Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

LIVING OFF THE COUNTRY 421white elm, pignut hickory, yellow locust, stripedmaple, poplar, and sassafras. The Chippewas boilthe thick, sweetish bark of the shrubby bittersweetor staff-tree {Celastrus sea ndens) and use it forfood. Young saplings of white cedar have a sweetpith of pleasant flavor which the Ojibways used inmaking soup.The following entry In the diary of Sir JohnFranklin sounds naive, when stripped of its context,but there is a world of grim pathos back of it:''There was no tripe de rochej so we drank tea andate some of our shoes for supper."The rock tripehere referred to (Umbilicaria ai-ctica or Dillenii) Isone of several edible lichens that grow on rocks andare extensively used as human food in lands beyondthe arctic tree limit. Reindeer moss {Cladoniarangiferina) and the* well-known Iceland moss{Cetraris Icelandica) are other examples. Theseare starchy, and, after being boiled for two or threehours, form a gelatinous mass that Is digestible,though repulsive In appearance, one of the earlyJesuits likening it to the slime of snails, and anotheradmitting that "it is necessary to close one's eyes toeatIt."