Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce

by E. R. Billings

"The mound builders were inveterate smokers, if the great numbers of pipes discovered in the mounds be admitted as evidence of the fact. These constitute not only a numerous, but a singularly interesting class of remains. In their construction the skill of the maker seems to have been exhausted. Their general form, which may be regarded as the primitive form of the implement, is well exhibited in the accompanying sketch. They are always carved from a single piece, and consist of a flat carved bore of variable length and width, with the bowl rising from the centre of the convex side. From one of the ends, and communicating with the hollow of the bowl, is drilled a small hole, which answers the purpose of a tube; the corresponding opposite division being left for the manifest purpose of holding the implement to the mouth.

Indian Pipe.

"The specimen here represented is finely carved from a beautiful variety of brown porphyry, granulated with various-colored materials, the whole much changed by the action of fire, and somewhat resembling porcelain. It is intensely hard, and successfully resists the edge of the finest-tempered knife. The length of the base is five inches; breadth of the same one inch and a-quarter. The bowl is one inch and a-quarter high, slightly tapering upwards, but flaring near the top. The hollow of the bowl is six-tenths of an inch in diameter. The perforation answering to the tube is one-sixth of an inch in diameter, which is about the usual size. This circumstance places it beyond doubt that the mouth was applied directly to the implement, without the intervention of a tube of wood or metal."

This is an account of a simple pipe, with a small bowl; but most of the pipes found in the mounds are highly ornamented with elaborate workmanship, representing animals such as the beaver, otter, bear, wolf, panther, raccoon, squirrel, wild-cat, manotee, eagle, hawk, heron, swallow, paroquet, etc. One of the most interesting of the spirited sculptures of animal forms to be found on the mound pipes, is the representation of the Lamantin, or Manotee, a cetacean found only in tropical waters, and the nearest place which they at present frequent is the coast of Florida—at least a thousand miles away. According to Sir John Lubbock, these are no rude sculptures, for the characteristics of the animal are all distinctly marked, rendering its recognition complete. Many modern Indians are possessed of a wonderful aptitude for sculpture, and they appear to gladly exchange their work for the necessaries of life.

The material most prized for the purpose of pipe-making is the beautiful red pipe-stone of the Coteau des Prairies, which is an indurated aluminous stone, highly colored with red oxide of iron. It is frequently called "Catlinite," out of compliment to George Catlin, the distinguished collector of Indian traditions, who claims to be the first European that ever visited the Red Pipe-stone Quarry, which is situated amongst the upper waters of Missouri. Catlin gives the following legend as the Indian version of the birth of the mysterious red pipe:—

"The Great Spirit, at an ancient period, here called together the Indian warriors, and standing on the precipice of the red pipe-stone rock, broke from its wall a piece, and made a huge pipe by turning it in his hand, which he smoked over them, and to the north, the south, the east and the west; and told them that this stone was red, that it was their flesh, that they must use it for their pipes of peace, that it belonged to them all, and that the war club and the scalping knife must not be raised on its ground. At the last whiff of his pipe his head went into a great cloud, and the whole surface of the rock for several miles was melted and glazed. Two great ovens were opened beneath, and two women, guardian spirits of the place, entered them in a blaze of fire, and they are heard there yet, answering to the invocations of the priests and medicine-men."

At the pipe-stone quarry there is a row of five huge, granite boulders, which the Indians regard with great reverence, and when they visit the spot to secure some red stone to make pipes, they seek to propitiate the guardian spirits by throwing plugs of Tobacco to them. Some admirable pieces of pipe-sculpture are produced by the Boheen Indians, who are found on the coast of the Pacific to the south of the Russians. These pipes are made from a soft blue clay stone which is found only in slabs, and the sculptures are wrought on both sides, the pipes being generally covered with singular groups of human and animal forms, grotesquely intermingled.

The Chippewas are also celebrated for their pipes, which are cut out of a close-grained stone of a dark color; and Professor Wilson, of Toronto, states that Pobahmesad, or the Flier, one of the famed pipe-sculptors, resides on the Great Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron. The old Chippewa has never deviated from the faith of his fathers, as he still adheres to all their rites and ceremonies. He uses the red pipe-stone and other materials in the production of his pipes, which are ingenious specimens of sculpture. The calumet, or pipe of peace, is still an object of special reverence with the Indian tribes, and the pipe-stem is ornamented with six or eight eagle's feathers. Each tribe has an official who takes charge of the calumet, which he keeps rolled up in a bearskin robe; and it's never exposed to view or used, except when the chief enters into a treaty with some neighboring chief. On these occasions the pipe is taken out of its covering by the Indian dignitary, ready charged with the "holy weed," when it is smoked by all the chiefs, each one taking only a single breath of smoke, which is regarded as implementing the treaty. The pipe is then rolled up in its robe of fur, and stowed away in the lodge of its keeper until it is again required. The war pipe is simply a tomahawk, with a perforated handle communicating with the bowl, which is opposite the sharp edge of the weapon. When the Indians joined the British as allies during the American war, they had to be supplied with iron tomahawks of the native pattern, before they could enter the field as allies.