EELLS ON THE TWANA INDIANS. 65 



E. — Medicines, poisons, etc. 



Medicines, preparation and administration of. — Usually by old men or 

 women, but by any one who is supposed to know. There is no class of 

 physicians. 



List of diseases sought to he cured, the medicine for each, and the effect. — 

 Colds and biliousness : Eat alder-buds, and afterward drink salt water 

 for an emetic. 



To strengthen general debility : Heat rocks, throw water over them, 

 place skunk-cabbage leaves on them, then get over the steam. 



For a physic and tonic : Cherry-bark ; grind it in water and drink the 

 water. 



For a tonic : Alder -bark ; in same way as cherry-bark. 



To purify the blood : Barberry-bark ; in same way as cherry-bark. 



Skin-diseases: Oregon grape root and bark ; in same way as cherry - 

 bark. 



Burns and scalds : Potatoes ; scrape and put them on. 



Sore eyes : They make a cold tea from crab-apple bark, and wash the 

 eyes with it. 



This is a partial list, but is the best I can give, as they do not tell all 

 they have. 



Effect. — All of them cure sometimes, and at other times do not. At 

 present, the Government furnishes them with a physician, who uses 

 American medicines entirely. .If, however, they are not cured immedi- 

 ately by him, they often cease to take the medicine sooner than he or- 

 ders, and use their own. They sometimes also buy patent medicines. 

 Thus their medicines are a mixture of American and Indian. 



Poisons. — They have no native poisons which they now use, and very 

 seldom obtain any from the whites. Formerly it is said that matter 

 from sores was used, especially where there were two wives, one of 

 whom became jealous. When this was so. the jealous one gave this 

 matter to the other with her food. 



^2.— HABITATIONS. 



A. — Dwellings. 



Are they permanent or movable f — Nearly all permanent; only occa- 

 sionally one which is movable. 



Natural refuge and habitations of degraded tribes. — These Indians can- 

 not be called degraded, but about half-civilized. All have houses of 

 some kind. 



Location and laying out. — There is no order. Most of their houses are 

 on their farms, which consist of from ten to forty acres. In a few places, 

 there are quite a number of houses together, and where this is so they 

 are generally near the water, in a single row facing the water. 



Labor of construction. — The men build the houses with the help of the 

 Government carpenter, when they can have his assistance. 

 5 BULL 



