370 USES OF PLANTS BY THE CHIPPEWA INDIANS [eth. ann. 44 



Mineral Substances Used in Dyes 



The reddish substance that rose to the surface of certain springs 

 was collected, dried, and baked in the fire. It then " became hard 

 like stone." This was powdered and the fine red powder kept in 

 buckskin. When mixed with grease it made a paint that was reddish 

 but not vermilion and was used on arrows and for painting faces and 

 bodies. The " scum " contained iron oxide, and the powder is referred 

 to as ochre in the following formulae. 



A black earth which " bubbled up in certain springs " was used 

 in black dyes. The writer visited such a spring on the Manitou 

 Rapids Reserve in Ontario and was told that the Chippewa women 

 buried their rushes in the black earth for a few days and thus secured 

 a satisfactory black color. A specimen of this mud was obtained and 

 submitted to a chemist in Washington who stated that " it is full of 

 compounds of iron with organic acids." He suggested that the 

 method of staining is the action of these irons on the tannin in the 

 wood, r>roducing an ink. 



It is said that the material used in earliest times to " set a color " 

 Avas obtained by putting a piece of " black oak " in " dead water " and 

 allowing it to remain for about two years. Thus it became so hard 

 that it could be used as a whetstone, and the dust from this whetstone 

 was combined with vegetable matter in dyes. At the present time 

 the substance commonly used to " set the color " is the dust from an 

 ordinary grindstone. A specimen of this dust was submitted to Dr. 

 G. P. Merrill, of the United States National Museum at Washington, 

 who pronounced it silt. On testing it with hydrochloric acid a 

 greenish color was produced, showing the presence of iron. 



Formulae for Dyes 1 



RED DYE 

 First Formula 

 Betula papyrifera Marsh. White birch. 



Cornus stolonifera Michx. Red-osier dogwood. Outer and inner bark. 

 Quercus species. Oak. 

 Ashes from cedar bark. 

 Hot water. 



Directions. — Boil the barks in the hot water. Prepare the ashes 

 by burning about an armful of scraps of cedar bark. This should 

 make about 2 cups of ashes, which is the correct quantity for about 

 2 gallons of dye. Sift the ashes through a piece of cheesecloth. 

 Put them into the dye after it has boiled a while, then let it boil up 

 again, and then put in the material to be colored. Do not let a man 

 or any outsider look into the dye. 



1 Unless otherwise stated, the portion of the tree used in dye was the inner bark. 



