DBNSMORE] 



PLANTS AS FOOD 



317 



sugar, which was used for seasoning all foods. At night the women 

 set their fish nets and in the morning they drew them in, thus 

 securing fish, some of which they dried. In one of the camps visited 

 by the writer the top branches of a young Norway pine had been 

 broken, and it was said that fish had been dried on these branches, 

 the splinters forming a convenient frame. If ducks were available 

 the hunters went out in the morning, and occasionally a deer was 

 secured for the camp. The principal food, however, was the fresh 

 rice, which was eaten either parched or boiled. 



Beverages 



It is interesting to note that the Chippewa did not commonly drink 

 water encountered in traveling but boiled it, making some of the 

 following beverages from vegetable substances that were easily 

 available. Fresh leaves were tied in a packet with a thin strip of 

 basswood bark before being put in the water. (PI. 43, c, at left.) 

 Dried leaves could be used if fresh leaves were not available. The 

 quantity was usually about a heaping handful to a quart of water. 

 Beverages were usually sweetened with maple sugar and drunk while 

 hot. The botanical name, common name, and portion of plant used 

 are shown in the following list: 



Ledum groenlandieum Oeder. Labrador tea. Leaves. 



Chiogenes hispidula (L. ) T. C. G. Creeping snowberry. Leaves. 



Gaultheria procumbens L. Wintergreen. Leaves. 



Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr. Hemlock. Leaves. 



Pieea ru bra ( Du Roi ) Dietr. Spruce. Leaves. 



Rubus striffosus Michx. Red raspberry. Twigs. 



Prxinus virginiana L. Chokecherry. Twigs. 



Prunus serotina Ehrh. Wild cherry. Twigs. 



In preparing this last beverage the twigs of the chokecherry and 

 wild cherry were tied in a little bundle by a strip of bark long 

 enough to permit the lifting of the bundle and dropping it into hot 

 water without burning the hand. The bundle of twigs for one 

 infusion was about 4 inches long and each packet was perhaps 1 

 inch in diameter. (PI. 43, <?, at right.) 



Maple sugar was dissolved in cold water and served as a drink in 

 hot weather. This was offered to the writer and found to be 

 pleasantly refreshing. 



A Cass Lake informant said that his wife gathered all kinds of 

 flowers and dried them in a wire basket, beginning with the first 

 flowers in the spring and putting in a few of each variety as it 

 appeared. He said that by the first of July she had more than 

 twenty varieties. In the fall she pulverized them and stored them. 

 A winter drink was made in the following manner : A quart of water 

 was allowed to come to a boil and in it were placed a spoonful of 



