310 



USES OF PLANTS BY THE CHIPPEWA INDIAN'S [eth. ann. 44 



odor of balsam and dry sweet birch bark came from the lodge. There 

 was also a supply of birch bark for making new utensils (pi. 32, i, c), 

 if such were necessary. The material which the women brought 

 with them from the winter camps depended, of course, on their knowl- 

 edge of what had been left in the storing lodge the previous season. 



Having opened this lodge, the women examined the utensils. The 

 bark dishes for gathering sap were tied in bundles of 10 and 

 placed upside down when stored. They were about 12 inches long. 

 There Avere the makuks in which the sugar was .stored, and utensils 

 somewhat similar in shape, but provided with handles, thus resem- 

 bling buckets. In these the sap was carried to the sugar lodge. The 

 makuk varied in size from those holding a small quantity of sugar to 

 those holding 100 pounds or more. Although birch bark was plenti- 

 ful it was not wasted. Bark utensils were washed and dried at the 

 close of each sugar making, and with "this care could be used 5 or 

 even 10 years. The women looked them over and mended with balsam 

 gum any that needed repairing. The color of the sugar depended on 

 the whiteness and cleanness of the utensils. They also made new 

 utensils if necessary, using the supply of bark left in the lodge for 

 that purpose. In addition to the birch-bark utensils there were 

 troughs made of logs, basswood being commonly used for that pur- 

 pose. Outside one or both entrances to the sugar lodge there was 

 such a trough, into which the sap was poured from buckets. Some of 

 these troughs would hold several barrels of sap. They were covered 

 with sheets of birch bark to keep out twigs and bits of moss. A 

 trough was also used in the process of granulating the sugar. Cer- 

 tain utensils were commonly made of maple, among these being the 

 large wooden spoons used in dipping the sap, the paddles with which 

 the sirup was stirred, and the granulating ladles with the back of 

 which the heavy sirup was worked into sugar. 



When all arrangements were completed the women returned to 

 the camp and prepared for the removal of their families and house- 

 hold equipment. These were carried on either toboggans or sleds, 

 drawn usually by dogs. Among the articles that were not stored 

 but carried each year to the camps were the large brass kettles for 

 boiling the sap. Small children or members of the family too feeble 

 to walk were placed comfortably on the sledges among the packs. 

 The women carried the smallest children on their backs, and the party 

 started for the annual sugar making. 



On arriving at the sugar camp it was sometimes necessary to erect 

 a tipi for temporary use, while the men repaired the structure for 

 holding the kettles. Great care was taken to have this in perfect 

 condition, as the fall of a kettle would be a serious accident in a lodge. 

 The tapping of the trees was begun as soon as the people took up 

 their abode in the sugar lodge, provided the sap was running at that 



