84 BUREAU OP AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 190 



then told what his spirit had said (S 193).^^ He might say that the 

 iUness was caused by the desires of the sick person or by witches. 

 [These causes and the methods used by the medicine men are dis- 

 cussed at length below.] 



Gifts were given to medicine men to obtain a remedy from them 

 ( JR 13 : 145 ; 17 : 119 ; S 193) .'^ 



CURE OF NATURAL ILLNESSES 



The medicine men always carried a bag of herbs and drugs with 

 them when they went to doctor the sick. They also had an "apothe- 

 cary" who went with them carrying the drugs and a tortoise shell 

 which were used in the ritual (S 193) .^^ 



In the opinion of the Jesuits, Huron knowledge of medicinal 

 plants was very slight and was limited to some powdered roots and 

 some simples (JE 33: 203; cf. JE 13: 103). ^« One medicine they 

 esteemed highly was oscar [perhaps wild sarsaparilla] , used to heal 



53 This description is not complete. Medicine men cured by other means in addition 

 to sucking, and not aU sucking involved an actual cutting of the patient (see below, 

 "Witchcraft"). Some Iroquoian medicine men probably could get information about 

 distant places, perhaps through his spirit, but this does not seem to be elaborated 

 in Iroquoian culture. It is Algonquian cultures, of course, which possess the "shaking 

 tent" shaman, a man who does send spirits to find out what is happening at distant 

 places. It is possible that Sagard is describing Algonquian rather than Iroquoian pro- 

 cedures in this passage. 



El Fees are still given to fortunetellers (Fenton 1953: 129: Shimony 1961 a: 272) 

 and to herbalists (see note 56, p. 84). The line between "fee" and "gift" is a thin 

 one in Iroquois as well as in other Indian cultures. 



"s This description is probably somewhat oversimplified. The "bag of herbs and drugs" 

 may have been a medicine bundle containing supernatural rather than natural aids, 

 and the "apothecary" may have been an assistant who was learning the ritual, rather 

 than a specialized office. 



^ The Jesuits probably underestimated the Huron use of medicinal plants. Jackson 

 (1830 b: 32) remarked that the Indians were often skillful in the application of simples 

 and had considerable knowledge of the medicinal qualities of different herbs and plants. 

 More recent opinion is also that Iroquois knowledge and use of such plants is extensive 

 (see Fenton 1939; 1940 a; 1941 a; 1949 b; Parker 1928). To the Iroquois, every plant 

 has some purpose, and that purpose may be a curing one (Fenton 1940 a: 790). And, 

 although the Jesuits thought Huron medicine quite inferior to theirs, from the vantage 

 point of the 20th century, Indian and French medicine seems quite similar (Fenton 

 1941 a: 505-506). The effectiveness of Iroquois medicine is not easily judged because 

 it is infused with certain "magical" practices. First, certain herbs themselves are used 

 for "magical" purposes. For example, the root of the yellow leaf cup (Polymnia uvedelia) 

 is used as a fumigant against ghosts, returning souls, and after having had a night- 

 mare. Second, sympathetic magic is used in the preparation of the medicines. For 

 example, barks are scraped upward if they are to be used for emetics and downward 

 if they are to be used for a purgative. Third, certain medicines are used because there 

 is some resemblance between the shape of the plant and the symptoms of the disease. 

 For example, yellow-flowei'ed or yellow-rooted plants are apt to be used to cure bile 

 troubles or jaundice ; the sycamore bark, for scabs ; bloodroot, for wounds. Further, 

 Iroquois medical knowledge includes witchcraft and a practitioner can use his knowledge 

 to cure or to witch (Fenton 1940 a : 793, 795 ; 1949 b : 234-236 ; see also Shimony 

 1961 a: 263-267). 



Knowledge of herbs is transmitted in certain families. As other curers, the practi- 

 tioner may not ask for remuneration, but the sick are expected to give what they can 

 (Fenton 1940 a: 793; Shimony 1961 a: 265). 



