H4  Northern  Senega.  {AmAFim^ 
tour  in  the  Northwest,  the  main  point  of  his  operations  being  in  that 
country  lying  near  the  Lake  of  the  Woods.  During  this  hunting 
expedition  he  had  an  excellent  opportunity  of  studying  the  country, 
its  products  and  its  people.  On  his  return  he  handed  me  a  root 
which  he  thought  might  be  of  some  interest  to  me.  He  said  it  was 
collected  in  very  large  quantities  and  seemed  to-be  one  of  the  staples 
of  that  country.  The  natives  depending  upon  its  collection  as  one 
of  the  means  of  subsistence,  have  made  this  quite  an  industry  among 
them.  There  the  squaws  and  the  children  dig  the  root  while  the 
"  Braves  "  hunt  the  valuable  fur-producing  animals.  Prof.  Dyche 
says  that  he  saw  at  the  different  trading  posts  in  Marshall  and 
Kittson  Counties,  in  the  storehouses,  as  much  as  a  thousand  pounds 
stacked  up  in  one  heap.  At  a  little  town,  Rocksted,  near  Thief 
River  Falls,  the  Indians  come  in  from  long  tramps  of  forty  miles  or 
more  and  bring  in  the  fur,  skins  and  this  snakeroot.  Here  they 
had  an  immense  stock  on  hand.  Since  his  return,  Prof.  Dyche  has 
received  a  letter  from  a  trader  at  Jadis,  Kittson  County,  stating  that 
he  has  on  hand  a  thousand  pounds  bagged  up,  waiting  for  a  fair 
market  price. 
The  root  referred  to  is  undoubtedly  a  good  sample  of  senega.  In 
length  it  varies  from  4  to  8  inches ;  in  diameter  from  y1^  to  y2  inch. 
Surrounding  the  root  is  a  dark  scar-covered  head,  having  a  diameter 
of  from  y£  to  y2  inch.  This  head  in  the  case  of  younger  roots  is 
covered  with  immature  pinkish  leaf-covered  stems.  The  charac- 
teristic keel  of  Southern  senega  is  rarely  present  and  the  contour  of 
the  root  is  much  less  contorted.  The  color  ranges  from  the  light 
yellow  of  young  roots  to  the  dark  brown  of  the  older  ones. 
Near  the  head,  prominent  annulations  are  present.  These  con- 
tinue with  enlarging  intervals  of  space  for  some  distance  down  the 
root.  Lengthwise  the  whole  root  is  deeply  wrinkled,  while  frequent 
warty  enlargements  occur.  The  branches  are  not  numerous.  In 
considerable  quantities,  the  odor  of  gaultheria  is  quite  prominent,  as 
it  is  also  in  a  cold  aqueous  infusion.    The  taste  is  very  acrid. 
Under  the  microscope  the  wood  is  found  to  be  cylindrical,  and 
the  ingrowth  of  the  inner  bark  on  one  side  which  produces  the  keel 
of  the  Southern  variety  is  not  apparent  in  a  majority  of  cases. 
The  wood  is  whitish,  ligneous  and  occupies  about  y  of  the  diameter 
of  the  root. 
A  sample  of  the  drug  was  handed  to  Mr.  McClung,  one  of  the 
