260 



THE MENOMINI INDIANS 



[ETH. ANN. 14 



layers immediately beneath. These layers are then cut into thin nar- 

 row strips by means of the knife universally used (figure 39). The 



Fig. 'il — Elm log for making splints. 



strips are kept in coils (figure 40) until ready for use, when they are 

 soaked in water. Figure 41 illustrates a finished basket. 

 Cutting is always done away from the hand holding the material to 

 be cut, and toward the body. ^_ 



The club or mallet employed in hammer- 

 ing the elm wood is about 20 inches long 

 and has one end thinner, so as to form a Wm 

 handle. 



TWINE AND ROPE 



(ill 



"■■!# 



Fig. 38— Mallet. 



&r 



Thread, cord, twine, and rope are made 

 of vegetal fiber, the chief material being 

 derived from the inner bark of the young 

 sprouts of basswood. The bark is re- 

 moved in sheets and boiled in water to 

 which a large quantity of lye from wood 

 ashes has been added. This softens the 

 fiber and permits the worker to manipu- 

 late it without breaking. The shoulder- 

 blade of a deer or other large animal is 

 then nailed or otherwise fastened to an 

 upright post, and through it a hole about 

 an inch in diameter is drilled; through 

 this hole bunches of the boiled bark are 

 pulled backward and forward, from right 

 to left, to remove from it all splinters or 

 other hard fragments. After the fiber has 

 become soft and pliable, bunches of it are 

 hung up in hanks, to be twisted as desired. 



The manner of making cord or twine, such as is used 

 in weaving mats and for almost all other household 

 purposes, is by holding in the left hand the fiber as it is 

 pulled from a hank, and separating it into two parts, 

 which are laid across the thigh. The palm of the right 

 hand is then rolled forward over both, so as to tightly 

 twist the pair of strands, when they are permitted to unite 

 and twist into a cord. The twisted end being pushed a little to the right, 



Fig. 39— Knife of 

 native workman- 

 ship. 



