Milford chronicle., 1903-07-24
INDIAN MAPLE SUGAR
THE RED MAN TAUGHT THE WHITE
MAN TO MAKE THE DAINTY.

yts Manufacture Was Practiced by
All Northern indians and Was
Known to Those Living as Far
South as Florida and Texas.
Very few of the people to whom ma
ple sugar is an entirely familiar and I
commonplace thing are aware Of the
fact that the method Of making sugar
was taught to the white people by the |
Indians and that they made sugar long
before the discovery Of America. Ihls
is only one of the many things that the
white people learned from the. Indians.
others we're the weaving of cotton the
cultivation of Indian corn and the use
of tobacco.
Some of the early writer's tell US that
tbe French were the first to make this
sugar and that they learned how 10
make it from the Indian women Inc
sap was collected in a rude way, a gash
being cut I'm the tree, and into TINS
stick was thrust. down which the free
| lv flowing sap dripped into a vessel 81
birch bark or a gourd or into wooden
| trouchs followed out by fire or the aN.
| Then into larger wooden troughs iuii
/ of the sap redhot stones were THROWN
lust as in old times they used TO be
/ thrown into the water in which toou
| was boiled. and by constantly throwing
I'm hot stones and taking out those that
| had become cool the sap was boiled
and evaporated, and at length sirup
was made. which later became sugar.
This manufacture of the sugar was
not confined to any cue ;:ihe but was
practiced by all northern Indians ana
was known to those living g. far south
as Florida and Tcy@s. Among the
sugar making tribes n special festival
was held. which was called the maple
dance. which was undoubtedly re-
rgious festival in the nature of
PRAYER or propitiatory ceremony. ask
inc for an abundant flow OF sap and
for good fortune in collecting it.
Among many if not all the Indians
inhabiting the northern United States
maple SUGAR was not merely luxury,
something eaten because it was tooth
some. but WAS actually an important
part of their support. Mixed with
pounded. parched corn, it was put UP
I'm small quantities and was concen-
trated form of nutriment not much
less valuable i'm respect to its quality
of support than the pemmican which
was used almost down to our own
times
Among all the older writer's who had
much familiarity with the customs Of
q the Indians accounts are given of the
manufacture of sugar, and this custom
was so general that among many
tribes the month in which the sap ran
best was called the sugar month. by
{ the Iroquois the name Ratirolta6s,
? meaning tree eaters. was applied to the
g Algouquin tribes and an eminent au-
i thority. DR. Rrlnton. has suggested
= that they were probably so called
from their love Of the product Of the
r sugar maple" on the other hand.
A. f. Chamberlain las very plausibly
D said that it is hardly likely that the
- Iroquois distinguished other tribes by
p this term. if its origin be rs suggested.
since they themselves were sugar max
$ ers ana eaters"
b \ more probable origin of the word is
a that given by Schoolcratt, in substance
a as follows: 'Ratiroutaks. whence Adj
e roudacks. was applied chiefly to the
e Monta-uats tribes, north of the st
Is Lawrence. and was a derisiye term in
y dicadus well known halit of those
7l tribes of cutiug the inner bark of tree.
re I'm winter when food was scarce ol
e. when on war excursions"
II This habit of eating the inner bark OF
Sc trees WAS. as is wen known. common
a to many tribes Of Indians. both thus,
a who inhahit thn country where the su@
ar maple grows ana also those i'm othc
parts of he country where the mapi,
is unknown.
as ON the western prairies sugar wa
made also from the box elder whicl
90 trees were tapped by the Indians an'
ty the sap boiled down for sugar and to
ic day the Cheyenne Indians tell MS thn
as it was from this tree that they derived
re all the sugar that they had until tn
nd arrival of the white man ON the plain
nd something more than 30 years ago.
v 1t is Interesting to observe that il
On many tribes today the word for suga
nd is precisely the word which they M
er piled 10 the product of the maple tire
before they knew the white mans su2
-e. ar. Ii is interesting also 10 see tina
ed Iamong many tribes the general ter.
lie for sugar means wood or tree water
;h- that is to say. tree sap. This is true q
og the Omahas and Poncas. according
ng lJ. o. Dorsey, and also Of the Kansas
nd Usage and Iowa. Winnehago, Tuscar,
I'm ra and Pawuee. The Cheyeanes o
en- the other hand. call it hex elder waite
lie A. f. Chamberlain. who has gone wit
" great care into the question Of I'll
,ut meaning Of the words which designat
the maple tree and its product. is di
posed to believe that the name Of IL
maple means the tree-in other word
IN the real or actual tree or the tree whic
'n stands above all others.-Forest an
nd An Ancient Chariot.