42 
body and yet does not fly to the head, as we have observed on oc- 
casions of these feasts of theirs;” and Mrs. Oliver, as quoted by 
A. S. Gatschet: “It was very bitter and said to be intoxicating, 
but, if so, it could only have been when drunk to great excess, as it 
never seemed to produce any visible effect upon them.” We can 
safely arrive at the same conclusion by the reflexion that no alco- 
hol can be expected from a leaf practically destitute of sugar, Or 
sugar-making elements. 
It remains to be said that the “black drink” has never been 
used by the whites as an habitual beverage, not even in times 
when tea and coffee were almost unattainable luxuries; but that, 
considering the abundance of the Cassine along some 2,000 miles 
of our coast, it seems desirable to definitely ascertain its exact 
economic value. 
3. Plants furnishing palatable juices or, by infusion, pleasant 
beverages and used mainly for the purpose of quenching thirst. 
Among the plants furnishing wholesome and palatable juices 
the first place belongs to the Maples, specially the Sugar Maple 
(Acer saccharum Marsh.), White or Silver Maple (A. saccharinum 
L.) and the Red Maple (A. ruédrumL.). It has been clearly shown 
that the Indians knew the value of the sap of the Sugar Maples, 
that they drank it and made sugar from it before the advent of the 
whites; thus the Recollect missionary Le Clercq (1675-169!) 
writes: “Our ordinary food was that of the savages, namely saga- 
mite, or cornmeal, squashes and beans, to which we added, as 
seasoning, marjoram, purslane, a certain species of balm and small 
wild onions. Our drink was water from the brook, or if one of uS 
was indisposed, we split the bark of a Maple from which flows 4 — 
sweet sap, which is collected in a bark vessel and considered a 
precious remedy.” 
The principal use of the maple sap, however, was to sweeten — 
food, as mentioned by Joutel, the companion of La Salle: «We — 
arrived at Chicagou in March (1688) and did not have much food, 
but Providence gave us, to mix with our cornmeal, a manna, the 
sap sseterapsci from maples which are common Sonus very large in 
_ this region.” a 
The primitive Indian mettiot of ane sugar, before the in- s 
troduction of metal kettles, was to throw red-hot stones in vessels — 
fee See 
