Part 2 (2/2)
Now your canoe is finished except for the decoration, which may consist of figures drawn with the awl on the soft bark, or of paintings on bow and stern. The conventionalized figure of some water-fowl or fish, such as the swan, loon, or sturgeon, forms an appropriate emblem, and may also serve to name your craft.
VIII-THE CAMP SITE AND THE CARRY
The Indian exercises much ingenuity in selecting a suitable camp site.
The first essentials are water and fuel; next comes sanitation and drainage, protection from the elements and from ready discovery by possible foes; finally, beauty of situation.
In midsummer, when Indians camp together in great numbers, they invariably choose an extensive plateau, either on the secondary bank of a river or lake, or upon the level bottom lands of some large stream. At this time of the year the ground is dry, and there is no danger from floods. For the winter camp, they prefer a protected site in deep woods, near a large river or lake.
In the case of a small party or a solitary traveler, concealment is the first principle to be observed. Seclusion gives a sense of security, but one does not need to sacrifice to it his aesthetic sense. The Indian is adept in selecting a most beautiful spot which commands all approaches, or a hidden cove, guarded by curving sh.o.r.es, but very near a long-distance view which he keeps for his look-out.
In the heat of the summer he often pitches his teepee upon a high, rocky point, to get away from the mosquitoes, but takes care that he is protected by other heights in such a way that any one approaching must come very near before he discovers the camp. There are usually concealed approaches at the back and sides that afford a retreat in case of danger, and also serve as short cuts on his return from hunting or trapping.
In his forest life, it is a matter of course with him to leave the teepee poles just as they stand, removing only the covering. This is not only a matter of convenience, but it may cause the enemy to delay and manuver when they first sight the camp, thus giving him more time to retreat. Often the war-party discovers its mistake only after its intended victims have been gone for some hours. In case of a hasty retreat, the tent is left standing undisturbed and the log fire burning within, so that the smoke may be maintained as long as possible after the departure of the inmates. This was a convenient ruse in the old days.
It is best in camping to build small fires. This rule is observed by all Indians. Smoke may be seen at a great distance, especially on a clear day, and may be scented by the ordinary Indian a long way off, if the wind is right. Only in cold weather or for special purposes does the Indian indulge in a huge fire, and in no case does he ever leave it without seeing that it is entirely extinguished. If possible, he builds it upon the rocks, so that the ashes may be removed by wind and rain, and the ground show no disfigurement.
When a party camp together, the tents are pitched in a circle. The entrance to the circle is always toward the watering-place, and the council lodge is placed opposite the entrance. If the party is a large one, there may be more than one circle, each band or clan having its own.
When a camp is to break up, it is decreed on the day before, the next camp site having already been explored and selected by men appointed for that purpose. One of these men may be named to guide the caravan to the chosen spot. The start is made before daybreak, and the packing done most expeditiously and in accordance with a well understood system, whether wagons, ponies, dogs, canoes, or men are used to transport belongings from place to place. There is nothing slovenly or haphazard about the Indian's domestic economy, and packing is an interesting and important feature of camp-craft.
In the first place, if you are to transport your own equipment, you must use the carrying strap, which consists of two strings, each four to five feet long, attached strongly to each end of the flat chest and head pieces, which are about two inches wide and long enough to encircle the head and shoulders. The goods are secured in a well-balanced roll or bundle, and this bundle should not be carried too low. Place it to suit your strength and comfort, and do not let it sway or swing. It may be advisable to drop it and rest now and then, if the load is heavy or the distance considerable. The Indians can easily carry in this manner all that is required for an outing.
If you have packhorses, your goods must be made into bundles of convenient size and shape to balance one another on the two sides of the animal, and well secured with strong straps. Before the Indian obtained horses from the Spanish colonists, he traveled but a short day's journey, and carried with him only absolute necessities. All household effects had to be transported on the back, or by means of the dog travois. In fact, the travois was his primitive vehicle for many years after the advent of the horse. It consists merely of the tent poles and an oval basket, netted from strips of rawhide, which is also used as a door for the teepee. One pony can carry at most eight poles, four on a side. These are bound to the saddle, the tips forming an angle above the horse's head, and the free ends drag on the ground below the basket, which contains all the household goods, and sometimes young children.
IX-HOW TO BUILD WIGWAMS AND SHELTERS
The Indian family almost always carry with them the necessary equipment for making camp, but hunters and solitary travelers must improvise something from the material at hand. The permanent village is composed of fairly substantial and rain-proof dwellings, called ”teepees,”
”wigwams,” and as many names as there are Indian languages. Slighter shelters are quickly put up in an emergency. You will enjoy copying some of these for your temporary or regular camp.
A substantial wigwam is built of poles and bark in either six-sided or octagonal form. In my day, we used six poles cut off at a fork about ten feet high. These are set two feet deep in the ground, eight to twelve feet apart, and joined by other poles resting on the forked ends. This forms the framework or hexagon. There are four more poles in the center, forming a square, and also connected at the top, and in the middle of this little court a shallow hole is dug for a fireplace and lined with flat stones.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 2.]
The outer wall of the bark house is of split poles driven into the ground quite close together and neatly overlaid with the bark of the birch, elm, or ba.s.swood, in strips eight feet long by four to six feet wide. The trees should be peeled if possible when the sap flows in spring, and the strips spread one upon another on the ground and weighted with stones, so as to dry smooth and flat. Between every two inner posts is an outside post to support the crosspieces, light saplings which hold the bark in position. You can also tie these crosspieces to the split poles with strips of tough cedar bark.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 3.]
The roof is made in the same way of split poles covered with bark, the latter overlapping like s.h.i.+ngles, so that it is water-proof. Over the fireplace is left an adjustable opening, to let out the smoke and let in light and air. The doorway is an opening in the middle of the south side, three feet by six, closed by a movable door of bark or rawhide. A double row of posts with forked ends, about four feet long and the same distance apart, are driven two feet deep into the ground around three sides of the shack on the inside, connected with lighter poles and crosspieces, then covered with smooth bark firmly tied in place. Here are spread robes and blankets for beds by night and a lounging-place by day. There should be sufficient s.p.a.ce to move about between the bunks and the fireplace.
This kind of shack may be thatched with coa.r.s.e meadow gra.s.s, instead of bark, if it is more convenient to do so. Some tribes make them partly underground for warmth in winter, and when completely covered with sods or earth the hexagon becomes a ”round house.”
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