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BULLETIN, PUBLIC MUSEUM, MILWAUKEE 



[Vol. 19 



FIG. 



-Cupping Equipment. 



and lightly snapped with the thumb and finger to make the cut. In some 

 cases two or three treatments over a period of several weeks are necessary 

 before a cure is effected. While blood-letting was not scientifically employed 

 by the Chippewa, it undoubtedly effected cures in some instances. That 

 blood-letting can have a salutary physiological effect is indicated by the fact 

 that modern medical science makes considerable use of it in cases of hyper- 

 tension and Polycythemia Vera. 



Whether cupping was a primitive method of the Chippewa, or one 

 taken over from the whites is open to question. There is no archaeological 

 evidence thus far to support the theory that the Indians practiced it pre- 

 historically. My impression is that, inasmuch as it was a popular technique 

 of the whites in our earlier history, it was taken over by the Indians during 

 early white contact. Its former popularity has declined, and we found only 

 four women and two men who had practiced cupping within the last few 

 years, and none had had more than two or three patients during that time. 



