(JO USES OF PLANTS BY INDIANS Iktii. ann. 33 



AcorUK ralaiiiu/t and Lobelia curdinalis are both found in certain re- 

 strictfil ureas within the old Pawnee domain. Acorm is exceedingly 

 highly prized l)y tlie Pawnee, and also by the other tribes, for medici- 

 nal use, and by the Pawnee especially for ritualistic religious use. 

 Also its s*'eils were used for beads. Seeds obtained originally at a 

 place far distant might have been lost in the margins of streams, and 

 so liave been introduced unwittingly. Moreover, seeds or living roots 

 might lia\e been brought purposely and set by the priests and doctors 

 without the knowledge of the laity. Thus this plant may have been 

 introduced to the few places where it is now to be found in Nebraska 

 cither with or without design. At all events it appears most probable 

 that it was introiluced by human agency. It is significant that the 

 isolated areas where it is found are comparatively near old Pawnee 

 village sites. Lobelia was a plant to which mystic power in love af- 

 fairs was attributed. It was used in making love charms. Of course 

 tlio methods and formula' for compounding love medicines were not 

 known to everyone, so a person desiring to employ such a charm must 

 resort to some one reputed to ha\e knowledge of it and must pay the 

 fees and follow the instructions of his counsellor. In order to have the 

 medicine convenient the wise ones might very naturally think of try- 

 ing to introduce it to grow in their own country. Quite naturally, 

 too, its introduction, if accomplished, would be secretly effected. Ad- 

 vertising is contrary to the professional code. 



In another place the recent dissemination of Melilotus is discussed. 

 "When the Pawnee were removed from Nebraska to Oklahoma they 

 carried with them seeds from Nebraska, their mother country, to the 

 land, foreign to them, which circumstances they had no power to con- 

 trol caused them to colonize. Besides the seeds of their cultivated 

 crops they carried stores of dried fruits as part of their food supply. 

 Among these were (juantities of dried plums, often dried entire with- 

 out pitting. At the present time there are thickets of Prunus ameri- 

 raiia wherever are seen the lodge rings of the original earth lodges 

 which they first occupied when they went to Oklahoma. This fact I 

 oiiserved when I visited that tribe in pursuit of information in their 

 plant lore. From consideration of such facts as are here demon- 

 strated I am of the opinion that human occujiation and activities 

 were more or less efficient factors in the distribution of plants in Ne- 

 braska as found by the first comers of the European race. 



The most casual observer can perceive that Europeans, since their 

 advent, have greatly changed the flora by introducing new species 

 and depleting the numbers of some and augmenting the numbers 

 of certain other species. A verj' great depletion has occurred in the 

 grassland flora by reason of the large areas in which the original 

 flora has been completely exterminated by the plow. Other areas 



