Indian Scout Talks Part 2

It is boy's instinct to try to outwit and capture wild animals. This is as true of the outdoor boy among the whites as of the Indian boy. The point of interest in the Indian boy's way is that he depends more upon his own ingenuity and resources. While he is trying his grandfather's tricks, he often devises a better one.

The first trapping that I ever did was mere childish play, engaged in by Indian boys of seven to ten years old. We snared wild mice by placing slip-nooses of horsehair or fine sinew across their well-beaten thoroughfares. However, it is no easy thing to handle a mouse thus caught, for he can and will fight with his sharp teeth. We used to turn them loose upon some islet or in a mimic fort of clay or sand, to watch and play with.

We also used the slip-knot for birds, especially crows and magpies, which may be attracted to the snares by a bait of fresh meat or corn. A few crows may be caught and hung up to drive their mates from the maize fields; or, by tying your solitary crow prisoner in a lonely place, he will summon all the rest to a pow-wow. This gives the boy, hidden near at hand, a fine opportunity to study their ways.

We caught squirrels with our bowstrings, on the same principle as the horsehair noose, only in this case we stayed by the trap, and when the squirrel put his head through, we pulled on the string. This works well with ground squirrels, or gophers, and prairie dogs, although in the case of the latter we sometimes caught one of his house-mates, the screech-owl or rattle-snake, instead.

The trapping of rabbits is a simple affair. A bended sapling is secured above a rabbit run in such a manner that when the victim runs his head in the noose, he is swung high in the air. Partridges are caught in the same fas.h.i.+on.

A novel device for catching rabbits, in time of scarcity an important source of food supply, is to scatter large, sharp burrs along their runs. The burrs stick fast to their feet, they sit on their haunches to try to get them off, and so fall an easy prey to the boy hunters.

Perhaps you would like to try the log deadfall. To make this effective trap, you need a good knife or a hatchet-nothing more. First drive into the ground four stakes about the size of a broom-handle, one pair on either side of a rabbit furrow, if this is the game you are after. Leave just enough room between each pair for a good-sized log, which you may lay directly across the path. The stakes serve as gate-posts to your trap, and on either side you build a slight barricade of brush. Next take two round pegs and cut off the ends squarely at about three inches long, or longer, according to your game; smooth a place for them at either end of the log between the stakes, and upon them balance a second log, which is partly supported by the two pairs of stakes as well. The aperture, just big enough for a rabbit to squeeze through, is crossed by several hairs from a horse's tail tied to the supporting pins. The unsuspecting victim springs along, knocks out the underpinning, and the log falls upon him.

For larger game, such as the fox, mink, or fisher, two more logs are used, one end of each resting upon the upper log and the free end on the ground. This gives extra weight to the trap, which may be baited with a piece of meat, firmly attached to a string in such a way that when the animal tugs at the bait, the pins are pulled out and the trap falls.

Indian men use this deadfall more than the boys.

Our fis.h.i.+ng was even more primitive, since we were not provided with hook and line. Sometimes we would select a convenient water-hole and just below it build a rough dam of sticks and stones in a V shape, with the nose pointing down-stream. In the center of the dam we left a small opening, and just under it hung a cage or basket roughly woven of willows, projecting slightly above the surface of the water. It was great sport to wade the brook from a point some distance above the dam, poking under the banks with long sticks and slapping the water with flat paddles, so as to frighten the fish and drive them into our trap. When the basket was well filled, we shut off the opening in the dam with logs or stones, and proceeded to catch the fish with our bare hands, snare, or spear them.

If we did not care to go to the trouble of constructing a basket, we simply drove the fish into a deep hole with a rude dam below to prevent their escape, and caught them by one of the methods named, or by shooting with bow and arrow. But we were never allowed to take more than we really needed. If a surplus were caught, we usually freed them, or stored them in a small pond or spring where we could study and play with them at our leisure.

The best time for taking large quant.i.ties of fish, which may be dried or smoked for future use, is in sp.a.w.ning time in early spring, when most fishes migrate into shallow water and are so sluggish that they may be knocked on the head with a club. At this season all kinds of wild hunters, crows, wolves, wildcats, minks, otters, come to the outlets of the lakes or the banks of the streams for food, and my people were not much behind them in this. The streams of my boyhood days were sometimes packed like a sardine can, and we boys have more than once opened a way and saved large numbers of fish from suffocation.

VII-HOW TO MAKE AND HANDLE INDIAN CANOES

There are several different kinds of canoes made by Indians, of which the birch-bark canoe is the most generally available. The skin boats of the Esquimaux are larger and are skilfully made, but we are considering here only the handiwork of our own Indians.

The Plains Indians formerly used the buffalo-skin boat, called "bull-boat," but this is at best an emergency vessel, constructed only when they were forced to cross a river too deep to ford and too wide to swim. It can scarcely be called a boat and might be termed a raft of skins, for it cannot be paddled like the true canoe. It is probably the crudest form of native craft.

The bull-boat is made upon a framework of willow withes roughly woven into an oblong shape, using long poles for the bottom to give the necessary firmness. Over this frame rawhides are stretched, and sewed with sinew. The seams are smeared with tallow or gum. Two or three long strings are attached to the front end. Having loaded the unwieldy vessel to its full capacity with household goods and children, one or two persons would stand in it with long poles to shove, while two or three others swam ahead, pulling it by the ropes, and sometimes others pushed from behind. The bull-boat was easily capsized, therefore every precaution was taken against accident to the precious cargo. As soon as the stream was crossed, it was taken apart, and the materials put to other uses.

The dugout is much used where birch-bark is not obtainable. The tree, preferably ba.s.swood, cottonwood, or soft maple, is selected with care, the trunk cut the proper length, twelve to sixteen feet, roughly shaped externally, and then hollowed out with much pains. Some of these boats are very serviceable, and many Indians think them swifter as well as more durable than the birch canoe; but it is not safe for a novice to undertake to handle one. It is very graceful in the hands of an expert Indian canoeist, but in some respects still retains the characteristics of a log in water.

After the introduction of modern tools, the dugout became common throughout the Indian country, while the forest Indian alone still clung to the bark canoe. The white trapper, hunter, and explorer readily adopted the convenient dugout, but it has almost disappeared with these avocations; yet the boy hunter or camper who has the requisite patience can easily make his own.

The Indian makes his dugout by first hewing it roughly into the shape of a boat, then making crosswise cuts inside of the trunk about a foot apart and splitting the wood lengthwise between these cuts until well hollowed out. After this he uses a small pickaxe to cut still deeper, until the walls are from four to six inches in thickness; finally he smooths the surface with a chisel. On the outside the final work is done with the draw-knife or ordinary knife. Bone knives and sharp clam-sh.e.l.ls were used in primitive times. Fire may be used to dry and polish.

Our Indian leaves his canoe to season sufficiently after making and before he launches it. He oils it instead of painting, as he has no paint. His paddles are shaped from any kind of light wood; always two in number, in order that he may have an extra one on hand.

The bark canoe requires more skill and labor to make, and is much more ornamental. In the first place, you need just the right kind of bark, and for this you must search through the woods. You must unbark many trees to obtain sheets of uniform thickness and elasticity, sound, and of the proper length and width. You will then temper and season them by laying them smoothly on the ground atop of one another, for some days or even weeks, every alternate one cross-grained, and weighted with stones or logs. Some bark is brittle and cracks easily, and this must be discarded. In early spring when the sap runs is the best time to gather bark.

The next thing is to secure the materials for your framework. The wood used is the swamp or white cedar. The Indian cuts down slender, limbless ones and splits them into convenient lengths, then whittles them flat, like boards, about two to four inches wide, and seasons them before they are fully finished. The longest are used for bracing the canoe lengthwise, usually four to six on the bottom and two to three on each side, beside the rim. The shorter ones are laid crosswise for the ribs, a foot or more apart, tapering to either end. The crosspieces are four in number. The Indian does not use these for seats, but sits in the bottom of the canoe. His canoe is from twelve to sixteen feet long, and somewhat wider than the one the white man makes.

After collecting and preparing your material, drive stakes into the ground a foot apart in the exact shape of a canoe, and within this arrange your ribs and braces in the proper order, and tie them firmly together with the long, pliable roots of the swamp cedar or fir-tree.

Sometimes strips of the inner layer of ba.s.swood bark are used for this purpose. When the frame of the canoe is complete, remove it, and lay the pieces of birch-bark, cut to the pattern and partially sewed together, within the pegged-out s.p.a.ce. Allow a little for seams and fitting. Now lay the frame upon the covering, turn the latter up and fit it smoothly, as a dress is fitted to the manikin. An awl is used for making holes, and the dried cedar roots for sewing the bark. Turn the upper edges inward over the rim and sew them closely over and over. Lastly, take out, invert, and caulk all the seams well with boiling pitch outside, and inside with sturgeon blubber or glue made by boiling horn or rawhide.

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."