Once soft-treading moccasins passed through the aisles between the tall trees of the North Woods, for, long before it became the home of the old guides and other woodsmen and the hunting and fishing ground of pleasure seekers from the cities, this part of the country was the home and hunting ground of the red men.
They were the first to gather the sweet sap of the maple tree, which we know as maple sugar and maple syrup. The Indians tapped the trees, putting in wooden spouts, and caught the sap in birch bark buckets, which they sewed with strong roots, sealing the seams with pitch from the pine tree.
Among themselves they spread the legend that at night little winged creatures come out to fly around the “sugar bush.” These kind little “Mapolians” as the woodsmen call them when they retell the story, put in the maple flavoring which the Indians were so fond of.
