hoffman] BARK AND RUSH MATS 259 



the leaves on the inside of the mat. The extreme ends are secured 

 by tying to two strips of wood, one above and one below, and 

 wrapped with basswood cords. The rush-leaf mats are compactly 

 woven, and are used upon the floors and in the medicine structure for 

 seats. 



Leaves for mat-making are prepared by first cutting them when 

 green, then steeping them in boiling water, and laying them in the sun 

 to bleach. Some leaves are then dyed, to produce in the final work 

 various designs in colored stripes. These colors are chiefly dull green, 

 red, and brown. The frame employed in making mats consists of two 

 upright poles about 10 feet high and (» to 8 feet apart (plate xx). 

 Another pole is then tied transversely as high as the face of the worker. 

 Along the crosspiece is then stretched a stout cord of basswood fiber, 

 to which the leaves are attached by plaiting, thus making the latter 

 pendent, one against the other, for as great a length as it is desired to 

 make the mat. A long thread, also of basswood fiber, with a diameter 

 of nearly three-sixteenths of an inch, is then attached to the left side of 

 the row of leaves and run across toward the right by passing it in and 

 out alternately over and beneath the leaves in succession. At intervals 

 of every 4 or inches a loop is made, to prevent the woof from slipping 

 down, the loop being pulled out when another space of 4 or 6 inches is 

 woven and stretched taut. The worker is occasionally obliged to spray 

 water on the leaves, to make them pliable and to prevent breaking. 

 When the right side is reached, the woof is secured to a heavier warp 

 cord, which had been previously attached to the vertical pole. The col- 

 ored leaves have already been placed at proper points, in the first 

 instance, to give the desired stripes when finally woven. The lower 

 edge is finished by cutting the leaves of equal length and plaiting them 

 from left to right, when the last leaves are turned under and tied. 

 A typical specimen of rush mat is illustrated in plate xxi. 



Bark mats are now rare among the Menomini; plate xxn represents 

 an entire specimen, while in plate xxiii a section only is shown. They 

 are made of the inner bark of the cedar, cut in strips averaging half 

 an inch in width. Some of the mats are nearly white, others are 

 colored dark red and sometimes black with native vegetal dyes. The 

 decoration is effectively produced in diamond and lozenge patterns, 

 as well as in zigzag lines, both by color and by the weaving of the 

 weft strips, the latter being accomplished by taking up and dropping 

 certain numbers of the warp strips. 



BASKETS 



Baskets are made much on the same principle of plaiting as 

 is employed for bark mats. The strips or osiers are made from 

 black elm, the necessary limbs being from 3 to 4 inches in diameter 

 (figure 37) ; these are thoroughly hammered with a wooden mallet (figure 

 38) until the individual layers of the branch are detached from the 



