The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1891-01-23
INDIANS AS ARTISANS.
The Manufacture of Gay Trink-
cts for Tourists
SkjIland Ingenuity Displayed by Untutored
Children of the Forest i'm Producing
Baskets and Fancy UoNes from
Grass and Bark.

The manufacture of fancy boxes and
baskets and the polishing of peb-
bles. corals and stones has developed
into two important industries in
Northern Michigan, says a Petoskey
NIichD correspondent of the Chi
caro- Herald. The Indians are the
chief workers in the basket industry
and skilled lapidarians follow the other.
Tourists who visit these regions during
the summer season buy baskets and
stones 70 take home as souvenirs, and
while hut little capital is invested IN
either branch of the business the ag-
orerate sales amount to surprisingly
I,rr,a figure. The baskets most popu-
lar with tourists are made Of black ash.
esor,o of the work displays remarkable
taste and artistic ability on the part or
untutored children of the forests. y Few
years ago the Indians busted themselves
D,,l,i,g baskets and boxes Of birch bark,
with rayIv colored porcupine quillS
sev,od into the fiber The baskets were
far from beautiful. but possessed an
aboririnal attractiveness that pleased
lhosc who never saw such work. Sweet
grass had great run as material lot
baskets and boxes, the fragrance of the
=
rude birch bark boxes and the sweet
smelling grass baskets have given place
70 the far more attractive black ash
work.
Tic ash tree, after it has been cut, is
saved into pieces four or five feet long
willie still green, and then chopped into
bolts three or four inches by an lnch
.bicIl. the grain running with the mar
m Il 1,s fnrN
OF 2 stump and vigorously pounded with
Il wooden maui in the hands OF lusty
Indian. The wood, under this process,
strips off into shavings the length OF
the bolt and as thick as the grain.
Each years growth of the tree repre-
sents shaving and the slower the
growth Of the tree the thinner the strip.
With q sharp knife the Indian smoothS
oil one side of the strips and soaks
them in water until they have become
pliable. Then they are woven INTO
baskets Of every Imaginable shape ana
size. into mammoth hampers, little
boxes. shopping bags and wOrk-boxes,
both useful and ornamental. The
s0uaws and girls are the chief workers
in this industry, even chopping down
the trees and preparing the wood tor
the various manipulations while the
braves and bucks sit around looking on
or quietly smoking.
The work is done largely during the
winter months. and instead of keeping
the stuff until the summer season
opens, when visitors are numerous and
the demand for that kind OF work is
brisk, the sqUaws carry the baskets to
town and dispose Of them to the best
advantage. trading them for groceries,
dry goods and other supplies, realizing
very little from the sale compared with
what the merchant gets Tor the goods.
The polishing Of corals and pebbles
gives employment TO 4 score or more |
hands in this city, and the volume of
business transacted aggregates $4,000 |
or S2J. coo. Corals are washed up on the !
beach OF Little Traverse bay by waves |
and picked up by boys sent out for the |
purpose. When polished the corals have |
d gray black appearance, not very at |
tractivc and with no lively cOlors, but |
odd, and nice for pins and paper-weights. |
At no other point along the shores of !
the lake are they to be found, and five |
miles away on either side scarcely a
specimen can be secured on the sand. |
There are only two or three other places |
in the country where they are found, |
but in no place are they SO numerous or
50 large rs here. The supply of corals, |
however, IS beginning TO run short. n |
few years ago boy could pick up enough |
of the very choicest corals in an hour to |
keep the machinery running for days. |
Tourists have been SO Industrious in
picking up and taking home the rough |
stones that now choice specimens are
scarce. The fact that the corals would !
take fine polish was discovered about |
ten years ago by John L. Shaw, a
wealthy capitalist of Grand Rapids, who !
was sitting on the steps Of the only |
hotel that existed at this place then. !
In an idle moment he rubbed one Of the !
r0rals on Il piece of railroad iron to see /
What the c.Tcct would be. The result !
IS most gratifying, and young man {
sitting near i'm appropriated the idea !
and started shop for cutting and poll |
iShlng 'hc stones. There are now four |
Z aces in town polishing the stones, all /
run by steam or water power and all work /
ing the year round. In winter they !
prepare for the summer rush. Large !
quantities of corals are shipped to other
points. Agatcs are sold Ut all Of the |
Dric-a-brac stores. Some Of these are
very bc9utiful, but an exceedingly small |
number of them ever bathed in the
' ators Of the big lake. The agates are
brought from Germany, South America,
Mexico and the West, but they are
III ylrranted to be the real Lake Su-
psrior article and as such sell at fancy
prices