of fringe made of threads
of mulberry bark.[35]

This is illustrated farther on.

The manner of weaving in the middle and upper Mississippi country is
described by Hunter, who, speaking of the Osage Indians and their
neighbors, says:

The hair of the buffalo and other animals is sometimes
manufactured into blankets; the hair is first twisted by
hand, and wound into balls. The warp is then laid of a length
to answer the size of the intended blanket, crossed by three
small smooth rods alternately beneath the threads, and
secured at each end to stronger rods supported on forks, at a
short distance above the ground. Thus prepared, the woof is
filled in, thread by thread, and pressed closely together, by
means of a long flattened wooden needle. When the weaving is
finished, the ends of the warp and woof are tied into knots,
and the blanket is ready for use. In the same manner they
construct mats from flags and rushes, on which, particularly
in warm weather, they sleep and sit.[36]

Fabrics of various kinds were employed in burial, although not generally
made for that purpose. The wrappings of dead bodies were often very
elaborate, and the consignment of these to tombs and graves where the
conditions were favorable to preservation has kept them for long periods
in a most perfect state. By exhumation we have obtained most of our
information on this subject. Our knowledge is, however, greatly
increased by descriptions of such burial customs as were witnessed in
early times. Extracts already given refer to the use of fabrics in
mortuary customs. Many others could be cited but the following seems
sufficient:

After the dead person has lain a day and a night in one of
their hurdles of canes, commonly in some out house made for
that purpose, those that officiate about the funeral go into
the town, and the first young men they meet withal, that have
blankets or match coats on, whom they think fit for their
turn, they strip them from their backs, who suffer them so to
do without any resistance. In these they wrap the dead
bodies, and cover them with two or three mats which the
Indians make of rushes or cane; and, last of all, they have a
long web of woven reeds or hollow canes, which is the coffin
of the Indians, and is brought round several times and tied
fast at both ends, which, indeed, looks very decent and well.