NO. 2 



SMITHSONIAN EXPLORATIONS, I918 



117 



addressing' a " spirit "' is that of a respectful friend rather than a 

 suppHant in the white man's understanding of that word. The 

 Chippewa says simply, that he desires the herb, root, or bark for a 

 necessary purpose and asks that he be successful in his use of it. 



The writer requested that a birch tree be cut for her according- to 

 the old custom, and this was done by a reliable informant at White 

 Earth. Tobacco was placed at the root (fig". 120). and the tree was 



Fig. 124. — Cliii)[)e\va woman adjusting deer hide in posi- 

 tion for process of smoking. 



felled in such a manner that the bark would not come in contact with 

 the ^aound. In taking the bark a longitudinal cut was made (fig. 

 121), after which the bark was turned back (fig. 122). passed be- 

 neath the trunk of the tree and removed in a large sheet. This work 

 was always done by the women, who fastened the sheets of bark in 

 packs, usually placing 100 sheets in a pack and lying them with 

 strips of the inner bark of the basswood. In this manner the bark 

 was taken from the woods (fig. 123) and, if not needed for im- 



