DENSMORE] PLANTS AS MEDICINE 331 
(3) Bumblebees, dried, were used with the root of alder. (See 
p- 359.) 
(4) Red pipestone was used as a remedy for scrofulous neck and 
was said to cause the swelling to go down gradually without breaking 
into an open sore. The directions were: “ Grate red pipestone to a 
powder, take a teaspoonful dry, then drink water. ‘Take it once a 
day, two or three times a week.” 
(5) Clamshell was used as a remedy for ulcer, the directions being 
as follows: “ Burn a clamshell, powder it finely in the hand, mix it 
with bear’s grease or any soft grease, using only enough to hold it 
together. The mixing is usually done in a clamshell. Apply to the 
sore or ulcer.” 
Mepicat APPLIANCES 
(1) The lodge in which a sweat bath was taken has been 
described in connection with customs of the Midewiwin.*? The 
same procedure was used if a person were suffering from a very bad 
cold and was feverish. No medicine was put in the water which was 
sprinkled on the stones. After the bath the person was thoroughly 
rubbed, warmly wrapped, and put to bed. This bath was taken by 
hunters when they returned weary, or by anyone who wished to be 
refreshed ; also by those inclined to rheumatism. 
(2) Another method of steaming was used chiefly for rheumatic 
limbs, and with the water they put any sort of medicine which was 
supposed to be good for that ailment. In giving this treatment a hole 
was dug in the ground the size of the kettle containing the hot decoc- 
tion. They put the kettle into this hole and the person sat beside it, 
covering his limbs closely with a blanket. A medicine frequently 
used in this connection was identified as willow (species doubtful). 
The prepared root was put in hot water and allowed to boil a short 
time. It was usually cooled before using. 
(3) Dry herbs were also placed on heated stones and the fumes 
were inhaled, this treatment being used chiefly for headache. The 
stones were somewhat smaller than those used in the sweat lodge, 
being “about the size of a small bowl.” The patient covered his 
head and shoulders with a blanket, inclosing the stones and inhaling 
the fumes. A mixture of many varieties of flowers was said to be an 
agreeable preparation for this use. 
(4) A simple appliance was a strip of slippery elm bark which 
was often used in place of an emetic, the soft inner bark being used 
and inserted in the throat. 
(5) Apparatus for enema. It is said that the early Chippewa 
understood the administering of both nourishment and medicine by 
means of enema. The apparatus for this consisted of a syringe, a 
small birch-bark tray on which the syringe was laid, and two meas- 
%> See Bull. 86, Bur. Amer. Ethn., p. 94, 
