lake 
  Pontchartrain, 
  and 
  when 
  the 
  weather 
  was 
  favorable 
  

   sails 
  made 
  of 
  one 
  or 
  more 
  deerskins 
  would 
  be 
  raised. 
  

  

  Burials. 
  — 
  The 
  bodies 
  were 
  wrapped 
  in 
  blankets 
  or 
  skins 
  and 
  care- 
  

   fully 
  placed, 
  in 
  an 
  extended 
  position, 
  in 
  graves 
  which 
  had 
  been 
  thickly 
  

   lined 
  with 
  palmetto 
  leaves. 
  A 
  quantity 
  of 
  similar 
  leaves 
  were 
  placed 
  

   over 
  the 
  bodies 
  and 
  all 
  was 
  covered 
  with 
  earth 
  or 
  sand. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  to 
  be 
  regretted 
  that 
  more 
  could 
  not 
  have 
  been 
  learned 
  of 
  the 
  

   manners 
  and 
  ways 
  of 
  life 
  of 
  the 
  people 
  of 
  this 
  native 
  settlement, 
  which 
  

   evidently 
  existed 
  until 
  some 
  sixty 
  years 
  ago. 
  Nor 
  is 
  it 
  now 
  possible 
  

   to 
  give 
  the 
  name 
  of 
  the 
  tribe 
  or 
  tribes 
  to 
  which 
  the 
  people 
  belonged, 
  

   but 
  it 
  is 
  more 
  than 
  probable 
  they 
  were 
  Muskhogean 
  closely 
  allied 
  

   with 
  the 
  Choctaw 
  whose 
  villages 
  stood 
  on 
  the 
  northern 
  shore 
  of 
  Lake 
  

   Pontchartrain. 
  

  

  BOTANY. 
  — 
  Notes 
  on 
  marsh 
  and 
  aquatic 
  plants 
  of 
  Missouri.^ 
  F. 
  P. 
  

   Metcalf, 
  Biological 
  Survey. 
  (Communicated 
  by 
  A. 
  Wetmore.) 
  

  

  During 
  the 
  summer 
  of 
  1920 
  the 
  writer 
  was 
  engaged 
  in 
  an 
  extensive 
  

   survey 
  of 
  the 
  marsh 
  and 
  aquatic 
  plants 
  of 
  Missouri 
  for 
  the 
  Biological 
  

   Surv^ey, 
  U. 
  S. 
  Department 
  of 
  Agriculture. 
  The 
  results 
  of 
  this 
  work 
  

   were 
  so 
  interesting 
  from 
  the 
  standpoint 
  of 
  plant 
  distribution 
  that 
  it 
  

  

  1 
  Received 
  June 
  5, 
  1922. 
  

  

  