﻿mooney.] 
  MEDICAL 
  PRACTICE. 
  329 
  

  

  of 
  any 
  benefit 
  or 
  not. 
  Granting 
  that 
  two 
  of 
  these 
  three 
  produce 
  

   good 
  results 
  as 
  used 
  by 
  the 
  Indians, 
  we 
  should 
  have 
  35 
  per 
  cent, 
  or 
  

   about 
  one-third 
  of 
  the 
  whole, 
  as 
  the 
  proportion 
  actually 
  possess 
  i 
  1 
  1 
  g 
  

   medical 
  virtues, 
  while 
  the 
  remaining 
  two-thirds 
  are 
  inert, 
  if 
  not 
  

   positively 
  injurious. 
  It 
  is 
  not 
  probable 
  that 
  a 
  larger 
  number 
  of 
  ex- 
  

   amples 
  would 
  change 
  the 
  proportion 
  to 
  any 
  appreciable 
  extent, 
  A 
  

   number 
  of 
  herbs 
  used 
  in 
  connection 
  with 
  these 
  principal 
  plants 
  may 
  

   probably 
  be 
  set 
  down 
  as 
  worthless, 
  inasmuch 
  as 
  they 
  are 
  not 
  named 
  

   in 
  the 
  Dispensatory. 
  

  

  The 
  results 
  here 
  arrived 
  at 
  will 
  doubtless 
  be 
  a 
  surprise 
  to 
  those 
  

   persons 
  who 
  hold 
  that 
  an 
  Indian 
  must 
  necessarily 
  be 
  a 
  good 
  doctor, 
  

   and 
  that 
  the 
  medicine 
  man 
  or 
  conjurer, 
  with 
  his 
  theories 
  of 
  ghosts, 
  

   witches, 
  and 
  revengeful 
  animals, 
  knows 
  more 
  about 
  the 
  properties 
  

   of 
  plants 
  and 
  the 
  cure 
  of 
  disease 
  than 
  does 
  the 
  trained 
  botanist 
  or 
  

   physician 
  who 
  lias 
  devoted 
  a 
  lifetime 
  of 
  study 
  to 
  the 
  patient 
  investi- 
  

   gation 
  of 
  his 
  specialty, 
  with 
  all 
  the 
  accumulated 
  information 
  con- 
  

   tained 
  in 
  the 
  works 
  of 
  his 
  predecessors 
  to 
  build 
  upon, 
  and 
  with 
  all 
  

   the 
  light 
  thrown 
  upon 
  his 
  pathway 
  by 
  the 
  discoveries 
  of 
  modern 
  

   science. 
  It 
  is 
  absurd 
  to 
  suppose 
  that 
  the 
  savage, 
  a 
  child 
  in 
  intellect, 
  

   has 
  reached 
  a 
  higher 
  development 
  in 
  any 
  branch 
  of 
  science 
  than 
  has 
  

   been 
  attained 
  by 
  the 
  civilized 
  man, 
  the 
  product 
  of 
  long 
  ages 
  of 
  in- 
  

   tellectual 
  growth. 
  It 
  would 
  be 
  as 
  unreasonable 
  to 
  suppose 
  that 
  the 
  

   Indian 
  could 
  be 
  entirely 
  ignorant 
  of 
  the 
  medicinal 
  properties 
  of 
  

   plants, 
  living 
  as 
  he 
  did 
  in 
  the 
  open 
  air 
  in 
  close 
  communion 
  with 
  

   nature; 
  but 
  neither 
  in 
  accuracy 
  nor 
  extent 
  can 
  his 
  knowledge 
  be 
  

   compared 
  for 
  a 
  moment 
  with 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  trained 
  student 
  working 
  

   upon 
  scientific 
  principles. 
  

  

  Cherokee 
  medicine 
  is 
  an 
  empiric 
  development 
  of 
  the 
  fetich 
  idea. 
  

   For 
  a 
  disease 
  caused 
  by 
  the 
  rabbit 
  the 
  antidote 
  must 
  be 
  a 
  plant 
  

   called 
  " 
  rabbit's 
  food," 
  " 
  rabbit's 
  ear." 
  or 
  " 
  rabbit's 
  tail;" 
  for 
  snake 
  

   dreams 
  the 
  plant 
  used 
  is 
  "snake's 
  tooth;" 
  for 
  worms 
  a 
  plant 
  re- 
  

   sembling 
  a 
  worm 
  in 
  appearance, 
  and 
  for 
  inflamed 
  eyes 
  a 
  flower 
  hav- 
  

   ing 
  the 
  appearance 
  and 
  name 
  of 
  " 
  deer's 
  eye." 
  A 
  yellow 
  root 
  must 
  

   be 
  good 
  when 
  the 
  patient 
  vomits 
  yellow 
  bile, 
  and 
  a 
  black 
  one 
  when 
  

   dark 
  circles 
  come 
  about 
  his 
  eyes, 
  and 
  in 
  each 
  case 
  the 
  disease 
  and 
  

   the 
  plant 
  alike 
  are 
  named 
  from 
  the 
  color. 
  A 
  decoction 
  of 
  burs 
  must 
  

   be 
  a 
  cure 
  for 
  forgetf 
  ulness, 
  for 
  there 
  is 
  nothing 
  else 
  that 
  will 
  stick 
  

   like 
  a 
  bur; 
  and 
  a 
  decoction 
  of 
  the 
  wiry 
  roots 
  of 
  the 
  "devil's 
  shoe- 
  

   strings" 
  must 
  be 
  an 
  efficacious 
  wash 
  to 
  toughen 
  the 
  ballplayer's 
  

   muscles, 
  for 
  they 
  are 
  almost 
  strong 
  enough 
  to 
  stop 
  the 
  plowshare 
  in 
  

   the 
  furrow. 
  It 
  must 
  be 
  evident 
  that 
  under 
  such 
  a 
  system 
  the 
  fail- 
  

   ures 
  must 
  far 
  outnumber 
  the 
  cures, 
  yet 
  it 
  is 
  not 
  so 
  long 
  since 
  half 
  

   our 
  own 
  medical 
  practice 
  was 
  based 
  upon 
  the 
  same 
  idea 
  of 
  corre- 
  

   spondences. 
  f< 
  ir 
  the 
  mediaeval 
  physicians 
  taught 
  that 
  sirn 
  ili>i 
  sim 
  ilibus 
  

   curantv/r, 
  and 
  have 
  we 
  not 
  all 
  heard 
  that 
  "the 
  hair 
  of 
  the 
  dog 
  will 
  

   cure 
  the 
  bite 
  ?" 
  

  

  