Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1916-04-20
MAPLE SUGAR MAKING.
Industry Originated with Indians Who
Gave secret to White settlers.

The industry of maple sugar making or
ginated with the American Indians.
Many years before Waw- be an ne ne-og,
the white man, came from the other side
of the great Kons- Ike tchi-sa VINE, the
ocean, there came in the stiffness Of the
great forest gentle rapping. rapping at
the door of We-wi-na-puCk' heart. He
opened it wide. and the voice of spring
said. 1.-The birch tree is calling, We-wi-na-
puck, what of your canoe?"
There were yet circles of brown leaves
about each tree trunk in the white woods
for 1t was the shortest moon of snow,
which prccedes the budding leaf and the
south wind was sweet and gentle when
We-wt-na-puck began to cut ring about
the largest birch tree in the forest As
ne worked to make an oh-ke or cea red
place where he could launch his canoe on
the oua-no-paug or roaring water. We
Wi-na-puck's stone hatchct grazed a
smooth young maple tree in his pathway
THE tree sweats in the sun said young
We-wf-na- puck. as he saw the moisture
trickle down from the bruise in the maple
bark.
At that moment he was startled by a
large brown butterfly, with blue borders
to its wings. 1t tiuttercd down from a
Granny in the brown rocks and lighted
upon the young maple trunk where We
Wi-na-puCk had bruised it with his hatch
ct and slipped again and again the drops
which trickled down the brown bark.
| We-wi-na-puck thought no more Of the
matter until the following day. when he
saw Wa-goosh. the cunning fox. pausing
as he trotted past the tree and lick the
spot. When wi-na-puck put his fin
yer to the hruisc and then to his;
mouth he learned for the first time that
the heart of the maple was sweet. TAX
/ ing up his stone Ratchet he cut a deeper
cash in the bark of the maple and placed
Il water jar beneath the cut on a fiat
stone. That night when We-wi-na-pu cll
went home to his wigwam, he carried the
/ first drink of maple sap to his dusbv
bride. Para -me-the. Soon all the ma plc
! tree about the oh-ke or cleared and
We're bleeding at the red mans bidding.
one day, before the moon Of budding
leaves, while the sap was still running.
Pa -ra-me-the was baking cakes from
the golden maize, ON rcd-hot stones
when she playfully dropped one of her
cooking stones into jar half full of san.
and watched 1t bubble and boil Since
this jar was one which had been handed
down from Nan-hoo-too, her grandmoth
er. she let the stone remain, for fear of
breaking the one dish she possessed
That night when wilma puck RETURN
ed from weeks trip, they tasted the
contents of the jar, and to their great
delight ii was SWeeter than ANYTHING
they had ever eaten. except the honey.
which the brown bear first showed them
in a hollow tree.
Soon every jar of sap in the tribe had
a hot stone in it and each squaw repeatel
the hot stone, until there was a sweet.
sticky substance in the bottom of the lar
and thus the first maple syrup was made
by Mus ko-an-nc-ne-og, the red man. i'm
the land of his fathers.
when the dominant race came to Amor
lea, the red man gave his sweet secret
Of the woods to the pale face, and since
the early settlers had left all luxi.ries he
hind in the motherland, they made much
of the sweet syrup to eat on their 'hastv
pudding" made from the Indian maize
which always had more bitter taste
than that used in the rye bread Of the
Wonderland.
When the days grew warmer ana tho
syrup began to sour, the pale face auickIy
learned TO boil it afresh to keep it sweet
and these repeated boilmgs soon Pc.
suited in producing n solid substance
whose delicious cakes would. IL hidden
AWAY from the Youngsters keen unti,
sugar camc aGain,
\ nasl, grove always went by IN,
name Of 80, gar-hush" ard farm yr,
stocked with these .;rand old trees was
considered Of much HIGHER value to IN,
humesteader than other wooded land
J AZ I,Y. rpa tracts were Ioo1.l