NO. 12 SMITHSONIAN EXPLORATIONS, I917 95 



food gathering" and j^rocesses of pre])aration. hairdressing. mats, 

 measures, musical instruments, regalia, string-making, tobacco and 

 its uses, tools, traps, and other interesting points, although in some 

 cases the informants had never seen the article. 



Fortunately it is f/eciuently possible to obtain ethnological infor- 

 mation by a more direct method. An old woman was found who still 

 remembered how to meastire bead money on the hand, as illustrated 

 by the accompanying photograph (tig. 95). and it is interesting to 

 find Americanized descendants roasting California ground squirrels 

 bv the unaltered process of their ancestors (fig. 96). 



At the end of September Mr. Harrington returned from the field. 



STUDY OF CHIPPEWA MATERIAL CULTURE 

 During the summer of 1917 Miss Frances Densmore resumed 

 a study of Chippewa material culture begun by her several years 

 ago. This was made possible by the fact that considerable phono- 

 graphic material had been collected and awaited musical analysis 

 during the coming winter. Returning to the White Earth Reserva- 

 tion. ]Miss Densmore enlisted the co-operation of manv Indians who 

 had assisted in the study of Chippewa music, previously conducted in 

 that locality. The Chippewa tribe has advanced in civilization beyond 

 many other tribes, but there are individuals who neither speak nor 

 understand English and who continue many of the old customs. From 

 such informants a general outline of the old economic life was 

 obtained and several Ijranches were given intensive sttidy. 



The ethnobotany of the Chijjj^ewa was the subject of special 

 investigation, and an ethnobotanical collection of about 200 plants 

 was obtained, including plants tised as medicines, food, dyes, and 

 charms, as well as those used for general utility. With the medicinal 

 I)lants were collected e.\'am])les of surgical and medical a|)])liances, 

 and of substances other than vegetal used in remedies. The native 

 names of j^lants were recorded, together with the jxM-lion and amount 

 of a plant usefl in a remedy, the dosage, the treatment wliich acoom- 

 jjanied its use. and tin- >\ni])toms lor whii-h the remedx' \\';is ])re- 

 scribed. The investigation concerned cliietly liie use of s])ecifics. 

 but a few combinations of herbs were recorded for C(jm])aris()n 

 with the separate uses of the same herbs. Long life was the greatest 

 desire of the ("liij)pewa. and the attaining of long life fornu-d the 

 principal teaciiing of the M idr or natixn- leliL^ion. '1 wo fai'tors were 

 said to contribute to tliat end, n;iniel\. Ujnightness of life and the 



