OTHER WATER BORDERS 



ultramontane marshes (here Phi^agmites 

 vulgaris), a very stately, whispering reed, 

 light and strong for shafts or arrows, affords 

 sweet sap and pith which makes a passable 

 sugar. 



It seems the secrets of plant powers and 

 influences yield themselves most readily to 

 primitive peoples, at least one never hears 

 of the knowledge coming from any other 

 source. The Indian never concerns him- 

 self, as the botanist and the poet, with the 

 plant's appearances and relations, but with 

 what it can do for him. It can do much, 

 but how do you suppose he finds it out ; 

 what instincts or accidents guide him } 

 How does a cat know when to eat catnip ? 

 Why do western bred cattle avoid loco 

 weed, and strangers eat it and go mad } 

 One might suppose that in a time of famine 

 the Paiutes digged wild parsnip in meadow 

 233 



