It is interesting to note that the Chippewa did not commonly drink water encountered in traveling but boiled it, making some of the following beverages from vegetable substances that were easily available. Fresh leaves were tied in a packet with a thin strip of basswood bark before being put in the water. (Pl. 43, c, at left.) Dried leaves could be used if fresh leaves were not available. The quantity was usually about a heaping handful to a quart of water. Beverages were usually sweetened with maple sugar and drunk while hot. The botanical name, common name, and portion of plant used are shown in the following list:
Ledum groenlandicum Oeder. Labrador tea. Leaves.
Chiogenes hispidula (L.) T. C. G. Creeping snowberry. Leaves.
Gaultheria procumbens L. Wintergreen. Leaves.
Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr. Hemlock. Leaves.
Picea rubra (Du Roi) Dietr. Spruce. Leaves.
Rubus strigosus Michx. Red raspberry. Twigs.
Prunus virginiana L. Chokecherry. Twigs.
Prunus serotina Ehrh. Wild cherry. Twigs.
In preparing this last beverage the twigs of the chokecherry and wild cherry were tied in a little bundle by a strip of bark long enough to permit the lifting of the bundle and dropping it into hot water without burning the hand. The bundle of twigs for one infusion was about 4 inches long and each packet was perhaps 1 inch in diameter. (Pl. 43, c, at right.)