262 JOE PYE-WEED 



up in their middle. It's they that give the whole 

 bunch such a fluffy look. The people who call it 

 Trumpet-weed do so on account of the little 

 flowers." 



Then she showed me that the easiest way of all 

 to know Joe Pye was by its long leaves, which are 

 narrow and pointed. They always grow around 

 the stem in circles of six leaves each, although very 

 near the top we saw one circle of only four leaves. 

 But I could see all these things while Kate was 

 talking, and I wanted most of all to know why 

 the plant was called Joe Pye. 



" That's because it is named after an Indian 

 doctor who lived in New England," she said at 

 last. 



" Perhaps Francis would know something about 

 him." 



" If he did," Kate replied, " it would be that 

 this old Indian was very wise about plants. He 

 didn't care nearly so much for hunting and going 

 on long chases with other Indians as he did about 

 studying herbs, and finding out which ones could 

 cure his people when they were sick. He made 

 so many cures that even white people began to hear 

 about him, for this was long ago, and the people in 

 New England saw much more of Indians than they 

 do now. 



" Once a great many people became sick at the 

 same time with typhus fever. It was like a plague 

 in one little town. Then Joe Pye, who had grown 



