248 THE MENOMINI INDIANS [Bra. Ann. 14 



being from 1* to 4 inches from top to bottom ; the main stem, from near 

 the middle of which the bowl rises, is from 4 to 8 inches in length, 

 becoming narrower, laterally, toward the front. The stem is bored 

 from the rear to the center of the bowl, through which a similar hole 

 is drilled from the top, to intersect or unite with the former. This per- 

 foration averages one-third of an inch in diameter, while the bowl ori- 

 fice becomes slightly larger toward the top. 



Oatlinite or red pipestone pipes were formerly obtained by the Me 

 nomini through barter from their western neighbors, this substance 

 being found only near the town of Pipestone, Minnesota. A small 

 bowl of this material is represented in figure 32. The specimen illus- 

 trated was formerly the property of Teeumtha, by whom it was pre- 

 sented to a member of the family of Mr Gauthier, interpreter at 

 Keshena, Wisconsin. It is now in the National Museum. Another va- 

 riety of pipe found especially among the southern bands of Menom- 

 ini — those living nearer the Ojibwa at Lac Court Oreille and Lac Flam- 

 beau — are made of a dark, greenish black mineral 

 obtained in northeastern Minnesota. An example is 

 illustrated in figure 33. 



Frequently the upper portion of the pipe is carved, 

 the depressions afterward being filled with block 

 tin or lead. Quite a degree of taste and skill is 

 shown in some of these pipes, the 

 stems, which are made of ash or 

 other wood, being frequently orna- 

 mented by carvings, decorations 

 in color, and beads. Some of the 



fig. 32-Tecumtha's pipe. stems are broad > measuring from 



1£ to 13J inches across, and are 

 only half an inch thick. At each of the ends is a cylindrical projection, 

 half an inch in diameter, the lower to be inserted into the pipe bowl, 

 while the other forms the mouthpiece. 



The pith is removed from these stems by passing through them a 

 piece of wire, usually made red hot so as to burn and harden the aper- 

 ture. Some Indians, more expert than others, occasionally produce 

 curious effects and cause astonishment by cutting away certain por- 

 tions of the stem along the middle broad part, the openings extending 

 almost across from side to side, and thus naturally renewing the conti- 

 nuity of the orifice. As no marks upon the exterior are visible to the 

 casual observer, it seems quite a puzzle to understand how the smoke 

 passes from the bowl to the smoker's mouth, for between these two 

 poiuts circles, squares, or perhaps other figures, are cut out, as above 

 described. On careful examination it may be observed, and perhaps it 

 may also require the assistance of the carver to learn, that holes are 

 drilled or burned from the side or edge of the stem to intersect the 

 main orifice, all superfluous openings being carefully plugged with wood 

 of the same species. 



