summer time, to plant their corn, potatoes, and other vegetables. As
soon as their crops were put away in the ground, [Footnote: The mode of
securing their corn was first to dry the ears by fire. When perfectly
dry, they would then beat them with a flail and pick all the cobs out.
The grain was then winnowed and put into sacks. These were put in the
ground in a large cylinder made out of elm bark, set in deep in the
ground and made very dry, filling this cylinder full and then covering
it to stay there for winter and summer use.] they would start all
together towards the south, going to different points, some going as
far as Chicago expressly to trap the muskrats, beavers, and many other
kinds of furs, and others to the St. Joe River, Black River, Grand
River, or Muskegon River, there to trap and hunt all winter, and make
sugar in the spring. After sugar making they would come back again to
Waw-gaw-naw-ke-zee, or Arbor Croche, to spend the summer and to raise
their crops again as before.

In navigating Lake Michigan they used long bark canoes in which they
carried their whole families and enough provisions to last them all
winter. These canoes were made very light, out of white birch bark, and
with a fair wind they could skip very lightly on the waters, going very
fast, and could stand a very heavy sea. In one day they could sail
quite a long distance along the coast of Lake Michigan. When night
overtook them they would land and make wigwams with light poles of
cedar which they always carried in their canoes. These wigwams were
covered with mats made for that purpose out of prepared marsh reeds or
flags sewed together, which made very good shelter from rain and wind,
and were very warm after making fires inside of them. They had another
kind of mat to spread on the ground to sit and sleep on. These mats are
quite beautifully made out of different colors, and closely woven, of
well prepared bull-rushes. [Footnote: To prepare these bull-rushes for