44 YEARBOOK, PUBLIC MUSEUM, MILWAUKEE [Vol. III. 



every middle-aged man and woman knew the plant names and uses. 

 We collected also a list of native plant foods, that included three dozen 

 plants. In former days, considerable use was made of native fibers. 

 The Lac du Flambeau region is not nearly so prolific in its plant species 

 as the Menomini or other reservations to the south. 



We had occasion to see the medicine lodge in use several times dur- 

 ing our stay at Lac du Flambeau. The lodge here is a huge affair, 

 possibly one hundred and fifty feet long, with a stout framework of 

 saplings joined together and arched over at a height of eight feet. 

 During use the sides of this framework are covered with cattail mats 

 and the top with sewed birch bark, as appears in figure 2L Down the 

 center is a long ellipse, where countless dance steps have bared the 

 earth of this otherwise grassy plot. A woman from Michigan was 

 being treated at one time and at another some native woman was car- 

 ried into the lodge. When the writer arrived and asked which was the 

 patient, he was directed to the woman dancing in the center of the 

 lodge, before the medicine man, with his medicine-dance drum. This 

 drum is about eight inches in diameter and fourteen inches long. The 

 Indians explain that Indian medicines are strong and the patient 

 either recovers quickly or dies. However, the}^ have an entire cur- 

 ricula of medicinal practice which will be described in a later bulletin. 

 These practices are much the same as those of the Menomini, the only 

 practical variation being in the use to which the separate plants are 

 put, and the combinations that are used. 



Naturally, the Indian Department, wishes to discourage the treat- 

 ment by medicine men and has placed a physician in charge. Dr. 

 Quinn, a man of much experience, is stationed at Lac du Flambeau 

 and provided with a good equipment. However, he can do little for 

 the outlying members of the tribe, as the government does not furnish 

 him any means of transportation. 



The Chippewa are fond of visiting and, in the summer time, some 

 are always away on visits to other tribes in Wisconsin, Iowa, Minne- 

 sota, Kansas or Oklahoma. The old idea of fighting other tribes has 

 been forgotten long ago and they feel that all red men are their broth- 

 ers. Here and there are still to be seen some very old men who are 

 entitled to wear one or two eagle feathers in their head-dress, signify- 

 ing that the wearer had killed his antagonist in battle and had taken 

 a scalp. For the most part, these Indians are very peaceable and 

 rarely does justice have to be meted out, in any other court than their 

 own, which is presided over by an Indian judge. A council, consist- 

 ing of about thirty of the older men of the tribe is often called by the 



