DENS MOKE] 



PLANTS AS MEDICINE 



331 



(3) Bumblebees, dried, were used with the root of alder. (See 

 p. 359.) 



(4) Red pipestone was used as a remedy for scrofulous neck and 

 was said to cause the swelling to go down gradually without breaking 

 into an open sore. The directions were : " Grate red pipestone to a 

 powder, take a teaspoonful dry, then drink water. Take it once a 

 day, two or three times a week." 



(5) Clamshell was used as a remedy for ulcer, the directions being 

 as follows: "Burn a clamshell, powder it finely in the hand, mix it 

 with bear's grease or any soft grease, using only enough to hold it 

 together. The mixing is usually done in a clamshell. Apply to the 

 sore or ulcer." 



Medical Appliances 



(1) The lodge in which a sweat bath was taken has been 

 described in connection with customs of the Midewiwin. 9b The 

 same procedure was used if a person were suffering from a very bad 

 cold and was feverish. No medicine was put in the water which was 

 sprinkled on the stones. After the bath the person was thoroughly 

 rubbed, warmly wrapped, and put to bed. This bath was taken by 

 hunters when they returned weary, or by anyone who wished to be 

 refreshed; also by those inclined to rheumatism. 



(2) Another method of steaming was used chiefly for rheumatic 

 limbs, and with the water they put any sort of medicine which was 

 supposed to be good for that ailment. In giving this treatment a hole 

 was dug in the ground the size of the kettle containing the hot decoc- 

 tion. They put the kettle into this hole and the person sat beside it, 

 covering his limbs closely with a blanket. A medicine frequently 

 used in this connection was identified as willow (species doubtful). 

 The prepared root was put in hot water and allowed to boil a short 

 time. It was usually cooled before using. 



(3) Dry herbs were also placed on heated stones and the fumes 

 were inhaled, this treatment being used chiefly for headache. The 

 stones were somewhat smaller than those used in the sweat lodge, 

 being " about the size of a small bowl." The patient covered his 

 head and shoulders with a blanket, inclosing the stones and inhaling 

 the fumes. A mixture of many varieties of flowers was said to be an 

 agreeable preparation for this use. 



(4) A simple appliance was a strip of slippery elm bark which 

 was often used in place of an emetic, the soft inner bark being used 

 and inserted in the throat. 



(5) Apparatus for enema. It is said that the early Chippewa 

 understood the administering of both nourishment and medicine by 

 means of enema. The apparatus for this consisted of a syringe, a 

 small birch-bark tray on which the syringe was laid, and two meas- 



See Bull. 86, Bur. Amer. Ethn., p. 94, 



