ropes of this apocynum,
which the Swedes bought, and employed them as bridles, and for
nets. These ropes were stronger, and kept longer in water,
than such as were made of common hemp. The Swedes commonly got
fourteen yards of these ropes for one piece of bread. Many of
the Europeans still buy such ropes, because they last so well.
The Indians likewise make several other stuffs of their hemp.
On my journey through the country of the Iroquese, I saw the
women employed in manufacturing this hemp. They made use
neither of spinning wheels nor distaffs, but rolled the
filaments upon their bare thighs, and made thread and strings
of them, which they dyed red, yellow, black, etc., and
afterwards worked them into stuffs, with a great deal of
ingenuity. The plant is perennial, which renders the annual
planting of it altogether unnecessary. Out of the root and
stalk of this plant, when it is fresh, comes a white milky
juice, which is somewhat poisonous. Sometimes the fishing
tackle of the Indians consists entirely of this hemp. The
Europeans make no use of it, that I know of.[26]

In another place this author describes the weaving of bark fibers:

The _Direa palustris_, or Mouse-wood, is a little shrub which
grows on hills, towards swamps and marshes, and was now in
full blossom. The English in Albany call it Leather-wood,
because its bark is as tough as leather. The French in Canada
call it Bois de Plomb, or Leaden-wood because the wood itself
is as soft and as tough as lead. The bark of this shrub was
made use of for ropes, baskets, etc., by the Indians, whilst
they lived among the Swedes. And it is really very fit for
that purpose, on account of its remarkable strength, and
toughness, which is equal to that of the Lime-tree bark. The
English and the Dutch in many parts of North America, and the
French in Canada, employ this bark in all cases where we make
use of Lime-tree bark in Europe. The tree itself is very
tough, and you cannot easily separate its branches without
the help of a knife: some people employ the twigs for
rods.[27]

De la Potherie, who wrote at an earlier date than Kalm, says--

The women spin on their knees, twisting the thread with the
palm of the hand; they make this thread, which should rather
be called twine (fisselle), into little balls.[28]

Hariot,