316 USES OF PLANTS BY THE CHIPPEWA INDIANS [nru. ann. 44 
of their own weight. This process was supposed to loosen the husk 
entirely without breaking the kernel. If the work was done carefully, 
the rice kernel was entirely freed from the husk. 
The rice was then winnowed, either by tossing it in a tray or by 
pouring it slowly from a tray to birch bark put on the ground. 
The place chosen for this work was a place where the breeze would 
ussist the process by blowing away the chaff. (PI. 42, a.) 
The final step in the process was the treading of the rice to dislodge 
the last fragments of the husk. For this purpose a small wooden 
receptacle, holding about a bushel, was partially sunk in the ground, 
and on either side of it was placed a stout pole, one end of which 
was fastened to a tree about 4 feet above the ground, the other 
end resting on the ground. The treading was done by a man wear- 
ing clean moccasins, and the poles were for him to rest his arms 
upon during the process. (Pl. 42, ¢.) The sole of the foot was 
peculiarly adapted to this work, as the husks having been removed, 
the kernels would have been easily broken by wooden instruments. 
In treading rice the action resembles that of dancing, the entire body 
being in action, with the weight not heavily placed on the feet. 
Leaning on the poles, straightening to full height, or moving his 
body with undulating, sinuous grace, the treader accomplished his 
part of the task. It is said that in old times a hole was dug in the 
ground and lined with deerskin, the rice being placed in this instead 
of a barrel. The chaff from this treading was usually kept and 
cooked similarly to the rice, having much the flavor of the rice, and 
being considered somewhat of a delicacy. 
The stored rice was sewn in bags of various sizes, which were some- 
what similar in use to the makuks in which maple sugar was stored. 
On top of the rice was laid straw, and the bags, like the makuks, were 
sewed across the top with basswood twine. 
While rice making was an industry essential to the food supply, 
it had, like the sugar camp, a pleasant social phase, which was ap- 
preciated by old and young. Thus the writer in driving through 
the rice country late one afternoon came upon a camp of three or four 
tipis. The rice gatherers had returned from the fields, and the men 
were sitting on rush mats and smoking while the younger women 
stirred two parching kettles and an older woman tossed a winnowing 
tray. At a fire one woman was preparing the evening meal and at 
a distance another was seen chopping wood. Dogs and little chil- 
dren were running about, and the scene with its background of pines 
and shining lake was one of pleasure and activity. 
An important part of the camp was its provisioning. Indians did 
not carry many supplies with them, and it is probable that in the 
old days many carried no provisions to a rice camp except maple 
