410 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [x. s., 23, 1921 



Dr. Lowie 1 has since published his paper on the subject and brought 

 forward much detail concerning the planting and ceremonial use of 

 this species. In his preface, Dr. Lowie says that the Tobacco Society 

 loomed large in the tribal life of the Crow, its ceremonial activities 

 probably ranking next to the Sun Dance. The Crows insist that their 

 tobacco is different from that of the Hidatsa (Nicotiana quadrivalvis) 

 and botanically this idea is correct. In connection with the query as 

 to whence the Crow, and the Hidatsa as well, may have obtained their 

 particular types of tobacco, Dr. Lowie, in addition to the botanical 

 evidence, calls attention to the fact that in the languages of several of 

 the tribes using the Bigelovii-group of tobaccos, the root of the word 

 for tobacco is op or up and that the Dieguerios, the Shasta, the 

 Takelma, the Crow, and the Hidatsa agree in this, while the tribes 

 using . other species of tobacco apply terms from different roots. 

 This linguistic evidence is of decided interest and importance, espe 

 cially when taken in connection with the close botanical relationship 

 of the species and varieties concerned. 



We have seen that the Indians of the Eastern Woodland Culture 

 Area and of the Southeastern Culture Area made use of cultivated 

 Nicotiana rustica which probably came to them through the south 

 western corner of Texas from Mexico. We may now see that the 

 Indians of the greater portions of the Plains Area, the Southwestern 

 Area, and even of the North Pacific Coast Area used an entirely 

 different species, viz., Nicotiana attenuata Torrey. The tremendous 

 extent of that portion of North America over which this species 

 furnished the tobacco of the aboriginal tribes is divided into a north 

 ern and a southern section, as a glance at the accompanying map will 

 show, by the intrusion of two members of the Bigelovii-group, viz., 

 A r . quadrivalvis and N. multivalvis. Nicotiana attenuata is found 

 growing wild over the Southwestern Area and over the southern and 

 middle portions of the Plains Area, at least to the westward, but was 

 cultivated over the northern portion of the Plains Area and in the 

 North Pacific Coast Area where it does not occur spontaneously. 

 The condition in the easternmost portion of the Plains Area is not 

 as yet clear to me. 



i Loc. cit. 



