Part 2 (1/2)
The structures encountered in the Ojibway country farther south differed from those already mentioned, the majority of which were covered with sheets of birch bark, a form which must necessarily have been restricted to the northern country. But the type was widely scattered northward, and undoubtedly extended eastward to the Atlantic, especially down the valley of the St. Lawrence into northern Maine and the neighboring Provinces. South of this zone were the dome-shaped mat or bark covered wigwams, varying in different localities according to the available supply of barks, or of rushes to be made into mats, which served to cover the rigid, oval-topped frame. Most interesting examples were standing in the Ojibway settlements on the sh.o.r.e of Mille Lac, Minnesota, during the spring of 1900. One, which may be accepted as a type specimen, was of a quadrilateral rather than oval outline of base, and measured about 14 feet each way, with a maximum height of 6 feet or more. The saplings which formed the frame were seldom more than 2 inches in diameter, one end being set firmly in the ground, the top being bent over and attached to similar pieces coming from the opposite side. Other small saplings or branches were tied firmly to these in a horizontal position about 2 feet apart, thus forming a rigid frame, over which was spread the covering of mats and sheets of bark, the latter serving as the roof. In this particular example the covering was held in place by cords which pa.s.sed over the top and were attached to poles which hung horizontally about a foot above the ground. A second row of mats was fastened to the inside of the frame and others were spread on the ground near the walls. A small fire burned within near the center of the open s.p.a.ce, although the cooking was often done outside, just beyond the single entrance.
Although the Ojibway were numerous, they had few large villages or settlements. They lived for the most part in small, scattered groups, and often moved from place to place. However, there were some long-occupied sites, as at Red Lake, Sandy Lake, on the sh.o.r.es of Leech Lake, where the Pillagers gathered, and the more recently occupied villages at Mille Lac, sites once covered by the settlements of the Mdewakanton. These villages, which should more properly be termed ”gathering places,” at once suggest the various descriptions and accounts of the great village of the Illinois, which stood on the banks of the upper Illinois during the latter part of the seventeenth century and was many times visited by the French.
When the Ojibway and Sioux gathered at Fort Snelling, at the mouth of the Minnesota River, during the summer of 1835 in the endeavor to establish peace between the two tribes or groups, they were encamped on opposite sides of the fort. Catlin, who was there at the time, wrote of the temporary camp of the Ojibway: ”their wigwams made of birch bark, covering the frame work, which was of slight poles stuck in the ground, and bent over at the top, so as to give a rooflike shape to the lodge, best calculated to ward off rain and winds.” (Catlin, (1), II, p. 137.) Unfortunately, the original painting of the camp does not exist in the great collection of Catlin paintings now belonging to the National Museum, Was.h.i.+ngton. In the catalogue of the collection printed in London, 1848, it appears as ”334, Chippeway Village and Dog Feast at the Falls of St. Anthony; lodges built with birch-bark; Upper Mississippi.”
An outline drawing of the picture was given as plate 238 to ill.u.s.trate the account quoted above, but how accurate either description or sketch may be is now quite difficult to determine. However, it is doubtful if the structures had flat ends, as indicated, and mats may have formed part of the covering. Catlin continued his narrative and told of the removal of the camp (p. 138): ”After the business and amus.e.m.e.nts of this great Treaty between the Chippeways and Sioux were all over, the Chippeways struck their tents by taking them down and rolling up their bark coverings, which, with their bark canoes seen in the picture, turned up amongst their wigwams, were carried to the water's edge; and all things being packed in, men, women, dogs, and all, were swiftly propelled by paddles to the Falls of St Anthony.” They reached ”an eddy below the Falls, and as near as they could get by paddling.” Here the canoes were unloaded and the canoes and all else carried about one-half mile above the Falls, where they again embarked and continued on their way. It is interesting to contemplate this scene and to realize it was enacted within the limits of the present city of Minneapolis so short a time ago. A beautiful example of the light birch-bark canoe of the Ojibway is shown in plate 10, _a_, and a photograph of two old Ojibway Indians with similar canoes is reproduced in plate 10, _b_. The canoes indicated by Kane in his painting (pl. 7, _a_) were of this form, probably the most graceful and easiest propelled craft ever devised.
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 77 PLATE 10
[Ill.u.s.tration: _a._ Ojibway birch bark canoe. Northern Minnesota, 1899]
[Ill.u.s.tration: _b._ Ojibway Indians with birch bark canoes. North of Ely, Minn., 1899]
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 77 PLATE 11
[Ill.u.s.tration: _a._ Trader's store at the village of the Pillagers, Ca.s.s Lake in the distance on the right. November 26, 1899]
[Ill.u.s.tration: _b._ Outside an elm-bark structure. At the Ojibway village of Sagawamick, on south sh.o.r.e of Mille Lac, Minnesota. May 21, 1900]
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 77 PLATE 12
[Ill.u.s.tration: _a._ Hammer, bag, and two skin-dressing tools]
[Ill.u.s.tration: _b._ Section of a rush mat, as used to form covering for a wigwam
OBJECTS OF OJIBWAY MAKE]
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 77 PLATE 13
[Ill.u.s.tration: _a._ Ojibway mortar and pestle]
[Ill.u.s.tration: _b._ Delaware mortar and pestle]
[Ill.u.s.tration: _c._ Ojibway birch bark dish]
The various structures in an Ojibway village do not appear to have been erected or placed with any degree of order. Certainly this is true of conditions in recent times, and whether any accepted or recognized plan was followed in the past is not known. The small wigwams formed an irregular group on the sh.o.r.e of a lake or the bank of a stream surrounded by the primeval forest.
In the month of May, 1900, a council house which had been erected by the Ojibway some years before stood on a high point of land in the midst of dense woods, about 1 mile north of the outlet of Mille Lac--the beginning of Rum River--and about 200 yards from the lake sh.o.r.e. It was oriented with its sides facing the cardinal points, about 20 feet square, with walls 6 feet in height and the peak of the roof twice that distance above the ground. The heavy frame was covered with large sheets of elm bark, which had evidently been renewed from time to time during the preceding years. No traces of seats remained and gra.s.s was again growing on the ground which had served as the floor. This was the scene of the treaty of October 5, 1889, between the Ojibway of Mille Lac and the United States Government. Within a short time this very interesting primitive structure had disappeared and two years later no trace of it remained. Whether this represented an ancient type of building could not be ascertained.
The Ojibway villages were supplied with the usual sweat houses, a small frame covered with blankets or other material, so often described.
Resembling these were the shelters prepared for the use of certain old men who were believed to possess the power of telling of future events and happenings. Such a lodge was seen standing on the sh.o.r.e of Lake Superior, about 18 miles from Fond du Lac, July 27, 1826. As described by McKenney: ”At this place, Burnt river is a place of divination, the seat of a _jongleur's_ incantations. It is a circle, made of eight poles, twelve feet high, and crossing at the top, which being covered in with mats, or bark, he enters, and foretells future events.” (McKenney, (1), p. 269.) Interesting, indeed, are the many accounts of the predictions believed to have been made by these old men.
A remarkable performance of this nature was witnessed by Paul Kane. When returning from the far West during the summer of 1848 the small party of which he was one arrived at Lake Winnipeg and on July 28 had advanced about midway down the eastern sh.o.r.e. On that day Kane made this entry in his journal: ”_July 28th._--About 2 o'clock P.M., we endeavoured to proceed, but got only as far as the Dog's Head, the wind being so strong and unfavourable, that it was thought useless to run any risk for the short distance we would be able to make against it. In the evening our Indians constructed a jonglerie, or medicine lodge, the main object of which was to procure a fair wind for next day. For this purpose they first drive ten or twelve poles, nine or ten feet long, into the ground, enclosing a circular area of about three feet in diameter, with a boat sail open at the top. The medicine-man, one of which is generally found in every brigade, gets inside and commences shaking the poles violently, rattling his medicinal rattle, and singing hoa.r.s.e incantations to the Great Spirit for a fair wind. Being unable to sleep on account of the discordant noises, I wrapped a blanket round me, and went out into the woods, where they were holding their midnight orgies, and lay down amongst those on the outside of the medicine lodge, to witness the proceedings. I had no sooner done so than the incantations at once ceased, and the performer exclaimed that a white man was present. How he ascertained this fact I am at a loss to surmise ... The Major, [M'Kenzie] ... with many other intelligent persons, is a firm believer in their medicine.” (Kane, (1), pp. 439-441.)
In addition to the several forms of structures erected by the Ojibway, as already described, they reared the elm-bark lodge which resembled in form the log cabin of the early settlers. Three of these were standing on the south sh.o.r.e of Mille Lac, Minnesota, during the spring of 1900, and the outside of one, showing the manner in which the bark covering was placed, is indicated in plate 11, _b_. This was similar in shape to the Sauk and Fox habitation reproduced in plate 19, although the Ojibway structure was more skillfully constructed. Habitations of a like nature were found among the Sioux villages on the banks of the Mississippi in the vicinity of Fort Snelling, and others were erected within a generation by the Menomini in northern Wisconsin, but whether this may be considered a primitive form of structure has not been determined.
A trader's store standing near the Ojibway village on the sh.o.r.e of Ca.s.s Lake, Minnesota, during the late autumn of 1899 is shown in plate 11, _a_. Similar cabins were occupied by some of the Indian families, these having taken the place of the native wigwams.
Various objects of primitive forms, made and used by the Ojibway within a generation, are shown in plates 12 and 13.
CREE.
The Cree (the Knisteneaux of Mackenzie) were closely related to the Ojibway; they spoke the same language, and had many customs in common.