190 THE LABRADOR PENINSULA. CHAP. xn. 



and as a medicine), and the roots of the thistle are all 

 employed medicinally, and when these fail they have 

 recourse to the conjuror's arts, for with many of the 

 Montagnais Indians, when in the woods, the conjuror is 

 still much esteemed and dreaded. 



The Indians of the Labrador Peninsula place im- 

 plicit faith in dreams, and their visions of the night often 

 lead them to commit shocking crimes. The poor igno- 

 rant wretches follow their dreams with the utmost pre- 

 cision, wholly regardless of any consequences other than 

 those to which the fulfilment of the dream may lead 

 them. Happily the labours of the missionaries are fast 

 dispelling these superstitions from the minds of those 

 who frequent the coast, but it is to be feared that 

 the medicine men still exercise a powerful influence 

 among the different bands who spend the greater part of 

 their lives in the interior. In the time of the Jesuit 

 missionaries the Montagnais were noted for their super- 

 stitions, and for their reliance upon the power of their 

 conjurors. 



Many different plants were formerly used by the In- 

 dians inhabiting the now more settled parts of Canada. 

 Some of these plants are found as far as the Moisie, and 

 their properties are known to the Montagnais.* 



* GOLDEN SEAL (Ht/drastis Canaclwisis). The root only is used. It is 

 of a beautiful yellow colour internally, and is used by Indians as a dye. It 

 is a powerful tonic. 



LOBELIA (Lobelia inflata). This remedy was a favourite with the medicine 

 man among the Indians long before the settlement of Canada by the whites. 

 Both the plant and the seeds are used in medicine. They are emetic, and 

 in small doses expectorant and diaphoretic. 



MANDRAKE (Podopliylhtm pdtdhrni). The mandrake was well known to 

 the Indians of Canada, and much used by them as a purgative. The root is 



