DENSMOHE] 



PLANTS USED IN ARTS 



387 



to do. Mrs. Razer habitually follows the old custom of placing 

 tobacco in the ground when gathering any of the products of nature, 

 so the old ceremony was performed in all sincerity. Considerable 

 care was bestowed on the selection of a suitable tree, and one was 

 at last found in the center of a large grove. It was a straight tree 

 with smooth bark, and, after felling, was found to be 38 feet long, 

 27 inches in circumference next the ground, and 18 inches in cir- 

 cumference at the top of the stump. Birch trees grow slowly, and it 

 was said this tree was probably 25 years old. Mrs. Razer offered 

 tobacco to the cardinal points and the zenith, murmuring petitions, 

 and buried it at the foot of the tree. She then wielded the ax and 

 cut the tree, the cut being 28 inches above the ground, after which 

 her husband completed the felling. It is the rule that all the chop- 

 ping of a birch tree shall be on one side so that the tree after felling 

 will rest on the stump. This prevents the bark being soiled by fall- 

 ing on the ground. 



In removing the bark a vertical cut is made, the bark is turned back 

 with the left hand, passed under the trunk of the tree and removed 

 by the right hand. (PI. 53, a, b.) The width of the strips depends 

 on the intended use of the bark. An average width is about 24 inches. 

 The uppermost branches of a tree are observed with special care as 

 the bark on the upper branches is often clear and smooth, though 

 the trunk of the tree has been scarred, or has had its bark removed 

 at some previous time. The tree is permitted to remain as it falls, 

 and when thoroughly dry is used for fuel. 



Utensils are often made as soon as a tree is cut. (PI. 53, c.) The 

 sheets of bark for future use are tied in thick packs by means of strips 

 of freshly cut basswood trees that usually grow among the birches. 

 One hundred sheets usually constitute one of these packs. A pack 

 is carried on a woman's back by a strap. (PI. 48, b). This is stored 

 at her home in the village, a larger supply being in a birch-bark store- 

 house at her maple sugar camp. The uses of birch bark are many 

 and various. 



In the southern part of the White Earth Reservation the writer 

 witnessed the offering and burying of tobacco by a medicine man 

 who wished to cut pine bark for medicinal use. The remedy was 

 his own and he described several instances of its successful use. 



ARTICLES MADE OF BIRCH BARK 



Before entering upon a partial enumeration of articles made of 

 birch bark it seems fitting to note some of the properties of this sub- 

 stance, which formed so large a factor in the economic life of the 

 Chippewa. First, and most important, is its varied thickness. 



