452 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 137 



"A strong double thread of hemp," or the inner bark of the mulberry, 

 was the basis for feather blankets (Adair, 1775, p. 454). Chickasaw 

 fish nets were also made of it (Adair, 1775, p. 434) . 



The suggestion that Adair's "hemp" is "silk grass" is strengthened 

 by Swan's remarks on Creek manufactures : 



Horse ropes or halters, are commonly made of twisted bark, but they have a 

 superior kind made of silk grass, a species peculiar to the country, which, after 

 being dried, resembles coarse flax. (Swan, 1855, p. 692.) 



Byrd (1728), while engaged in running the boundary line between 

 Virginia and North Carolina, was able to examine some of this, and 

 he says : 



One of the men, who had been an old Indian Trader, brought me a Stem of Silk 

 Grass, which was about as big as my little Finger. But, being so late in the Year 

 that the Leaf was fallen off, I am not able to describe the Plant. The Indians 

 use it in all, their little Manufactures, twisting a Thread of it that is prodigiously 

 Strong. Of this they make their Baskets and the Aprons which their Women 

 wear about their Middles, for Decency's Sake. These are long enough to wrap 

 quite round them and reach down to their Knees, with a Fringe on the under part 

 by way of Ornament. ... As this species of Silk Grass is much Stronger than 

 Hemp, I make no doubt but Sail Cloth and Cordage might be made of it with 

 considerable Improvement. (Bassett, 1901, p. 75.) 



Florida presents something of an exception in the source from 

 which vegetable cords were derived, since, like so many other useful 

 articles, they were obtained from the palmetto. 



The tough fiber which lies between the stems of the leaves and the bark furnishes 

 them with material from which they make twine and rope of great strength and 

 from which they could, were it necessary, weave cloth for clothing. (MacCauley, 

 1887, p. 517.) 



From the Mississippi River region we have one reference to thread 

 from the bark of the bass tree used as a foundation for feather mantles 

 (Dimiont, 1753, vol. 1, p. 155 ; Swanton, 1911, p. 63) , and this is of special 

 interest because the modern Alabama and Creek Indians remember the 

 bass tree as the source of most of their native cordage. By some the 

 bark of the slippery elm is also mentioned, and the Creek word for 

 "thread," afu'swa, is closely related to, if not identical with, a word 

 signifying "bush," "flexible branch," "switch," and it is probable that, 

 in the first usage, it is a contraction of afus'lipa'kfa, "slippery elm." 

 At any rate, there is said to have been a bush, or rather tree known as 

 afu'swa with stems from 3 to 5 inches through, long strips of which 

 were peeled off, pounded up, and plaited into ropes. According to 

 Jackson Lewis, the bark of the maple was sometimes used for cords, 

 and still another kind of rope was made by heating bundles of yucca 

 blades in the lye of wood ashes until the pulp washed away. Of the 

 stringy residue they made very nice white ropes which "looked like 

 store ropes." The general Alabama name for rope seems to have been 



