XO. 12 



SMITHSONIAN EXPLORATIONS, I917 



97 



Food and its preparation formed the interesting stibject of an 

 inquiry, which was hmited to the period preceding the baking" of 

 bread. The principal articles of food at that time were cooked rice 

 and vegetables, fish, meat and game, berries, maple sugar, and 

 beverages made from leaves and twigs, ^^'ooden spoons, bone knives, 

 and a " marrow stick '' for scooping marrow from a bone were 

 used within the memory of the older informants, and water was 

 boiled in a vessel made of freshly cut birchbark if a trader's kettle 

 was not available. The manner of securing each class of food was 

 studied. Three rice-camps were visited and photographed, the pro- 

 cess including the gathering of the rice, its parching, pounding, 



Fig. 99. — Frame of lodj-a- in uhicli maple sap is l)uik'd, and lodge in which 

 sugar-making utensils are stored. Photograph by Miss Densmore. 



winnowing, and threshing. A boat was poled through the rice field 

 and the rice gathered by knocking the kernels from the stalk with 

 two short sticks, the kernels falling into the boat (fig. <)7 I. The rice 

 was then parched in an iron kettle over a slow fire. l)cing conslanlly 

 stirred to prevent scorching (fig. 98). The next phase of the wurk 

 consisted in jjouiiding the rice in a barrel sunk in the grotnnl, long, 

 heavy ixjles being used for the ])urpose. This loosened the luisks. 

 which were removed by winnowing in birchbark tra\s and thresh- 

 ing with the moccasined feet in a shallow receptacle. 



The ])roccss of taking seines from the water and di\ ing and ])re- 

 paring fisii was observed and ])hotograp]ied. and a ma])le sugar camp 

 was visited, ihougli not seen in actual operation (fig. (ji)). 



