. League of the Ho-dé-no-sau-nee, or Iroquois . threw it withunerring certainty at distant objects, making it re-volve in the air in its flight. With the Indian, thetomahawk is the emblem of war itself. To bury it,is peace; to raise it, is to declare the most deadlywarfare. Rope-making, from filaments of bark, is also anIndian art. The deer string answers a multitude ofpurposes in their domestic economy; but it couldnot supply them all. Bark-rope, (^Gli-a-shen-dd^)has been fabricated among them from time imme-morial. In its manufacture, they use the bark of Ch. I.] EOPE-MAKING. 365 tlie slippe
. League of the Ho-dé-no-sau-nee, or Iroquois . threw it withunerring certainty at distant objects, making it re-volve in the air in its flight. With the Indian, thetomahawk is the emblem of war itself. To bury it,is peace; to raise it, is to declare the most deadlywarfare. Rope-making, from filaments of bark, is also anIndian art. The deer string answers a multitude ofpurposes in their domestic economy; but it couldnot supply them all. Bark-rope, (^Gli-a-shen-dd^)has been fabricated among them from time imme-morial. In its manufacture, they use the bark of Ch. I.] EOPE-MAKING. 365 tlie slippery-elm, the red-elm, and the removed the outer surface of the bark, theydivide it into narrow strips, and then boil it in ashesand water. After it is dried it is easily separatedinto small filaments, the strings running with thegrain several feet without breaking. These fila-ments are then put up in skeins and laid aside foruse. Sli]3pery-elm makes the most j^liable rope; itis soft to the touch, can be closely braided, and is. gus-ha-ah, or burden-strap. very durable. The burden-strap is worn aroundthe forehead, and lashed to a litter, which is borneby Indian women on their back. It is usuallyabout fifteen feet in length, and braided into a beltin the centre, three or four inches wide. Some ofthem are entirely covered upon one side with j^or-cupine quill-work, after various devices, and are inthemselves remarkable products of skilful braiding or knitting of the bark threads is ef-fected with a single needle of hickory. In otherspecimens, the quill-work is sprinkled over the beltfor ornament, the quills in all cases being of diverscolors. Of all their fabrics, there is no one, per- 366 INCIDENT TO THE LEAGUE. [Book IU. taps, wliicli surpasses the j)orciipine-quill burden-strap, in skill of manufacture, richness of material,or beauty of workmanship. In this species ofwork, the Iroquois female excelled. They alsomade a common bark rope for ordinary u
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Keywords: ., bo, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1850, booksubjectnamesgeographical
