Ethnobotany of the Meskwaki Indians / by Huron H. Smith.

1928]

SMITH, ETHNOBOTANY OF THE MESKWAKI.

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then places that part of the stick under the snake's mouth. It is said
that the medicine renders the snake insensible to danger, and in this
state, it is easily caught.3a Among the white men, it was formerly used
in cases of hydrophobia and in cases of atonic dyspepsia.
Small Skull Cap (Scutellaria parvula Mx.). The Meskwaki have
a name for this plant but the informant did not know what it was.
It is used by them in the treatment of flux. While Scutellaria is not
an official drug, it has been recommended in a variety of diseases, such
as epilepsy, chorea, nervous exhaustion, intermittent fever, incontinence
of urine, etc.
Rough Hedge Nettle (Stachys tenuifolia var. aspera (Mx.) Fernald), "wisakipfiki" [tobacco like] (M) and "sema a'sipfikfik" (P P).
The Meskwaki use the leaves of this to make a tea to cure a bad cold,
but McIntosh does not use it unless he wants the patient to vomit. It
is not an official drug and is only of interest to the white man for its
volatile oil.
LEGUMINOSAE (BEAN FAMILY)
The bean family is well represented at Tama and the Meskwaki
make greater use of the different kinds of beans than any other Indians
so far studied by the author.
Lead Plant (Amorpha canescens Pursh.), "kisimitiye'on" and
"kisimitia'on" (M), evidently the same word, yet pronounced slightly
differently by different members of the same tribe. Its meaning is:
something to wipe the buttocks." Potawatomi name is "kasimita'on,"
and it has the same meaning. The leaves of this species are made into
a tea to kill pinworms, or in fact any worms in the intestines. The
leaves are also steeped to furnish a liquid to cure eczema. The Meskwaki knew the name of this plant, but did not know the use, except as
above indicated. No white man's use is known.
Bastard Indigo (Amorpha fruticosa L.). Neither tribe knew the
name of this but knew that it was used in medicine, though they did
not know how.
"'It is quite reminiscent of the old bird catching remedy-salt on the tail.
One wonders what a rattler will be doing while the user is putting this under
his mouth. However, after seeing some of the west coast and desert Indians
catch lizards and snakes, we are not prepared to say that this will not work,
for we have seen some curious captures.