328 USES OF PLANTS BY THE CHIPPEWA INDIANS [eth. ann. 44 



These comprised substances which attracted (as love charms and the 

 hunting or fishing charms) ; also those which repelled (as those 

 which, carried on the person, were said to keep reptiles away) ; and 

 those which acted as an antidote to " bad medicine " carried by 

 another person. Among the latter is a certain plant the smoke of 

 which was supposed to counteract the effect of poison placed where 

 a person would step on it; also a combination of plants rubbed on 

 the limbs of a dancer to counteract the effect of medicine worn by 

 others with the intention of " tiring him out." Certain roots were 

 also chewed for the same purpose. In some instances it was said 

 that plants acted in both these ways, being worn as a protection, and 

 taken internally as a healing agency. Such were some of the medi- 

 cine's carried by warriors. Certain remedies were used exclusively 

 for horses, and some were used for both men and horses. 



In addition to the special knowledge of plants held by the Mide, 

 there was a general knowledge of the simpler remedies, each house- 

 hold having a supply of such herbs for common ailments. If these 

 failed and the illness appeared to be serious, they sent for the man 

 whom they believed to have the proper remedy. 



The names of plants are of several sorts. Thus we note 

 (1) names which indicate the place where the plant grows, as 

 "prairie sturgeon plant"; (2) names which describe the appearance 

 of the plant, as "squirrel tail" or "plump root"; (3) names which 

 describe their taste, as "bitter root"; and (4) names indicating the 

 part of the plant to be used, as " crow leaf." The names of the uses 

 of a plant, or a designation of the remedy is sometimes given as the 

 name of the plant itself, as (1) names indicating the use, as "head 

 medicine "; (2) names indicating the origin of the remedy, as "Wina- 

 bojo remedy"; and (3) names denoting the power of the remedy, 

 as " chief medicine," which is applied to several highly esteemed 

 plants. "With such a system of nomenclature it is evident that plants 

 of different species will have the same name and that in many in- 

 stances a plant may be called by several different names. Thus the 

 purple mint was given three names by as many people. 



The manner of preparing roots has already been described. 

 Stalks, leaves, and flowers were usually pulverized in a similar man- 

 ner, though in one remedy it was prescribed that eight stems be used 

 in 1 quart of water. If bark were to be used the outer skin was 

 removed and the " inner bark " scraped or removed in long thin 

 strips which were boiled, either with or without pulverizing. An 

 informant said that the only regulation concerning the scraping 

 was that the root of alder must be scraped toward the plant. 



Vegetable substances were further prepared for use by combining 

 them with water. Some were boiled a few moments, others were 

 allowed to come to a boil, then removed from the fire, and others 



