DENSMORB] PLANTS AS FOOD 317 
sugar, which was used for seasoning all foods. At night the women 
set their fish nets and in the morning they drew them in, thus 
securing fish, some of which they dried. In one of the camps visited 
by the writer the top branches of a young Norway pine had been 
broken, and it was said that fish had been dried on these branches, 
the splinters forming a convenient frame. If ducks were available 
the hunters went out in the morning, and occasionally a deer was 
secured for the camp. The principal food, however, was the fresh 
rice, which was eaten either parched or boiled. 
BEVERAGES 
It is interesting to note that the Chippewa did not commonly drink 
water encountered in traveling but boiled it, making some of the 
following beverages from vegetable substances that were easily 
available. Fresh leaves were tied in a packet with a thin strip of 
basswood bark before being put in the water. (Pl. 48, ¢, at left.) 
Dried leaves could be used if fresh leaves were not available. The 
quantity was usually about a heaping handful to a quart of water. 
Beverages were usually sweetened with maple sugar and drunk while 
hot. ‘The botanical name, common name, and portion of plant used 
are shown in the following list: 
Ledum groenlandicum Oeder. Labrador tea. Leaves. 
Chiogenes hispidula (.) T. C. G. Creeping snowberry. Leaves. 
Gaultheria procumbens L. Wintergreen. Leaves. 
Tsuga Canadensis (L.) Carr. Hemlock. Leaves. 
Picea rubra (Du Roi) Dietr. Spruce. Leaves. 
Rubus strigosus Michx. Red raspberry. Twigs. 
Prwuws virginiana L. Chokecherry. Twigs. 
Prunus serotina Ehrh. Wild cherry. Twigs. 
In preparing this last beverage the twigs of the chokecherry and 
wild cherry were tied in a little bundle by a strip of bark long 
enough to permit the lifting of the bundle and dropping it into hot 
water without burning the hand. The bundle of twigs for one 
infusion was about 4 inches long and each packet was perhaps 1 
inch in diameter. (PI. 43, ¢, at right.) 
Maple sugar was dissolved in cold water and served as a drink in 
hot weather. This was offered to the writer and found to be 
pleasantly refreshing. 
A Cass Lake informant said that his wife gathered all kinds of 
flowers and dried them in a wire basket, beginning with the first 
flowers in the spring and putting in a few of each variety as it 
appeared. He said that by the first of July she had more than 
twenty varieties. In the fall she pulverized them and stored them. 
A winter drink was made in the following manner: A quart of water 
was allowed to come to a boil and in it were placed a spoonful of 
