« According to Rogers (1967, p. 66), both men and women among the Mistassini wore their hair long and thick. If bear grease was being eaten, some was likely to be rubbed on the hair, as this was believed to increase the hair's blackness and glossiness. The Speck collection contains two objects from the Natasquan band identified as brushes which were used to comb the hair and possibly also to brush in grease. Both consist of narrow, tapered pieces of wood around the distal ends of which sections of a porcupine's tail have been wrapped and lashed with sinew. The handles of both specimens, one round and the other deeply notched, are painted with red pigment (fig. 29e-f). The brush with the notched handle has a twine wrist strap. » Vanstone, James W. "The Speck Collection of Montagnais Material Culture from the Lower St. Lawrence Drainage, Quebec." Fieldiana. Anthropology. New Series, No. 5 (October 29, 1982), Vanstone p.17, fig 29e (p.57).

« According to Rogers (1967, p. 66), both men and women among the Mistassini wore their hair long and thick. If bear grease was being eaten, some was likely to be rubbed on the hair, as this was believed to increase the hair's blackness and glossiness. The Speck collection contains two objects from the Natasquan band identified as brushes which were used to comb the hair and possibly also to brush in grease. Both consist of narrow, tapered pieces of wood around the distal ends of which sections of a porcupine's tail have been wrapped and lashed with sinew. The handles of both specimens, one round and the other deeply notched, are painted with red pigment (fig. 29e-f). The brush with the notched handle has a twine wrist strap. » Vanstone, James W. "The Speck Collection of Montagnais Material Culture from the Lower St. Lawrence Drainage, Quebec." Fieldiana. Anthropology. New Series, No. 5 (October 29, 1982), Vanstone p.17, fig 29f (p.57).

« Two pouches were collected among the Natasquan band. » Vanstone, James W. "The Speck Collection of Montagnais Material Culture from the Lower St. Lawrence Drainage, Quebec." Fieldiana. Anthropology. New Series, No. 5 (October 29, 1982), p.13, fig 22c, e (p.50). « The other Natasquan pouch is made of muskrat skin edged with blue cotton tape. Sewn on the binding is a row of green beads, while around the edges are small loops of red beads (fig. 22c). » Vanstone, James W. "The Speck Collection of Montagnais Material Culture from the Lower St. Lawrence Drainage, Quebec." Fieldiana. Anthropology. New Series, No. 5 (October 29, 1982), p.13, fig 22c (p.50).

« Two pouches were collected among the Natasquan band. One, in very poor condition, is made from the skin of a loon's neck sewn on a piece of multicolored cotton cloth. The opening is edged with yellow cotton tape, and the sides and flap with purple tape. On the flap is a small, stylized floral design in blue beads. On the sides, flap, and opening are small loops of red, white, blue, and pink beads (fig. 22e). » Vanstone, James W. "The Speck Collection of Montagnais Material Culture from the Lower St. Lawrence Drainage, Quebec." Fieldiana. Anthropology. New Series, No. 5 (October 29, 1982), p.13, fig 22e (p.50).

« Among the most highly decorated items in the Speck collection are six roll-up sewing bags used by women to hold needles, thread or sinew, and other sewing materials. All are approximately rectangular in shape and have three pockets or compartments. Since each is quite distinctive, they will be described separately. » Vanstone, James W. "The Speck Collection of Montagnais Material Culture from the Lower St. Lawrence Drainage, Quebec." Fieldiana. Anthropology. New Series, No. 5 (October 29, 1982), p.10, fig 17b (p.45). « The upper and lower pockets of the fourth roll-up bag are ornamented with strips of deteriorating dog skin and the center pocket has a strip of mink skin. The lining is of black printed cotton cloth. Outer edges of the bag as well as the edges of the pockets are bound with blue and gray cotton tape and decorated with loops of seed beads. At the upper end is a semi-circular section of patterned wool felt cloth, in the center of which is a stylized floral design in orange, green, clear, and two shades of yellow seed beads; the backing is of brown cotton cloth (fig. 17b). » Vanstone, James W. "The Speck Collection of Montagnais Material Culture from the Lower St. Lawrence Drainage, Quebec." Fieldiana. Anthropology. New Series, No. 5 (October 29, 1982), p.11, fig 17b (p.45). « The four roll-up bags that have just been described were collected among the Natasquan band. The remaining two bags, from Lake St. John, are made entirely from cloth. » Vanstone, James W. "The Speck Collection of Montagnais Material Culture from the Lower St. Lawrence Drainage, Quebec." Fieldiana. Anthropology. New Series, No. 5 (October 29, 1982), p.11, fig 16b, 17b et c, 18c (p.44). « Speck (1935, pp. 190-191) has noted that for the Montagnais, the symbolic pictorial representation of a plant or animal was equivalent to the actual plant or animal and those portrayed were believed to come under the control of the individual human spirit. Dreams played a major part in suggesting the relationship between specific animals or plants and an individual. The spirit was strengthened by having its dream promptings obeyed and success in subsistence activities was thereby assured. » Vanstone, James W. "The Speck Collection of Montagnais Material Culture from the Lower St. Lawrence Drainage, Quebec." Fieldiana. Anthropology. New Series, No. 5 (October 29, 1982), p.10.

« Among the most highly decorated items in the Speck collection are six roll-up sewing bags used by women to hold needles, thread or sinew, and other sewing materials. All are approximately rectangular in shape and have three pockets or compartments. Since each is quite distinctive, they will be described separately. » Vanstone, James W. "The Speck Collection of Montagnais Material Culture from the Lower St. Lawrence Drainage, Quebec." Fieldiana. Anthropology. New Series, No. 5 (October 29, 1982), p.10 fig 18c (p.46). « Perhaps the most attractive of the roll-up bags, and certainly the one in the best condition, has heavy wool felt pockets covered with strips of loon and grebe feathers, the latter covering the center pocket. The upper and lower pockets have beaded strips of red wool felt at the openings while the middle pocket has a beaded strip of black felt in the same position. At the upper end is a section of blue felt with a beaded cross in the center and a series of short strands of beads around the edges. The binding is gray cotton tape to which are fastened short alternating strips of red and yellow beads and loops of blue and yellow beads; the back is of blue wool felt (fig. 18c). » Vanstone, James W. "The Speck Collection of Montagnais Material Culture from the Lower St. Lawrence Drainage, Quebec." Fieldiana. Anthropology. New Series, No. 5 (October 29, 1982), p.11 fig 18c (p.46). « The four roll-up bags that have just been described were collected among the Natasquan band. The remaining two bags, from Lake St. John, are made entirely from cloth. » Vanstone, James W. "The Speck Collection of Montagnais Material Culture from the Lower St. Lawrence Drainage, Quebec." Fieldiana. Anthropology. New Series, No. 5 (October 29, 1982), p.11, fig 16b, 17b et c, 18c (p.44). « Speck (1935, pp. 190-191) has noted that for the Montagnais, the symbolic pictorial representation of a plant or animal was equivalent to the actual plant or animal and those portrayed were believed to come under the control of the individual human spirit. Dreams played a major part in suggesting the relationship between specific animals or plants and an individual. The spirit was strengthened by having its dream promptings obeyed and success in subsistence activities was thereby assured. » Vanstone, James W. "The Speck Collection of Montagnais Material Culture from the Lower St. Lawrence Drainage, Quebec." Fieldiana. Anthropology. New Series, No. 5 (October 29, 1982), p.10.

« Among the most highly decorated items in the Speck collection are six roll-up sewing bags used by women to hold needles, thread or sinew, and other sewing materials. All are approximately rectangular in shape and have three pockets or compartments. Since each is quite distinctive, they will be described separately. The most elaborately decorated bag has strips of white fox fur sewn on cotton lining to form the lower half of each pocket, while the upper halves are of alternate strips of red and black wool felt. The back is of blue patterned cotton cloth and the entire bag is trimmed with purple cotton tape. A non-functional white button is sewn in the center of each pocket and loops of seed beads in a variety of colors are sewn along the edges with additional beaded decoration on the upper halves of the pockets (fig. 16b). » Vanstone, James W. "The Speck Collection of Montagnais Material Culture from the Lower St. Lawrence Drainage, Quebec." Fieldiana. Anthropology. New Series, No. 5 (October 29, 1982), p.10, fig 16b (p.44). « The four roll-up bags that have just been described were collected among the Natasquan band. The remaining two bags, from Lake St. John, are made entirely from cloth. » Vanstone, James W. "The Speck Collection of Montagnais Material Culture from the Lower St. Lawrence Drainage, Quebec." Fieldiana. Anthropology. New Series, No. 5 (October 29, 1982), p.11, fig 16b, 17b et c, 18c (p.44). « Speck (1935, pp. 190-191) has noted that for the Montagnais, the symbolic pictorial representation of a plant or animal was equivalent to the actual plant or animal and those portrayed were believed to come under the control of the individual human spirit. Dreams played a major part in suggesting the relationship between specific animals or plants and an individual. The spirit was strengthened by having its dream promptings obeyed and success in subsistence activities was thereby assured. » Vanstone, James W. "The Speck Collection of Montagnais Material Culture from the Lower St. Lawrence Drainage, Quebec." Fieldiana. Anthropology. New Series, No. 5 (October 29, 1982), p.10.

« The consulting of oracles so as to determine where and when to hunt and to know the future with reference to the weather, illness, and personal matters was extremely important to the Lake St. John Montagnais. It is a subject that has been discussed in considerable detail by Speck (1935, pp. 138-147). A more recent discussion of the subject, with a different interpretation, is found in Tanner (1979, ch. 6). » Vanstone, James W. "The Speck Collection of Montagnais Material Culture from the Lower St. Lawrence Drainage, Quebec." Fieldiana. Anthropology. New Series, No. 5 (October 29, 1982), p.19. « When a hunter had begun to think about securing game animals, his will could be strengthened and his chances of success increased through drumming and singing (Speck, 1935, p. 169). The collection contains a single circular drum with two heads. The body of the drum consists of a strip of wood approximately 36 cm long and 6 cm wide, the ends of which are lashed together with sinew. There are four hoops, each approximately 1 cm square in cross section with an inside diameter slightly greater than the body of the instrument. The ends of the hoops are joined by a lap-splice held with sinew and small wooden pegs. The heads appear to have been made from pieces of thinly scraped caribou skin. To assemble the drum the piece of skin was wrapped around one of the hoops which was then slipped over the body of the drum. A second hoop was slipped over the body from the same side in order to secure the first hoop. The same procedure was followed for the head on the other side. The two outside hoops have been lashed together across the body of the drum with babiche. There is no suspension cord. The wooden drum stick has a widened, notched end (fig. 34). A similar drum is described by Rogers (1967, p. 122) for the Mistassini. Speck (1935, p. 170, pi. ix, lower) states that all Montagnais-Naskapi drums have a "snare" attachment consisting of a length of sinew stretched tightly across the head to which short sections of caribou bone or goose quills are tied; this drum does not have such an attachment. » Vanstone, James W. "The Speck Collection of Montagnais Material Culture from the Lower St. Lawrence Drainage, Quebec." Fieldiana. Anthropology. New Series, No. 5 (October 29, 1982), p.20-21, fig 34 (p. 62).

« Awls are described as wood-working tools because, according to Rogers (1967, p. 47), they were used by the Mistassini to make holes in snowshoe frames for the selvage thongs. However, they were certainly also used for making holes in hides. Of the three awls in the Speck collection, two have circular wooden handles into one end of which metal points are inserted. The point of the largest specimen appears to have been made from a small file (fig. 4f), while that of the smaller is made from a sharpened nail (fig. 4c). The third awl, with a point made from a small file or file fragment, has a bone handle (fig. 4b). Two of these specimens are from Kiskisink. » Vanstone, James W. "The Speck Collection of Montagnais Material Culture from the Lower St. Lawrence Drainage, Quebec." Fieldiana. Anthropology. New Series, No. 5 (October 29, 1982), p.7, fig 4c et f (p.32).

« Awls are described as wood-working tools because, according to Rogers (1967, p. 47), they were used by the Mistassini to make holes in snowshoe frames for the selvage thongs. However, they were certainly also used for making holes in hides. Of the three awls in the Speck collection, two have circular wooden handles into one end of which metal points are inserted. The point of the largest specimen appears to have been made from a small file (fig. 4f), while that of the smaller is made from a sharpened nail (fig. 4c). The third awl, with a point made from a small file or file fragment, has a bone handle (fig. 4b). Two of these specimens are from Kiskisink. » Vanstone, James W. "The Speck Collection of Montagnais Material Culture from the Lower St. Lawrence Drainage, Quebec." Fieldiana. Anthropology. New Series, No. 5 (October 29, 1982), p.7, fig 4c et f (p.32).