The bast layer from the basswood (_Tilia americana_, L.) seems to have
been the fiber most commonly and universally used by the Eastern
Indians, for it was encountered fifty-two times, in all areas from
which specimens were obtained, with the exception of the extreme
south. It was utilized for nearly all purposes, from the manufacture
of bags to textiles. In the Milwaukee Public Museum is a Menomini bag
(4586) made from the _Tilia_ bast, carefully and thoroughly prepared
to remove the gums and render the fibers parallel and capable of being
spun into good yarn. A Potawatomi bag in this Museum (50.1-7091) is
made from the same material. In the Museum of the American Indian,
Heye Foundation, is a bag made by the Sauk and Fox (2-4966). In the
Peabody Museum of Harvard University is a twilled woven garment
(A5479B) made by the protohistoric Indians of Massachusetts. An
Iroquois burden strap (AE 2963) in the Rochester Museum of Arts and
Sciences is woven of threads from prepared fibers from this tree. In
the Ohio State Historical and Archaeological Museum is a prehistoric
fabric (957) containing _Tilia_ and three other species of fiber.
Hopewell mound and rock-shelter specimens in the same museum show the
use of _Tilia_.
The above gives a general picture of basswood fiber usage. It was
found in an untreated state, merely cut into strips, as well as
thoroughly treated and spun into comparatively fine threads.