Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

266 CAMPING AND WOODCRAFT;in a drunken sleep, upon Goat Island, between theAmerican and Canadian falls of Niagara, let themselvesdown over the face of the cliff by a rope thatthey made from basswood bark, and thus escapedfrom what seemed to the on-lookers as certain deathby starvation.Mulberry and Osage orange bast yield a fine,white, flax-like fiber, that used to be spun by squawsto the thickness of packthread and then woven intogarments. The inner bark of Indian hemp{Apocynum cannabinmn) ^ collected in the fall, is softsilky, and exceedingly strong. The woody stemsare first soaked in water; then the bast, with barkadhering, is easily removed; after which the barkis washed off, leaving the yellowish-brown fiberready to be picked apart and used. A rope madefrom it is stronger, and keeps longer in water, thanone made from common hemp. It was formerlyused by the Indians, almost all over the contment,not only for ropes, but for nets, threads, and garments.The fibers of the nettle were also similarlyused.In the southern Appalachians, it is not manyj'^ears since the mountain women used tomake bedcords (perhaps you know how strong suchcords must be) by twisting or plaiting together long,slender splits of hickory wood (preferably mockernut)that they suppled by soaking. Such bed-cordsare in use to this day.Root and Vine Cordage.—^The remarkablytough and pliable rootlets of white spruce, about thesize of a quill, when barked, split, and suppled inwater, are used by Indians to stitch together thebark plates of their birch canoes, the seams beingsmeared with the resin that exudes from the treealso for sewing up bark tents, and utensils that willhold water. The finely divided roots are called bynorthern Indians watab or zvatape.Twine and stout cords are also made of this material,strands for fish-nets being sometimes made