Did you ever go out in the woods in the spring to find
something to eat?
Have you ever tasted the bark of any trees?
If there are any spruce trees near you, find out what
they are good for.
_What the Women Got from the Spruce Trees_
All the snow was now gone from the wooded hills.
The people were glad, for they were tired of the long, cold winter.
They were hungry for fresh green leaves and berries.
One day Firekeeper took a torch and started out over the hills to see
what she could find to eat.
She found winter-greens with red berries half hidden among the dry oak
leaves.
She ate some and gathered a handful; then she passed on over the hills.
The sap of the spruce trees was beginning to flow and had hardened in
places upon the trunks.
Firekeeper bit off a lump and chewed it until she made it into gum.
Then she bit off other lumps, and even bit into the inner bark.
She liked the taste of the bark, so she peeled off large pieces and ate
them.
Then she gave a shrill call and listened until she heard a call from
the cave.
In a moment she called again.
Again the answer came.
But this time the voices were nearer.
Then Firekeeper knew that the women and children were coming.
Soon she heard their calls again, and again she called to them.
This happened several times, each time the voices sounding nearer.
In this way Firekeeper helped the women to find the way to the spot.
She kept watch until they came in sight.
There were women carrying flaming torches, and others with babies
strapped to their backs.
Children followed close to their mothers’ heels or ran along beside
them.
The cradles were hung on the branches of the trees.
While the women were getting a taste of the bark, Firekeeper was
hunting slender twigs for baskets.
All the women soon joined Firekeeper in the work.
They broke off slender branches from the spruce trees and trimmed them
and laid them in bundles.
Then they dug spruce roots with sharp digging sticks.
[Illustration: “_They broke off slender branches_”]
After eating all the bark that they wished, they played with the
children among the trees.
The mothers strapped bundles on the little girls’ backs, but took the
larger bundles themselves.
They strapped the cradles on top of their loads.
They followed the river path on their way home and stopped when they
came to the drinking-place.
After drinking the fresh cool water, they dug shallow holes near the
edge of the stream.
They dug little troughs from these holes, so that the water of the
river could flow in.
Then they put the spruce branches into these holes and left them there
to soak.
When they reached the cave that night they were tired and hungry, too.
But the men soon came with plenty of meat, and soon they were all
eating and resting around the open fire.