The history of maple sugar production is rich in lore and legend, with written accounts dating back several hundred years though its exact origins have never been authenticated. It is most commonly believed that Native Americans were the first to discover the value of maple sap, perhaps by eating the sweet sapsicles hanging at the end of broken twigs during the winter thaw. One of the first references to maple sugar appeared in 1685 and noted that it ran from a wound in a tree made by a thrown tomahawk. Early sugar makers made slits in maple trees, collected the sap in birch bark buckets, and boiled it in hollowed logs using hot stones to create rich and sweet syrup. Because they had no easy way to preserve or transport the syrup in liquid form, they reduced the sap through evaporation to a crystallized sugar state that was easily stored and used to sweeten foods and drinks; it was also used for medicinal purposes and given as gifts. European settlers in North America learned of this confection from Native Americans, and early colonists adopted new technologies for collecting sap and making maple sugar by boring holes into trees, inserting wooden or metal spouts, collecting the sap in metal buckets, and boiling it over an open fire. While the method of making maple products has become much more efficient over the years, the basic process remains the same today. Throughout the 1700 and 1800s, maple sugar was an important commodity: maple trees were plentiful, maple products were traded at local stores for supplies, it was the most common household sweetener, and it was promoted as an alternative to West Indian "slave-produced" cane sugar. In 1890, the import tax on white cane sugar was removed, causing a significant drop in price, and cane sugar soon outpaced maple sugar as the main sugar source in the United States. As maple sugar became less profitable, sugarmakers turned to producing, bottling, and selling maple syrup, which quickly gained popularity and was exported to Europe as a delicacy or treat. The maple industry is among North America's first agricultural enterprises and remains an important part of Pennsylvania's history, and maple sugaring continues to be embraced across North America as a traditional sign of early spring, celebrated in many towns with festivals and enjoyed in syrup as well as candy, cream, and granulated sugar.