January. 22, 1892.] 



SCIENCE. 



lisb, showing that, though not very dissimilar in head-forna, 

 they were strongly distinguished In color of hair. He ex- 

 pressed his belief in the presence of a Finnish or Ugrian ele- 

 ment in the population of Scotland, which was also found 

 in Wales, and was marked among other characteristics by ob- 

 lique eyes. The Iberian element, which had doubtless been 

 strong among the Picts, continued to be so in many parts of 

 Scotland, for example, in Wigtownshire and the upper part 

 of Aberdeenshire, and in a great part of the Highlands. 



The concluding part of the last lecture was devoted to an 

 appreciation of the three (or, counting the Finns, four) 

 great races which now divide Europe, of which the central, 

 Alpine, brown, thick-set, broad-headed race seems the one 

 most likely to spread at the expense of its neighbors. The 

 question of race versus environment was also summed up, 

 to the advantage, on the whole, of the former. 



THE ABORIGINAL NORTH AMERICAN TEA.^ 



There is a shrub or small tree, a species of holly (Ilex 

 •cassine), growing in the Southern States along the seacoast, 

 not extending inland more than twenty or thirty miles, from 

 Virginia to the Rio Grande. Its leaves and tender branches 

 were once used by the aboriginal tribes of the United States 

 in the same manner as the Chinese use tea and the South 

 Americans use mate. But while the use of Thea sinensis and 

 Ilex paraguayensis still survives, the use of the shrub above 

 mentioned has been almost abandoned by our native Indians 

 and by the white people who once partially adopted it as a 

 beverage. 



The reason for its disuse is hard to discover, for, in com- 

 mon with tea and mate, it contains caffeine, or a similar 

 alkaloid. The object of this paper is to examine its history, 

 to suggest its restoration to a place among the stimulant 

 beverages, and to inquire into its possible economic value. 



1 have been able to trace its use as a beverage back to the 

 legendai'y migration of the Creeks from their supposed far 

 western home to the seacoast of the Carolinas. Whether it 

 was used by the prehistoric mound builders is a question 

 which may not at present be solved. But some archaeologist 

 of the future may find in the remains of the mound-builders 

 ■or their predecessors proof of its use among them.^ 



The leaves and young tender branches were carefully 

 picked. The fresh cassine was gathered at the time of har- 

 vest or maturity of the fruits, which was their New Year. 

 The New Year began with the '' busk," which was celebrated 

 in July or August, "at the beginning of the first new moon 

 in which their corn became full eared," says Adair. The 

 leaves were dried in the sun or shade and afterwards roasted. 

 The process seems to have been similar to that adopted for 

 tea and coffee. The roasting was done in ovens, remains of 

 which are found in the Cherokee region, or in large shallow 

 pots or pans of earthenware, such as the Indian tribes made. 



These roasted leaves were kept in baskets in a dry place 

 until needed for use. Loudonniere (1564) writes of being 

 presented with baskets filled with leaves of the cassine. 



Was it an article of commerce ? There seems to be no 

 doubt on this subject. Allusions to the drinking of the 

 " black drink " are found, indicating its use among tribes re- 

 siding at a long distance from the habitat of the cassine. 



Lawson (1709) writes of its being "collected by the savages 

 of the coast of Carolina, and from them sent to the westward 

 Indians and sold at a considerable price." Dr. Porcher, 



' Abstract of Balletlu No. 14, tf. S. Department of Agriculture, Division of 

 Botany, Edwin M. Hale, M.D., Chicago, 111. 



2 This was wrllteu before Professor Veuable's recent 1 .vestlgatlons. 



author of the " Resources of the South," says: " The Creek 

 Indians used a decoction of the cassine at the opening of 

 their councils, sending to the seacoast for a supply,^' and 

 adds that the coast Indians sent it to the far west tribes. How 

 far its use extended northward, I cannot ascertain. From 

 some allusions of the early French writers, I think it was 

 used by the Natchez, and that it was sent up the Mississippi 

 from the coast of Louisiana. The Indians of Wisconsin, 

 Illinois, and westward, used a decoction of willow leaves as 

 a beverage, but I cannot find that they used it in ceremonials, 

 or that it was looked upon with the same reverence. 



It appears from the accounts of various early writers that 

 there were several methods of preparing the black drink. 



(1) The decoction made of the fresh leaves and young 

 branches. 



(2) A decoction of the dried and roasted leaves. It is 

 probable that the leaves during roasting developed new quali- 

 ties, as the roasting of coffee brings out the aromatic odor 

 due to a volatile oil. 



(3) A decoction which was allowed to ferment. In this 

 condition it became an alcoholic beverage, capable of caus- 

 ing considerable intoxication, similar to that caused by beer 

 or ale. 



The early history of the use of Ilex cassine as a beverage 

 is lost in the darkness of prehistoric ages. Probably the 

 same can be said of tea, coffee, mate, and cocoa. But it is a 

 singular fact that while all the latter beverages still continue 

 to be used in the countries where they are indigenous, as well 

 as all over the world, the use of cassine is nearly extinct, as 

 it is now only used occasionally in certain important relig- 

 ious ceremonies by the remnants of the Creek Indians, and 

 will disappear with them unless rescued by chemical re- 

 search and its use revived for hygienic or economical rea- 

 sons. 



The very earliest mention of cassine was made in the 

 " Migration Legend of the Creek Indians." This curious 

 legend has been lately published by A. S. Gatschet of the 

 Bureau of Ethnology, Washington, D.C., with text, glossa- 

 ries, etc. In his preface he says: " The migration legend of 

 the Kosihta tribe is one of the most fascinating accounts that 

 has reached us from remote antiquity and is niythical in its 

 first part." This tribe was a part of the Creek nation. Its 

 chief, Tchikilli, read the legend before Governor Oglethorpe 

 and many British authorities in 1733. It was written in red 

 and black characters (pictographic signs) on a buffalo skin. 

 This was sent to London, and was lost there; but, fortu- 

 nately, a text of the narrative was preserved in a German 

 translation. 



It begins by narrating that the tribe started from a region 

 variously supposed to be west of the Mississippi, or in south- 

 ern Illinois, or southern Ohio. They travelled west, then 

 south, then south east, until they reached eastern Georgia. 

 Here they met a tribe, called in the legend the " Palachuco- 

 las," who gave them " black drink " as a sign of friendship, 

 and said to them, " Our hearts are white, and yours must be 

 white, and you must lay down the bloody tomahawk, and 

 show your bodies as a proof that they shall be white." 



This was evidently the first knowledge the Kosihta tribe 

 had of this beverage. 



The black drink made by the Seminoles is described as 

 " nauseous to the smell and taste, and emetic and purgative." 

 It is a mixture and not brewed of the cassine alone. All 

 our beverages, such as tea, coffee, mate, and even chocolate, 

 when drunk very strong, are capable of causing diuresis, 

 purging, and vomiting. 



