1923] , SMITH, THE RED EARTH INDIANS 27 



THE RED EARTH INDIANS 



By Hlron H. Smith^ 



Early in the summer of 1923, the writer started on his first field 

 trip to the Meskwaki Indians near Tama, Iowa, A veteran Scripps- 

 Booth of 86,000 miles vintage was dubbed "Scraps and Bolts" and ded- 

 icated to the botanical explorations for the summer. Let us say, that 

 at the close of the season it is still going strong with 10,000 miles more 

 to its credit. Highway 19 was pursued to Madison, where the first 

 stop was made to get en rapport with the botanical department of the 

 University and to visit the State Horticultural Society. It so hap- 

 pened that the next day was Decoration Day, and Madison pals pre- 

 scribed a day of trout fishing. So, in their cars, we went up to Friend- 

 ship, Adams County; and on a cloudless day tried to lure the cautious 

 trout from the crystal clear Little Roche a Cris, with little success. 

 Returning thru Prairie du Sac, we found Mr. E. R. Tyrrell, the Mod- 

 eler in Invertebrate Zoology, at Mr. E. D. Ochsner's, making final 

 sketches of rattlesnake dens for a group. Mr. Pope and Mr. Dick- 

 inson had just left. We were back in Madison by midnight and by 

 seven the next morning, the solitary cavalcade had journeyed on over 

 Highway 19 to Highway 80, near Montfort. This splendid highway of 

 mine tailings was followed to Platteville, where our genial hosts of last 

 year, the Kaumps, were visited. From there. Highway 28 took us to 

 Dubuque, crossing the Mississippi on the high suspension toll bridge. 

 From Dubuque we took Primary Road 5 to Waterloo, Iowa, thru rich 

 farming country all the way, and over all sorts of roads; graded dirt, 

 gravel and concrete. Waterloo is a good city. Out in the park dis- 

 trict we had to stop and photograph the wonderful shrubbery and 

 grounds of Mr. James Graham. His snowballs, Spiraea van houteii, 

 Russian olive, Persian Lilac, Roster's Blue Spruce and numerous other 

 shrubs were in a perfection of bloom. We had never seen better. 



We took Primary Road 59 to Tama from Waterloo, beating down 

 towards Tama County made famous by Ex-Secretary of Agriculture, 

 "Tama Jim" Wilson. Iowa road signs are not as explicit as those of 

 Wisconsin and we were lost twice, but finally reached Toledo, Iowa, 

 only two and a half miles from Tama. Having had correspondence 

 with the Meskwaki agent. Dr. Jacob Bried, it was first necessary to 

 see him at the Indian Sanitarium of Toledo. The sanitarium is for the 

 treatment of early stages of consumption, and is a refuge for Indians 

 from all the Middle West, chiefly children. Dr. Bried was very busy, 



'Curator of Botany, Milwaukee Public Museum. 



