1921] SMITH, ETH NO-BOTANICAL ON THE MENOMINI RESERVATION. 53 



their earlier uses of plants for foods, fibers, textiles, matting, house- 

 building, and most of all for medicines. Their use of medicines is part 

 fact and a large part superstition, carrying with it the old forms and 

 ceremonies, origin myths and methods of use. The collecting of these 

 medicinal plants entailed strict observance in the manner of gathering, 

 a proper explanation to Manapus, the Culture Hero of the IMenomini, 

 and to Grandmother Earth, from whose bosom the plant was taken. To 

 appease Grandma (the earth) one must place some tobacco in the ground 



Fig. 29. — The Flowering Fern, Osmimda claytonimia, near Smoky Falls, 

 Menomini Indian Reservation, Wisconsin. These unusually tall fronds 

 reached a height of three feet. 



where the plant was removed, and cover it with earth again, then she 

 would bless the remedy and lend her power to its eflficacy. Lack of space 

 in this article precludes the many interesting stories connected with these 

 medicinal herbs. 



The Menomini reservation is a veritable fairyland of primeval 

 woods and is not overrun with the evidences of civilization. The de- 

 lightful sensation of being carried back to one's boyhood days, when 

 nature was regnant, when the countryside lacked those up-to-date farms 



