Katharine Elizabeth Dopp

Have you ever noticed the bark of a birch tree?

Do you know what birch bark is used for?

Why is birch bark better to make into baskets and boats than the bark of other trees?

Can you think of a way of taking birch bark from a tree without splitting the bark?

Have you ever seen bark that has been mended?

What do you think the Cave-men used birch bark for?

Why do you not have the right to peel birch bark from any tree that you see?

Are there any birch trees that you do have the right to take bark from?

When the snow began to melt, the Cave-men were glad; for it was warm enough to leave the cave.

They spent their days on the wooded hills where many birch trees grew.

All the Cave-men liked to go to these trees.

They liked to peel off the silvery white bark that hung from the older trees in strips.

They wanted to get the tough inner bark that was under the smooth outer coat.

They chewed the inner bark the way you chew gum.

Sometimes they bit into the bark with their teeth, and sometimes they cut it with a stone knife.

Then they peeled it off in strips with their fingers.

At first they peeled it carelessly and gave no thought to the width of the strips.

But one day Firekeeper peeled off a wide strip.

There were narrow strips for her to eat, so she kept the wide strip for a while.

One day she began to shape it with her hands and to fold in the edges.

After trying for a long time, she made it into a basket.

She did not cut the bark, but shaped it by making folds in each corner and fastening them with sharp thorns.

She gathered winter buds into the basket and carried them home to the cave.

In a few days the thorns fell out, so Firekeeper cut the bark and sewed the folds.

But this basket did not last very long.

The edges split and Firekeeper’s basket was soon worn out.

One morning she went with the other women to get birch bark for another basket.

They had no trouble in cutting the bark and in loosening the edges with their fingers.

But as soon as they tried to peel it, the bark began to split.

So they tried to press evenly with their fingers against the under side, but still many strips split.

Finally Firekeeper picked up the rib of a deer and pressed it under the loosened edge.

Then she carefully pulled the ends of the rib and peeled off a large piece of bark.

Then all the women tried to peel bark by using the rib of a deer.

They carried the bark that they peeled to the cave, and sat down by the fire to make baskets.

Nobody was satisfied with Firekeeper’s basket, for the corners were rough and the edges split.

They found that by cutting into the sides of the bark they could fold it so as to make smoother corners.

So they cut and folded the bark, then sewed the folds with spruce root.

Then they hunted for something to bind around the edge, so as to strengthen the basket.

Some of the women made rims of tough grass, and some used willow stems.

These were the first rims they had ever made, but the women always put rims on their baskets after that.

THINGS TO DO