Canoes
These canoes themselves were made of birch bark, There was first a frame made of strips of wood of about the size and thickness of a common kitchen-basket handle, and then the whole was covered with sheets of bark, very neatly and strongly sewed. The thread for such sewing was made of the fibers of certain kinds of bark twisted into filaments by rubbing them with a rolling motion on the knee, or of thongs cut from the hides of animals. It was wonderful to see with what skill the Indian women would execute this sewing, so as to make a firm, compact and substantial seam, and without leaving any perceptible openings at the stitches. The boat would be almost watertight when it was first put together, and it was soon made perfectly so by paying over the seams with pitch obtained from some species of the pine, or other resin-bearing tree.
The upper edge of the boat all around was strengthened by double strips of wood inclosing the edges of the sheets of bark, the whole being bound together by sewing of a specially substantial character. This formed the gunwale of the boat. It was in some respects like the upper edge of a strong basket, which is usually reinforced in a similar way. The boat itself was in reality an open-work basket, sheathed on the outside with sheets of birch bark.
Canoes thus made, though light and buoyant, were quite frail. It was necessary to step very lightly in getting into one of them, for fear of breaking through the bottom, and to sit very still when in, for fear of rolling it over, for the bottom was perfectly round and smooth.
Log Canoes
In some parts of the country, where birch bark could not be procured for sheathing, it was customary to make boats of logs.
It would at first seem difficult to imagine how a party of savages, without any cutting tools, could take down a large tree, hollow it out, and fashion it into a canoe. They accomplished the work by the agency of fire. In the first place, after selecting a suitable tree for the purpose, they would build a fire around its roots, and by constantly bringing more wood they would keep the fire up for many days, until at last the tree was burned so nearly off that by pushing all together against it on one side, by means of poles, or pulling with a cord, they would cause it to lean a little out of the perpendicular, and then its own weight would bring it with a great crash to the ground.
This was the first stage of the process. The next was to burn off the stem of the tree at the right length for the proposed canoe. In burning it off thus the workmen took care to manage the fire in such a way as to give to the end of the proper shape, and at the same time that this process was going on the fire was continued at the other end, in order to burn off the splinters and superfluous wood, and to give that end, too, the proper form for the bow or stern of the canoe, which ever it was to be. To do this well of course required considerable experience and skill on the part of the workmen.
At the same time fires were built along the whole length of the log upon the top, in order to burn off the convex portion, and then small fires were continues along the center line until the whole interior of the log was burned out. It was easy, by means of water, to confine the fire within precise limits, so as at last to have a well-shaped canoe, with sides and bottom far thinner and lighter, and with general form much more graceful and convenient than it would be supposed possible to produce in such a way.
When the burning was completed the whole surface of the boat, inside and out, was scraped smooth by means of tools made of flint, and of other hard stones of that kind which could be broken so as to furnish a sharp edge. The scraping of the surface of the wood with tools of this sort was, of course, a very slow and laborious process, but when completed the result was to produce a very smooth and regular finish. The boat was then painted. the pigments for this purpose were obtained from various substances found in the ground, such as ochres and other similar earths, and they were mixed with oils obtained from animals.
The final result was, in many cases, a canoe of very large size and of quite an elegant appearance.
Of course, a canoe like this is only produced after considerable progress has been made by a tribe in the mechanical arts. At first, it is said, the Indians used the trunks of trees which they found already hollowed by decay, in places where they grew. To prevent the water coming in at the ends in such a case, they used to stop them with masses of clay, which they kneaded in at the bow and stern.
Clearing Land
The Indians had many clearings when the Europeans first came into the country. These clearings were made for the purpose of raising corn, and they were considered of great value - each one remaining in the same family or tribe from generation to generation, for ages. It was very difficult to make these clearings, since the only way of felling trees was by fire. Then besides, when the tree was down the work of getting out the roots was one of great labor. Thus absolutely new clearings were seldom made. The old ones remained, and each generation enlarged them a little when any increase of population required an enlargement, by burning down trees along the margin of them. The method was to dig about the tree so as to expose the roots as much as possible, and then to build a fire around it so as to burn it off. But this was a very slow and toilsome work, for if it was a living tree the wood was green, and after the outside had burned away it was difficult to get the fire in, so as to make it take effect up the heart of the stem. To promote the burning as much as possible they used to pick off the charred portion as fast as the fire formed it, with sharp stones fastened to the end of poles. In this way, and by constantly bringing fresh supplies of fuel, the tree was at length made to fall.
Clearing Land
Then to take off the branches and to divide the stem into lengthes small enough to enable them to drag them away - all by the action of fire alone - required great additional toil. It is not surprising, under these circumstances, that the work of clearing land proceeded slowly.
Tilling the Land
The work of tilling the land after it was cleared belonged wholly to the women. The men reserved their strength for the immensely more difficult and dangerous duty of hunting and fishing, and of defending the country in case of war.
In planting their fields the women used clamshells for hoes, and sticks sharpened in the fire for picks and shovels. When the crop was ripe the corn was gathered, and it was stored for winter in holes made in the ground for the purpose. The bottom and sides of the holes were protected by a lining of bark, or of wooden poles set up close together all around them. When the hole was filled it was covered over, and not opened again until the corn was required for use.
Preparing the Corn for Food
Instead of mills to grind the corn the Indian women used mortars to pound it. These mortars were stones with hollows in them. For the pestle another stone was a smooth and round surface at the bottom was used. At first such stones were employed for these purposes as were found of nearly the proper form in their natural state; but in process of time the people acquired the art of fashioning them so as to make mortars of very good shape, and of considerable capacity. Many such mortars, with pestles belonging to them, have been dug up in ancient mounds, or found buried just beneath the surface around old and abandoned encampments in the western country.