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Show Ex. Doc. No. 41. 425 form e d in l he river ; h u t om(' whites p a. sin g by h a <1 d e ~troy c tl hi trap, and to-day he has be n romplaining bitterly about their conduct. He is the . amc man whose portrait I look last year, and is conspicuous on account of his wearing his hair twistrcl in the form of a large horn, that proj ct from the rentrr of hi· forehead. Ye terday I met with Captain Walker again; in my con v r ·ation he mentioned that the box-elder, "nccr ncgundo, furni h<'s a sap which is highly sacchari tH', antl when the hunter · are in want of sugar, they collect some of the sap of this tree, and by boiling it form a yery good molas es, which answer a. an excellent sub li-tutSce. pt em1Jer 2.-I had been for some tim" past en<leavoring to obtain • pecim ns of the mal< rials that the Indians usc to produce those brilliant hues they give to the porcupine quilL, with which they garni ·h their ornamental trappings. This morning" 01<1 Bark" brought tnP what I wished, the sumach berrie , with which that bright red is produce<l, and th<· moss from the pine tree, that yi •l<ls a ye11ow tint. Th · green dye is made from copperas. What looks like black porcupin · quills, arr either portion of the quills of birds, or the radiclcs of the "typhi" latifolia," which they flatten by prcssin~ between weights. Old Bark had a piece of pitch in hi hand. ; I a.lrc<l him what he intcnde<l to do with it; he ans\verc<l Inl' that omc of his horse . had tender hoof , and that h intended to pre. s the pit<'h into the sole of the foot, when, after pa sin[< a hot stone oYer the pitrh, it would remain an<l protect th hoof. During the day, one of the Indians brought me a specimen of the" a tragal u " and to1 d me t haL i l was ~o poi ·onous as to kil1 any animal that might eat of it. Thinking it wou1tl b a good opportunity to learn the uses of the plants I had collected, and medic a 1• properties w i lh which the ex per icn c c of t h c lH d ians invested them, I therefor· produced my specimens, and .with the assistance of Mr.~ mith, who trade· for the fort, and who speaks the Cl1eynne langtt<tge bettrr, pcrhap,, than any other white person in the country, I made notes of every thing that my red fri<·nds communicated. " N ah- moust ," of wl1om I ha \ e already spoken, possesses a ecreL an tid otc for the poison of the " she-._ he-n ole" or rattlesnake, an<l my fri<'nds h<•n' all ~late that hr frequently bringR one of the c snakes in l o t h c f o r t in h i s ; nn s. W hi 1st h c is lt an dling it, he is incc. sowtly chewing the root of some plant, an<l >pittl~ g the juict· about in all llircctions, and the ~make appears to cower w1ll1 fear. JTp is also said to cure any one who may be bitten, by chewin~ the root and spitting the juice upon the wound. 'otnc of tlte whttes who were present "ce<ne<l to think that he marlvertcntly 1et shp hi· secret, on ceing one of my plants; this pl~\nl proves 10 be a coreopsis. At Beut's fort, tl1c usual remedy 1s achohol. Th~y say that if they can make a pt.•rson drunk, oon aftt>r the l)lte, he lS safe. Thi· evening l again harl tn) "itter of yc ·lerday "Ah-ma-uah-ro," cate<l upon the billiard table. I made a profile sketch, wluch hawed off all his ornaments to the greale ·t advantag<'. vVhen I l1ad fi n·ts hed he seemed more deligh tctl than ever; and h e po·m t c d of ue of LSt y - us ng ' 0- ter ly 1e, he e. 30 ccal ts ly .11 ~d 11 m 1e :;e at :h . l- .•, s |
