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diff --git a/old/69985-0.txt b/old/69985-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 7794e6a..0000000 --- a/old/69985-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1692 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Ilex cassine, the Aboriginal North -American tea, by E. M. Hale - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Ilex cassine, the Aboriginal North American tea - Its history, distribution, and use among the Native American - Indians - -Author: E. M. Hale - -Release Date: February 8, 2023 [eBook #69985] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Charlene Taylor, Krista Zaleski and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was - produced from images generously made available by The - Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ILEX CASSINE, THE ABORIGINAL -NORTH AMERICAN TEA *** - - - -[Illustration: - - Bulletin 14, Division of Botany, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. - PLATE 1. - - ILEX CASSINE.] - - - - - U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. - - DIVISION OF BOTANY. - - BULLETIN No. 14. - - ILEX CASSINE, - - THE ABORIGINAL NORTH AMERICAN TEA. - - ITS HISTORY, DISTRIBUTION, AND USE AMONG THE - NATIVE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. - - BY - - E. M. HALE, M. D. - - PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE. - - WASHINGTON: - GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. - 1891. - - - - -LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. - - - SEPTEMBER, 1891. - -SIR: I have the honor of presenting for publication the accompanying -paper on the history, distribution, and uses of Ilex cassine, commonly -called youpon, a shrub belonging to the southern and southeastern parts -of the United States. Dr. E. M. Hale, the author, has made a thorough -examination of the scattered information which is to be found on the -subject. - -In my opinion it is well to publish this paper, in order to perpetuate -in a concise form the recorded facts concerning the economic and -ceremonial uses of this plant among the North American Indians. The -leaves are now used to a limited extent among the Southern people, and -possibly their use may be somewhat extended. - -It seems that the detection of caffeine in the leaves of this Ilex -rests upon the chemical analysis of Professor Venable, of the -University of North Carolina. I am not aware that any analysis has been -made by others. - - GEO. VASEY, - _Botanist_. - - HON. J. M. RUSK, - _Secretary of Agriculture_. - - - - -PREFACE. - - -Several years ago, when reading that delightful narrative, by the -younger Bartram, relating to his travels in Florida, I was much -interested in his mention of the Ilex cassine, and the decoction -made from it, called the “black drink,” in use among the Creeks and -other aborigines of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. My curiosity led -me to investigate the subject, and I was surprised to find so little -written about it. I have consulted all the works in which there are any -allusions to the Ilex cassine, and the results of this research are -embodied in this bulletin. - -I must acknowledge the kind assistance and encouragement of many -eminent men; among whom are Dr. George Vasey, Dr. A. W. Chapman, Albert -S. Gatschet, Dr. Daniel G. Brinton, Horatio Hale, and Prof. F. P. -Venable. - -I hope this imperfect paper may stimulate others to further -investigations of this indigenous analogue of tea and coffee. - - EDWIN M. HALE, M. D. - - No. 2200 _Prairie Avenue, Chicago, Ill._ - - - - -ILEX CASSINE, THE ABORIGINAL NORTH AMERICAN TEA. - -EDWIN M. HALE, M. D., _Chicago_. - - -There is a shrub or small tree, a species of holly (Ilex cassine), -growing in the Southern States along the seacoast, not extending inland -more than 20 or 30 miles, from Virginia to the Rio Grande. Its leaves -and tender branches were once used by the aboriginal tribes of the -United States in the same manner as the Chinese use tea and the South -Americans use maté. But while the use of _Thea sinensis_ and _Ilex -paraguayensis_ still survives, the use of the shrub above mentioned has -been almost abandoned by our native Indians and by the white people who -once partially adopted it as a beverage. - -The reason for its disuse is hard to discover, for, in common with the -tea and maté, it contains caffeine, or a similar alkaloid. The object -of this paper is to examine its history, to suggest its restoration to -a place among the stimulant beverages, and inquire into its possible -economic value. - -I have been able to trace its use as a beverage back to the legendary -migration of the Creeks from their supposed far western home to the -seacoast of the Carolinas. Whether it was used by the prehistoric -mound-builders is a question which may not at present be solved. -But some archæologist of the future may find in the remains of the -mound-builders or their predecessors proof of its use among them.[1] - - -BOTANY OF CASSINE. - -Before tracing the history of the cassine from the earliest historic -period down to the present, a few botanical notes relating to the genus -Ilex are appropriate. According to Bentham and Hooker in their “Genera -Plantarum,” this genus contains about 145 species, mostly natives of -Central and South America, but some belonging to the southern portions -of North America; others to the central and tropical parts of the -Eastern Hemisphere; and a few to Africa and Australia.[2] - -The question whether any other species than the I. cassine contains an -alkaloid analogous to caffeine has not been investigated. It is also -a question whether any of the allied species, such as those of the -sections _Prinoides_ and _Prinos_, contain a constituent which would -enable them to be a substitute for the cassine.[3] Chapman, in his -“Botany of the Southern States,” enumerates three principal species -of the genus Ilex, and one variety, namely, _Ilex opaca_ (common -holly), _Ilex dahoon_ (dahoon holly), and _Ilex cassine_, sometimes -called “Ilex vomitorea.” The one variety is the _Ilex myrtifolia_ -(myrtle-leaved holly). He mentions three species of the section -_Prinoides_ and four of _Prinos_. The habitat of all the species, -except the I. cassine, extends from the seacoast inland in swamps, -along river courses, and low pine lands. In fact, no mention is made of -their occupying the light sandy soil close to the seacoast. - -Rev. E. C. Reinke writes from Fairfield, Island of Jamaica, that there -are four species of Ilex on the island, viz, _I. obcordata_, _I. -occidentalis_, _I. diœca_, _I. montana_. Most of these are found on -the Blue Mountains, 5,000 feet above the level of the sea. He could -not ascertain that any use whatever was made of the leaves or berries -either on the island or anywhere in the West Indies. As the aborigines -of the West India Islands are all extinct, or nearly so, it is not -strange that no present use is made of the Ilex. It is probable that -none of these species contains any such active constituents as the _I. -cassine_. - -Dr. Chapman, in a recent letter, says: “The I. cassine grows along the -whole east and west coast of Florida, and on the shores of the Gulf and -in Texas, if the _Orcophiles_ (Scheele) is the same, as is possible.” - -John M. Coulter (Contributions U. S. National Herbarium, vol. II, No. -1, Texas) mentions that the _Ilex cassine_ yaupon “extends into Texas -to the valley of the Colorado.” This would imply that it is not found -farther westward than the mouth of the Colorado River, which is at -Matagorda Bay, about halfway from the Louisiana line to the Rio Grande. - -In a recent pamphlet on the extinct coast Indians of Texas, the -_Karankawas_, Gatschet mentions their use of the cassine. They gathered -it “in the woods, _not_ on the coast line,” but probably not beyond the -tide water of the rivers. These Indians lived on the coast from the -Colorado River to the Rio Grande, so it must be found as far as the -latter river. Possibly its habitat extends down along the Mexican coast. - -P. M. Hale, in his “Woods of North Carolina,” describes several species -of holly. Of Ilex cassine he writes as follows: - - Yopon (_I. Cassine_ Linn.).--An elegant shrub, 10 to 15 feet - high, but sometimes rising into a small tree of 20 to 25 - feet. Its native place is near to salt water, and it is found - from Virginia southward, but never far in the interior. Its - dark evergreen leaves and bright red berries make it very - ornamental in yards and shrubberies. The leaves are small, - ½ to 1 inch long, very smooth, and evenly scalloped on the - edges, with small rounded teeth. In some sections of the - lower district, especially in the region of the Dismal Swamp, - these are annually dried and used for tea, which is, however, - oppressively sudorific--at least, to one not accustomed to - it. The maté, or Paraguay tea, of South America, is of the - same genus as this, but a very different species. Our yopon is - the article from which the famous black drink of the Southern - Indians was made. At a certain time of the year they come - down in droves from a distance of some hundred miles to the - coast for the leaves of this tree. They make a fire on the - ground, and putting a great kettle of water on it, they throw - in a large quantity of these leaves, and, seating themselves - around the fire, from a bowl that holds about a pint they - begin drinking large draughts, which in a short time occasion - them to vomit freely and easily. Thus they continue drinking - and vomiting for the space of 2 or 3 days, until they have - sufficiently cleansed themselves; and then, every one taking a - bundle of the tree, they all retire to their habitations. - - -ETYMOLOGY OF THE NAMES “DAHOON,” “CASSINE,” AND “YOUPON.” - -I have been at some pains to ascertain the correct etymology of these -names. - -Dr. Albert S. Gatschet, of the Bureau of Ethnology, at Washington, D. -C., one of the best authorities, writes me as follows: - - According to Lawson there are two or three sorts of youpon. The - Indians of South Carolina call it “cassina.” It grows on sand - banks and islands near the sea. (Used by the North Carolina - Indians for tea.) It is written _cassena_. From Mutter it - would appear that the cassine are chiefly African plants, nor - do I think that the name is Indian. I find no word in Katawba - corresponding to the word “dahoon.” I saw here in the Botanical - Garden a shrub from North Carolina called _Ilex vomitoria_, - undoubtedly the _Assi shrub_. “Assi” is only an abbreviation - of _Assi lupub’ski_ (Creek), “small leaves.” The Shetimasha - term was _no’ut_ (Ch. C. Jones). Tomochichi calls it “foskey,” - probably Yamassi, a dialect of the Creek. - -W. R. Gerard, of New York, an eminent philologist, writes me: - - The word _cassine_ belongs to the language of the now extinct - Timucua Indians of Florida. Little is known of the language - of those people. It has seemed to me that they borrowed the - word from the Creeks, who call Ilex cassine _ussie_, leaf tea. - Cassine (c-assi-ne) would seem to be this word with a guttural - prefix and a suffix _ne_ of unknown meaning. I can not refer - the word _dahoon_ to any Indian language. I believe it to be - of French origin, “_houx d’Ahon_.” _Youpon_ is Indian, and - seems to belong to the language of the long-extinct Waccoons of - North Carolina. The word is Catawba, for in Catawba _yáp_, also - pronounced “yop,” means wood, stick, and tree. - -Prof. Lester F. Ward, botanist of the U. S. National Museum, writes: - - Linné first used “cassine” as a generic name, and applied it to - a South African plant (Gen. Ed. Nova: No. 371, 1753, and his - Systema Naturæ, ed. 13th, Lipsiæ, 1791). Thomas Walter used - it first as a specific name for Ilex (Flor.-Carolina, Loud., - 1778). None of these two refer to the origin of the word. - Thomas Walter used dahoon as a specific name; Linné copied from - him and spells it “duhoon.” - -Probably Gerard’s explanation of the etymology of those three words -is correct, for at the time Walter and Linné wrote the Indian names -of plants had been carried abroad by botanists and travelers in this -country. - - -CHEMISTRY OF CASSINE. - -ANALYSIS OF THE LEAVES OF ILEX CASSINE. - -I quote the following from a paper by F. P. Venable, PH.D., University -of North Carolina: - - Having on hand a small sample of the leaves procured from New - Berue during the winter of 1883, it seemed desirable to make an - examination of them, to decide, if possible, the presence of - any alkaloid or other principle which would make the decoction - useful as a beverage. The usual treatment with magnesium oxide, - exhaustion with water, separation by means of chloroform, and - subsequent purification was adhered to, resulting in obtaining - a small amount of a white substance slightly soluble in water, - more so in alcohol, and easily soluble in chloroform, which - gave distinctly the tests for caffeine, especially the murexide - reaction, and very closely resembled a specimen of pure - caffeine from Powers & Weightman. - - This caffeine formed .32 per cent. of the dried leaves. Later - on, in May, a much larger supply of the same leaves was - gotten from the neighborhood of Wilmington. A more thorough - examination of them was then made, with the following results: - - Water in air-dried samples 13.19 - Extracted by water 26.55 - Tannin 7.39 - Caffeine .27 - Nitrogen (on combustion) .73 - Ash 5.75 - - Maté or Brazilian holly (_Ilex paraguayensis_) belongs to the - same genus. Its ash analysis, as made by Señor Arate, is given - in the second column. The plant grows wild in Brazil, and is - very largely used by the South Americans. It has, according to - Peckolt (Pharm. J. Trans. (3) 14, 121-124; Abstract Jour. Chem. - Soc., 1884, 479), been planted, and seems to succeed well, - in the Cape of Good Hope, Spain, and Portugal. It is stated - that six different species of Ilex are used in the preparation - of this tea. Peckolt gives, in his analysis of the air-dried - leaves, the percentage of caffeine as 0.639. The average - percentage of analyses by different authors is about 1.3. I - can find mention of only one other Ilex used as a substitute - for tea. The analysis of this by Ryland and Brown is quoted - in Blythe’s “Composition and Analysis of Foods” (p. 343). It - is called the Ilex cassiva, is said to be used as a tea in - Virginia, and the percentage of caffeine is given as 0.12. - This is probably the same thing as the yopon, the analysis of - which is given above, and the “cassiva” may be a misprint for - “cassine.” - -In a more recent paper Professor Venable reports additional analyses, -which are interesting. He says: - - Some years ago an analysis of the leaves of Ilex cassine - was given in this journal.[4] In this analysis appeared the - interesting fact that these leaves contained a small percentage - of caffeine. During the winter of 1885-’86, at the request - of some medical friends whose attention was drawn to the - analysis, a more thorough examination was undertaken, not only - of the leaves, but of the berries. It was thought advisable, - at the same time, to examine the leaves and fruit of other - representatives of the Ilex family in this State--_Ilex opaca_ - and _Ilex dahoon_. This was primarily a search after alkaloids, - and not intended as a complete chemical examination. As no - alkaloids were found other than the caffeine already mentioned, - no account of the work was published, and the results have been - hidden away in my note books ever since. Thinking, however, - that even negative results are often of some value and that the - partial analysis might be of aid to others, I offer this paper - for publication in the journal of the society. - - Besides the _I. opaca_, _I. dahoon_, _I. cassine_, according - to Curtis there are in this State five additional species - of this genus: _I. decidua_ Walt. _I. ambigua_ Chapman; _I. - verticillata_ Gray, _I. glabra_ Gray, _I. coriacea_ Chapm, but - the examination was not extended to them. In searching for the - alkaloids the directions of Dragendorff were first followed. - The leaves (or crushed berries) were first digested at 40°-50° - with dilute sulphuric acid. This extract was evaporated to - a sirupy consistence, the residue mixed with three or four - times its bulk of alcohol, filtered after 24 hours’ standing, - and washed with alcohol. The alcohol was then distilled off - from the filtrate, the watery residue was diluted with water - and filtered. Petroleum-ether, benzol, and chloroform were - successively used to extract the alkaloidal principles, if any - were present in the acid liquid. Then, after rendering alkaline - with ammonia, the liquid was again extracted with the solvents - mentioned. - - As, even with water but slightly acidified with sulphuric acid, - some risk of the destruction or change of the alkaloids was run - during the long evaporation, a second method was made use of, - as follows: - - The leaves were digested for 10 hours with 70 per cent alcohol, - the alcohol distilled off, and the residue treated with lead - acetate and soda. The excess of lead was removed by means of - sulphuretted hydrogen and the filtrate from this evaporated - to a thin sirup. This was then treated with strong alcohol, - filtered, and the excess of alcohol distilled off. Bismuth, - potassium-iodide, and sulphuric acid were next used to - precipitate any alkaloid present. The presence of albuminoid - matter rendered it necessary to decompose this by means of - soda, neutralized with dilute sulphuric acid, and reprecipitate - with mercuric chloride. The solutions to which mercuric - chloride had been added were allowed to stand several days. The - results may be tabulated as follows: - - I. opaca, leaves No alkaloid. - I. opaca, berries No alkaloid. - I. dahoon, leaves No alkaloid. - I. dahoon, berries No alkaloid. - I. cassine, leaves Caffeine. - I. cassine, berries No alkaloid. - - I regard these analyses as conclusive, at least, of the absence - of the known, well characterized alkaloids. It is, of course, - possible that other methods might reveal the presence of some - of the more elusive ones. - -It is interesting to note in this connection that of the five species -in the genus _Thea_, only one contains _theine_; of the genus -_Cinchonaceæ_, to which coffee belongs, only one contains _caffeine_; -while of the many species of Ilex in South America, only three, so far -as known, contain caffeine. Chemists assert that theine and caffeine -are identical, but physicians know that they differ widely in their -physiological and therapeutic effects. - - -PHYSIOLOGICAL AND TOXIC EFFECTS. - -All of the hollies possess decided physiological action on the human -system. _Ilex opaca_ once had a large reputation in Europe and England -in rheumatism, gout, cutaneous diseases, and intermittent fever. The -young leaves and branches, in France, are fed to cattle, and said to -increase the quantity and quality of the milk of cows. - -Griffith (Medical Botany, 1847) writes of the _cassine_: - - Another native species, the _I. vomitoria_, of Aiton, appears - to be endowed with still more powerful properties. This is a - native of the most southern parts of the country, where it is - held in high esteem amongst the Indians, who considered it - a holy plant, and employed it in their religious ceremonies - and councils, to purge their bodies from all impurities. They - called both this and the _I. dahoon_ by the name of “cassena.” - The leaves, which were the part employed, were collected - with great care, and formed an article of trade among the - tribes. Dr. B. S. Barton (“Collections,” 38) says of it: “It - is thought to be one of the most powerful diuretics hitherto - discovered. It is held in great esteem among the Southern - Indians; they toast the leaves and make a decoction of them. It - is the men alone that are permitted to drink this decoction, - which is called ‘black drink.’” These leaves are inodorous, - and have a somewhat aromatic, acrid taste. In small doses - the decoction acts as a powerful diuretic, and in large ones - produces discharges from the stomach, bowels, and bladder. In - North Carolina, on the seacoast, the inhabitants modify the - deleterious action of their brackish water by boiling a few - leaves of cassena with it. (The African kola nut, powdered - and added to foul water, is said to purify it. It contains - theobromine, an alkaloid analogous to caffeine.) - -Rafinesque (Medical Botany, 1828) calls it “_Cassine Peragua_” -(Schoeph), or _Ilex vomitoria_ (Aiton), and says: - - This by some is said to be the true cassine of the Florida - tribes. But _C. aumlosa_ (Rafinesque), _Ilex cassine_, and - _dahoon_, _Viburnum cassinoides_, are all equally so named - and used. The leaves are bitterish, sudorific, purgative, - and diuretic; vomitive and purgative in strong decoctions, - called “black drink.” Said to be useful in gravel, nephritis, - diabetes, fevers, and small-pox. - -King (Dispensatory, 1864) says: “The _Ilex vomitoria_, or ‘South Sea -tea,’ is the cassine of the Indians. A few leaves of this plant lessen -the injurious influence of saline water.” - -It has never been made officinal in any pharmacopœia in this country or -Europe. - - -METHOD OF PREPARATION. - -The leaves and young tender branches were carefully picked. The fresh -cassine was gathered at the time of harvest or maturity of the fruits, -which was their New Year. The New Year began with the “busk,” which was -celebrated in July or August, “at the beginning of the first new moon -in which their corn became full eared,” says Adair. The leaves were -dried in the sun or shade and afterwards roasted. The process seems to -have been similar to that adopted for tea and coffee. The roasting was -done in ovens, remains of which are found in the Cherokee region; or in -large shallow pots or pans of earthenware, such as the Indian tribes -made. - -These roasted leaves were kept in baskets in a dry place until needed -for use. Laudonnière (1564) writes of being presented with baskets -filled with leaves of the cassine. A description of the method of -making the decoction, or “black drink,” will be found in Dickenson’s -and Bartram’s narrations, and in other quotations below. A special -feature was the practice of pouring the liquid from one bowl to another -until a deep froth appeared. Whether this was supposed to increase the -potency of the beverage, or was a fashion, like the Spanish method of -whipping chocolate to a foam, is a question; probably the latter is the -true explanation. The Japanese treat their infusions of tea in the same -manner. - -_Was it an article of commerce?_--There seems to be no doubt on this -subject. Allusions to the drinking of the “black drink” are found, -indicating its use among tribes residing at a long distance from the -habitat of the cassine. - -Lawson (1709) writes of its being “collected by the savages of the -coast of Carolina, and from them sent to the westward Indians and sold -at a considerable price.” Dr. Porcher, author of the “Resources of the -South,” says: “The Creek Indians used a decoction of the cassine at the -opening of their councils, _sending to the seacoast for a supply_,” and -adds that the coast Indians sent it to the far west tribes. How far its -use extended northward I can not ascertain. From some allusions of the -early French writers I think it was used by the Natchez, and that it -was sent up the Mississippi from the coast of Louisiana. The Indians of -Wisconsin, Illinois, and westward, used a decoction of willow leaves -as a beverage, but I can not find that they used it in ceremonials, or -that it was looked upon with the same reverence. - -It appears from the accounts of various early writers that there were -several methods of preparing the black drink. - -(1) The decoction made of the fresh leaves and young branches. - -(2) A decoction of the dried and roasted leaves. It is probable that -the leaves during roasting developed new qualities, as the roasting of -coffee brings out the aromatic odor due to a volatile oil. - -(3) A decoction which was allowed to ferment. In this condition -it became an alcoholic beverage, capable of causing considerable -intoxication, similar to that caused by beer or ale. - -McCullough, in his “Researches,” seems to be in error when he asserts: - - None of the people of Florida appear to have used intoxicating - drinks; but they made a hot tea from the leaves of the cassine - (_Prinos glaber_), which they poured backwards and forwards - until it frothed. This tea may have been slightly stimulant, - but it seems to have had no other than a diaphoretic or - diuretic effect. - -This seems to have been the belief of all the early writers, but I -have always doubted it, for if true the North American Indians would -stand about alone among races above the lower grade of savagery in -their ignorance of alcoholic beverages. The Mexican Indians (Aztecs), -the tribes of the Pacific coast and of Central America, all had -intoxicating drinks. I admit that there is no proof that the Indians of -Canada and of the States north of the Ohio and the Potomac possessed -intoxicating beverages, but there is ample proof that the southern -Indians brewed from cassine a strong beer. - -In my experiments I find that an infusion of cassine leaves with -boiling water, after standing till cool, gives a scarcely perceptible -taste and slight odor. This infusion, if boiled for half an hour, -gives a dark liquid like very strong black tea, of an aromatic odor, -_sui generis_, not like coffee, but more like Oolong tea without -its pleasant rose odor. The taste is like that of an inferior black -tea, quite bitter, but with little delicacy of flavor. It is not an -unpleasant beverage, and I can imagine that the palate would become -accustomed to it, as to maté, tea, or coffee. - - -HISTORY. - -The early history of the use of _Ilex cassine_ as a beverage is lost -in the darkness of prehistoric ages. Probably the same can be said of -tea, coffee, maté, and cocoa. But it is a singular fact that while all -the latter beverages still continue to be used in the countries where -they are indigenous, as well as all over the world, the use of cassine -is nearly extinct, as it is now only used occasionally in certain -important religious ceremonies by the remnants of the Creek Indians, -and will disappear with them unless rescued by chemical research and -its use revived for hygienic or economical reasons. - -The very earliest mention of cassine was made in the “Migration Legend -of the Creek Indians.” This curious legend has been lately published -by A. S. Gatschet, of the Bureau of Ethnology, Washington, D. C., with -text, glossaries, etc. In his preface he says: “The migration legend -of the Kosihta tribe is one of the most fascinating accounts that has -reached us from remote antiquity and is mythical in its first part.” -This tribe was a part of the Creek Nation. Its chief, Tchikilli, read -the legend before Governor Oglethorpe and many British authorities -in 1735. It was written in red and black characters (pictographic -signs) on a buffalo skin. This was sent to London, and was lost there; -but fortunately a text of the narrative was preserved in a German -translation. - -It begins by narrating that the tribe started from a region variously -supposed to be west of the Mississippi, or in southern Illinois, or -southern Ohio. They traveled west, then south, then southeast, until -they reached eastern Georgia. Here they met a tribe, called in the -legend, the “Palachucolas,” who gave them “black drink” as a sign of -friendship, and said to them, “Our hearts are white, and yours must be -white, and you must lay down the bloody tomahawk, and show your bodies -as a proof that they shall be white.” - -This was evidently the first knowledge the Kosihta tribe had of this -beverage. - -The next mention is by Cabeza de Vaca, who found the Cutalchiches west -of the mouth of the Mississippi drinking a tea from the leaves of a -tree like an oak. Another narrative says, “Leaves like a plum leaf.” It -was drunk by men only. - -Jean Ribault, the French explorer of east Florida (1666), mentions -his first experience in tasting the beverage: “Leur boisson qu’ils -appellent _cassinet_ se fait d’herbes composées, et m’a semblé de telle -couleur que la cervoyce de ce pays; j’en ay gousté et ne l’ay point -trouvé fort estrange.” (Their drink, which they call _cassinet_, is -made of compounded herbs, and seemed to me about the color of French -beer. I tasted it and did not find it at all unpleasant.) - -Gatschet, in commenting on the mention of cassine in the legend, says: - - Black drink was prepared from the small and narrow leaves - and the tender shoots of the shrub Ilex cassine, which grows - spontaneously as far north as the thirty-seventh degree of - latitude. The white people of the Carolinas prepared from it a - sort of tea. The botanical name formerly given to the plant was - _Cassine yaupon_, yaupon being a derivative from the Katawba - term _yáp_ or _yop_ plant, tree, or shrub. The name cassine was - first applied, as Prof. Lester F. Ward informs me, as a generic - name to a South African plant by Linné, and as a species name - for an Ilex by Thomas Walter. (Dahoon is the name of another - Ilex; Walter spells it duhoon, others _houx d’ahon_.) The - plant and decoction are called by the Sketimasha, _nu’ut_; by - the Creeks, Assi luputski, _small leaves_, which is generally - abbreviated to Assi leaves. The term black drink originated - among the British traders. In Ch. C. Jones’s “Tomochichi,” p. - 118, it is called “foskey.” - - The Creeks made use of the Assi as we use fermented liquors, to - promote conviviality; but it entered also into their ceremonies - of religion and warfare. But the black drink potion was not - always prepared in the same strength. The ancient Creeks had - three modes of preparing it; the three potions resulting from - them widely differed in strength according to the uses for - which they were intended. Small quantities of the young leaf, - parched in a pot until it assumed a brown color, produced a - liquor acting as an exhilarant and gentle diuretic; it was - drank by the people at the busk, and by the “elders” when - assembled in council or when discussing every-day topics. After - the potion had been poured from one pan or cooler into another, - it begins to ferment and to produce a white froth, from which - it is styled also _white drink_, the term “white” alluding - simultaneously to its purifying qualities. To make the liquid - stronger a larger infusion of the parched leaves is required; - it then assumes a dark hue, nearly as black as molasses, and - acts as a powerful intoxicating stimulant. A still larger - addition of the cassine leaf produces a strong narcotic, which - was, as mentioned previously, used by conjurors to evoke - prophetic ecstacies accompanied by dreams. The black drink of - the weaker sort acts as an emetic,[5] and was used as such at - the annual busk and on other occasions extensively; this gave - to the liquid its renown as a bodily and moral purificator, - for primitive people are prone to regard agencies which act - with mysterious force upon the bodily constitution as symbols - for abstract spiritual or religious ideas. This drink being - served at all games and festivals, councils, and conclusions of - treaties, special ministrants, the Hinihalgi, were appointed - for its manufacture by the miko of the town. On festive days - they prepared it with peculiar ceremonies and served it to all - who attended the celebration in the square. The singing of the - yahola, or black-drink note, was, and is still, a peculiar rite - connected with the drinking of this favorite liquid. - -Narvaez writes (1536) of the Indians on the coast of Texas: - - They have a sort of drink made of the leaves of a tree like - the mulberry tree, which they boil very well and work it up - into a froth, and so drink it as hot as ever they can suffer - it to come into their mouths. All the while this is over the - fire the vessel must be close shut; and if by chance it should - be uncovered, and a woman should come by in the meantime, they - would drink none of it, but fling it all away. Likewise, while - they stand cooling it and pouring it out to drink, a woman must - not stir or move, or they would throw it all to the ground, - or spew it up again if they had drunk any; she herself would - incur the bastinado. All this time they continue bawling out - aloud, “Who will drink?” and when the women begin to hear these - exclamations, then it is that they settle themselves in their - postures, and were they sitting or standing, though it were a - tiptoe, or one leg up and the other down, they must continue so - till the men have cooled their liquor and made it fit to drink. - The reason of this is every whit as foolish and unreasonable - as the custom itself, for they say should not the women stand - still when they hear their voice some bad thing would be - conveyed into the liquor, which they say would make them die; - and if such a generation of asses were all poisoned it were no - great loss to the world. - -In the narrative of René Laudonnière (1564) he says of his expedition -from Fort Caroline, at the mouth of the river of May (St. Johns), -Florida: - - I departed with fifty of my best soldiers in two barks, and - arrived in the dominion of Utina, distant from our fort about - 40 or 50 leagues (125 miles); and going ashore we drew near his - village, situated 6 leagues from the river, where we took him - prisoner. They (his tribe) therefore brought me fish in their - little boats, and their meal of mast (maize); they also made - their drink which they call cassine, which they sent to Utina - and me. - -The map in Le Moine’s Narrative shows the residence of Utina to be west -of the river St. Johns, and in such a position that it is possible that -Laudonnière went up the St. Johns to the Ochlawaha River, then up that -river to Orange Creek and to Orange Lake, which is of crescent shape, -just as it is figured on Le Moine’s map. The cassine which Utina’s men -sent to him must have been obtained from the east or west coast, unless -it was the leaves of the _Ilex dahoon_, which grows in the interior of -Florida. - -Le Moine, in his “Narrative,” illustrated with drawings and written in -1504, has the following mention of cassine: - - I sent a second expedition, with two shallops, having soldiers - and sailors aboard, with a present to be given in my name to - the widow of a deceased chief named Hionacara, who lived about - 12 miles north of us. She received my men kindly, and loaded - both of these shallops, for me, with maize and nuts; and she - sent in addition some baskets of cassina leaves, of which they - make a drink. - -In another place he describes the proceedings of the original -Floridians in deliberating on important affairs; this description is -illustrated with a spirited drawing: - - The chief and his nobles are accustomed during certain days of - the year to meet early every morning for this express purpose - in a public place, in which a long bench is constructed, having - at the middle of it a projecting part laid with nine round - trunks of trees, for the chief’s seat. On this he sits by - himself for distinction sake; and the rest come to salute him, - one at a time, the oldest first, by lifting both hands twice - to the height of the head, and saying, “Ha, he, ya, ha, ha.” - To this the rest answer, “Ha, ha.” Each as he completes his - salutation, takes his seat on the bench. If any question of - importance is to be discussed the chief calls upon his lauas - (that is, his priests), and upon the elders, one at a time, to - deliver their opinions. They decide upon nothing until they - have held a number of councils over it, and they deliberate - very sagely before deciding. Meanwhile the chief orders the - women to boil some cassine; which is a drink prepared from - the leaves from a certain root and which they afterwards pass - through a strainer. - - The chief and his councillors being now seated in their places, - one stands before him, and spreading forth his hands wide - open, asks a blessing upon the chief and the others who are to - drink. Then the cup-bearer brings the hot drink in a capacious - shell, first to the chief, and then, as the chief directs, to - the rest in their order, in the same shell. They esteem this - drink so highly that no one is allowed to drink it in council - unless he has proved himself a brave warrior. Moreover, this - drink has the quality of at once throwing into a sweat whoever - drinks it. On this account those who can not keep it down, but - whose stomachs reject it, are not intrusted with any difficult - commission, or any military responsibility, being considered - unfit, for they often have to go three or four days without - food; but one who can drink this liquor can go for 24 hours - afterward without eating or drinking. In military expeditions - also, the only supplies which they carry consist of gourd - bottles or wooden vessels full of this drink. It strengthens - and nourishes the body, and yet does not fly to the head, as we - have observed on occasion of these feasts of theirs. - -In “The Karankawa Indians, the coast people of Texas,” by A. S. -Gatschet (Peabody Museum, 1891), Mrs. Oliver, who lived among that -tribe, says: - - At their principal festival, at the full moon, they assembled - in a tent, in the middle of which was a small fire upon which - boiled a very strong and black decoction made from the leaves - of the youpon tree. From time to time this was stirred with - a whisk, till the top was covered thickly with a yellowish - froth. This tea, contained in a vessel of clay of their own - manufacture, was handed around occasionally and all the Indians - drank freely. It was very bitter and said to be intoxicating, - but if so, it could only have been when drunk to great excess, - as it never seemed to produce any visible effect upon them. - -She further mentions a chant, which rose and fell in a melancholy -cadence, and occasionally all the Indians joined in the chorus, which -was ha-i-yah, ha-i-yah, hai, hai-yah, hai-yah. The first two words were -shouted slowly, then a succession of hai-yahs very rapidly uttered in -chromatic ascending and descending tones, ending in an abrupt hai! very -loud and far reaching. [Compare this with the Creek ceremonies--Adair.] - -Gatschet adds a note: “The Texans find it [yopon] in the woods, not on -the coast line, and drink a tea or decoction of it with sugar and milk. -The white people east of the Mississippi do the same.” - -In the narrative of the expedition of Dominique de Gourges (1567) to -Florida, to revenge the massacre of the Huguenots at St. Augustine, it -is narrated that when he was on a visit to the Chief Satoriona, whose -tribe lived in southern Georgia, near the seacoast-- - - Before leaving there the savages made a beverage, called by - them _cassine_, which they are accustomed to take at all times, - and when they go to fight in places where there is danger. This - beverage, made of a certain plant, and drunk quite hot, keeps - them from being hungry or thirsty for 24 hours. They presented - it first to Captain Gourges, who pretended to drink it, and - swallowed none of it; then Satoriona partook of it, and after - him all the others, each one according to his rank. - -This assertion that the drink prevents hunger and thirst reminds us of -the similar effect of coca leaves used by the Peruvian Indians, and now -an officinal medicine used for the same purpose. - -James Adair was an Englishman, who lived 40 years among the Southern -Indians (from 1735 to 1775), and whose “History of the American -Indians” is invaluable to the antiquarian. It was published in London, -A. D. 1775, and is a mine of valuable information. He thus describes -the cassine: - - There is a species of tea that grows spontaneously and in great - plenty along the seacoast of the two Carolinas, Georgia, and - east and west Florida, which we call _yopon_ or _casseena_. - The Indians transplant and are very fond of it. They drink it - on certain occasions, and in the most religious ceremonies, - with awful invocations; but the women and children and those - who have not accompanied their holy ark, _pro aris et focis_, - dare not even enter the sacred square when they are on their - religious duty. - -He says distinctly that the Indians “transplant” the shrub, which means -that they cultivated it, and in another place he uses a phrase which -implies that they had plantations near to their “temples,” or places -of worship. Travelers in Paraguay assert that, though attempts have -been made by Jesuits and others to cultivate plantations of maté, or -Paraguay tea, it has never succeeded under cultivation. Adair is the -only author who mentions this transplanting. - -In another place Adair says: - - The yopon, or casseena, is very plenty [in northwest Florida] - as far as the salt air reaches over the lowlands. It is well - tasted and very agreeable to those who accustom themselves - to use it. Instead of having any noxious quality, according - to what many have experienced of the East India insipid and - costly tea, it is friendly to the human system, enters into and - contests with the peccant humors, and expels them through the - various channels of nature. It perfectly cures a tremor of the - nerves. - -At the time Adair wrote the above, Chinese tea was a rare and expensive -luxury in England, and its use was opposed as intensely as was the use -of tobacco when it was first introduced. The power ascribed to cassine -of curing “tremors” is significant. Adair, in the same paragraph, -mentions another leaf used as a beverage, but his description is so -indefinite that I am not able to decide as to its botanical name. It -is certainly not the _Ceanothus_ (New Jersey tea). On referring to -Rafinesque, I think this “North America tea” may be the _Viburnum -cassinoides_, which, he says, is “also named cassine, and so used.” He -also says that “_V. levigatum_ and _V. prunifolium_ are used for the -tea in the South.” - -Adair further says: - - The North American tea has a pleasant aromatic taste and the - same salubrious property as the casseena. It is an evergreen - and grows on hills. The bushes are about a foot high, each - of them containing in winter a small, aromatic, red berry in - the middle of the stalk. Such I saw it about Christmas, when - hunting among the mountains, opposite to the lower Mohawk - Castle, in the time of deep snow. There is no visible decay of - the leaf, and October seems the proper time to gather it. - -He frequently refers to the “sacred uses” of the _black drink_, a -decoction of the cassine. I quote his most important allusions: - - There is a carved human statue of wood, to which, however, they - pay no religious homage. It belongs to the head war town of - the upper Muskogee country, and seems to have been originally - designed to perpetuate the memory of some distinguished hero - who deserved well of his country, for when this _casseena_, - or bitter black drink, is about to be drank in the Synedrion - they frequently on common occasions will bring it there and - honor it with the first conch shell full, by the hand of the - chief religious attendant, and then they return it to its - former place. It is observable that the same beloved waiter, or - holy attendant, and his coadjutant, equally observe the same - ceremony to every person of reputed merit of that quadrangular - place. - -(Adair seems to have written this book for the sole purpose of proving -that the Creeks were one of the lost tribes of Israel. He imagines that -in one of their religious festivals they invoke the name of Jehovah -under the appellation of Y-O-He-Wah.) - - When this beloved liquid, or supposed drink offering, is fully - prepared and fit to be drank, one of the magi brings two old, - consecrated, large conch shells out of a place appropriate for - containing the holy things, and delivers them into the hands of - two religious attendants, who, after a wild ceremony, fill them - with the supposed sanctifying bitter liquid; then they approach - near to the two central red and white seats (which the leaders - call the war and beloved cabins), stooping with their heads - and bodies pretty low. Advancing a few steps in this posture, - they carry their shells with both hands, at an instant, to - one of the most principal men on those red and white seats, - saying in a bass key, Yah, quite short; then in like manner - they retreat backwards, facing each other with their heads - bowing forward, their arms across rather below their breasts - and their eyes half shut. Thus in a very grave, solemn manner - they sing on a strong bass key the awful monosyllable O for - the space of a minute; then they strike up a majestic He on - the treble, with a very intent voice, as long as their breath - allows them, and on a bass key, with a bold voice and short - accent, they at last utter the strong, mysterious accent Wah, - and thus finish the great song, or most solemn invocation of - the divine essence. The notes together compose the sacred, - mysterious name, Y-O-He-Wah. The favored persons, whom the - religious attendants are invoking the divine essence to bless, - hold up their shells with both hands to their mouths during the - awful sacred invocation, and retain a mouthful of the drink to - spurt out upon the ground as a supposed drink offering to the - great self-existing giver, which they offer at the end of their - draft. If any of the traders who at those times are invited - to drink with them were to neglect this religious observance - they would reckon us as godless and wild as the wolves of - the desert. After the same manner the supposed holy waiters - proceed, from the highest to the lowest, in their Synedrion, - and when they have ended that awful solemnity they go round the - whole square, or quadrangular place, and collect tobacco from - the sanctified sinners, according to ancient customs: “For they - who serve at the altar must live by the altar.” - -In another place (page 106), in describing at great length one of the -religious festivals of the Creeks, Adair says: “He” [the Arch Magus, or -fire-maker,] “consecrates the button-snake root and casseena by pouring -a little of those two strong decoctions into the pretended holy fire. -He then purifies the red and white seats with those bitter liquids and -sits down.” - -This leads me to observe that the sacred “black drink” was not made -of the cassine alone, but sometimes of several bitter and aromatic -roots and leaves. Mrs. A. E. W. Robertson, in a letter from Okmulgee, -Ind. T., writes: “The black drink as now prepared is, I think, made -from three plants, the “Passa,” (Pasa) or Button Snakeroot (_Eryngium -aquaticum_), and the Mekko Hoyonee v. (_Micco-Hoyonvicha_), a small -willow, and the third I do not now recall.” It may be that cassine is -not now used at all by the Creeks in Indian Territory, for it does not -grow there, and if used would have to be imported from the Atlantic or -Gulf coast. - -Bossu, who traveled through the country now known as Louisiana, -Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia, in 1751, makes no mention of the -use of cassine by the Indians of the two first-named States (Natchez), -nor by the Indians along the Mississippi as far as he traveled, namely, -to the country of the Illinois. But in his travels eastward, when he -was in the neighborhood of Mobile, he writes: - - All the Allibamas drink the cassine.[6] This is the leaf of - a little tree which is very shady; the leaf is about the - size of a farthing, but dentated on its margins. They toast - these leaves as we do coffee, and drink the infusion of them - with great ceremony. When this diuretic potion is prepared, - the young people go to present it, in calabashes formed into - cups, to the chiefs and warriors, that is, the honorables, - and afterwards to the other warriors, according to their rank - and degree. The same order is preserved when they present the - calumet to smoke out of. Whilst you drink, they howl as loud as - they can and diminish the sound gradually. When you have ceased - drinking they take their breath, and when you drink again they - set up their howls again. These sorts of orgies sometimes - last from 6 in the morning to 2 o’clock in the afternoon. The - Indians find no inconvenience from this potion, to which they - attribute many virtues, and return it without any effort. The - women never drink of this beverage, which is only made for the - warriors. - -What Bossu says relating to the size of the leaves shows conclusively -that it was the leaf of the tree _Ilex cassine_, for one of the leaves -is just the diameter of the English farthing, a coin the size of the -old half cent of American currency. His phrase “return it without any -effort” is rather ambiguous, but it probably refers to the expulsion -of the decoction after having drenched their stomachs with it. I do -not think this was a true emesis, for there is no proof that it was an -emetic. The Indians doubtless swallowed such large quantities that it -was regurgitated without effort. - -Bossu’s only other reference to the cassine is when, in describing a -council between the French and the Allibamas, he writes: - - The Chevalier de Emville held a speech to the assembly in his - turn, and made the nation a present which the governor had sent - him. The Indians gave him the great calumet of peace to smoke; - all the soldiers and French inhabitants likewise smoked it, in - sign of a general amnesty. Afterwards they drank the cassine, - which is the potion of the white word, _i. e._, the potion of - oblivion and peace. - -Bernard Romans, “Natural History of Florida” (1775), page 94, writes as -follows: - - The _cassine_ is used by them (the Creeks) as a drink; they - barbecue or toast the leaves and make a strong decoction of - them; then men only are permitted to drink this liquor, to - which they attribute many virtues. It is made so strong as - to be _black_ and raise a froth. When they drink it at their - assemblies in the square they call it black drink. - -Romans states (p. 96) that it was the business of the women to “prepare -the cassine drink.” These are his only allusions to cassine. - -William Bartram, in his “Travels in Florida” (1792), one of the -most fascinating books ever written, narrates that he attended a -“feast” given by the “White king of Talahafochta,” near the River -“Appalochuchla” (Apalachicola), and says: - - When the feast was over, * * * our chief, with the rest of the - white people in town, took their seats according to order; - tobacco and pipes were brought; the calumet was lighted and - smoked, circulating according to the usual forms and ceremony; - and afterwards _black drink_ concluded the feast. The king - conversed, drank _cassine_, and associated familiarly with his - people and with us. (P. 234.) - -Again, when in what is now Georgia, or extreme north Florida, meeting -the Creek Indians at a town he calls “Attasse,” he attended a great -council of the chiefs of that nation: - - I was introduced to the ancient chiefs at the public square - or areopagus; and in the evening in company with the traders, - who are numerous in this town, repaired to the great rotunda, - where were assembled the greatest number of ancient, venerable - chiefs and warriors that I had ever beheld; we spent the - evening and greater part of the night together in drinking - cassine and smoking tobacco. The great council house, or - rotunda, is appropriated to much the same purpose as the public - square, but more private, and seems particularly dedicated to - political affairs; women and youth are never admitted, and I - suppose it is death for a female to presume to enter the door - or approach within its pale. It is a vast conical building of - circular dome, capable of accommodating many hundred people: - constructed and furnished within exactly in the same manner as - those of the Cherokees already described, but much larger than - any I had seen of them; there are people appointed to take care - of it, to have it daily swept clean, and to provide canes for - fuel or to give light. As their vigils and manner of conducting - their vespers and mystical fire in this rotunda are extremely - singular, and altogether different from the customs and usages - of any other people, I shall proceed to describe them. In the - first place, the governor or officer who has the management - of this business, with his servants attending, orders the - black drink to be brewed, which is a decoction or infusion of - the leaves and tender shoots of the _cassine_; this is done - under an open shed or pavilion, at 20 or 30 yards distance, - directly opposite the door of the council house. Next he orders - bundles of dry canes to be brought in; these are previously - split and broken in pieces to about the length of 2 feet, and - then placed obliquely crossways upon one another on the floor, - forming a spiral circle round about the great center pillar, - rising to a foot or 18 inches in height from the ground; and - this circle, spreading as it proceeds round and round, often - repeated from right to left, every revolution increases its - diameter, and it at length extends to the distance of 10 or 12 - feet from the center, more or less, according to the length of - time the assembly or meeting is to continue. By the time these - preparations are accomplished, it is night, and the assembly - have taken their seats in order. The exterior extremity or - outer end of the spiral circle takes fire and immediately rises - into a bright flame (but how this is effected I did not plainly - apprehend; I saw no person set fire to it; there might have - been fire left on the earth; however, I neither saw nor smelt - fire or smoke until the blaze instantly ascended upwards), - which gradually and slowly creeps round the center pillar, with - the course of the fire, feeding on the dry canes, and affords - a cheerful, gentle, and sufficient light until the circle is - consumed, when the council breaks up. - - Soon after this illumination takes place the aged chiefs and - warriors are seated on their cabins or sofas, on the side - of the house opposite the door, in three classes or ranks, - rising a little one above or behind the other; and the white - people and red people of confederate towns in like order on - the left hand, a transverse range of pillars, supporting a - thin clay wall about breast high, separating them; the king’s - cabin or seat is in front; the next to the back of it the - head warriors’, and the third or last accommodates the young - warriors, etc. - - The great war chief’s seat or place is in the same cabin with - and immediately to the left hand of the king and next to the - white people; and to the right hand of the mico or king the - most venerable headmen and warriors are seated. The assembly - being now seated in order, and the house illuminated, two - middle-aged men, who perform the office of slaves or servants - _pro tempore_, come in together at the door, each having very - large conch shells full of black drink, and advance with - slow, uniform, and steady steps, their eyes or countenance - lifted up, singing very low but sweetly; they come within 6 - or 8 paces of the king’s and white people’s cabin, when they - stop together, and each rests his shell on a tripod or little - table, but presently takes it up again, and bowing very low, - advances obsequiously, crossing or intersecting each other - about midway; he who rested his shell before the white people - now stands before the king, and the other, who stopped before - the king, stands before the white people, when each presents - his shell, one to the king and the other to the chief of the - white people; and as soon as he raises it to his mouth, the - slave utters or sings two notes, each of which continues as - long as he has breath, and as long as these notes continue - so long must the person drink, or at least keep the shell to - his mouth. These two long notes are very solemn, and at once - strike the imagination with a religious awe or homage to the - Supreme, sounding somewhat like a hoo-ojah and a he-yah. After - this manner the whole assembly are treated as long as the drink - or light continues to hold out; and as soon as the drinking - begins, tobacco and pipes are brought. - -Mark Catesby (_Hortus americanus_, 1763) describes the _Ilex cassine_ -as follows: - - This shrub usually rises from the ground with several stems to - the height of 12 feet, shooting into many upright, slender, - stiff branches, covered with a whitish, smooth bark, and set - alternately with small evergreen serrated leaves, resembling - those of the Aleternus; its flowers are small and white, and - grow promiscuously among the leaves, and are succeeded by small - spherical berries on short footstalks. These berries turn red - in October and remain so all winter, whereby with the green - leaves and white bark they produce an elegant appearance. - - But the esteem the American Indians have for this shrub, - from the great use they make of it, renders it most worthy - of notice. They say its virtues have been known amongst them - from the earliest times, and they have long used it in the - same manner as they do at present. They prepare the leaves for - keeping by drying or rather parching them in a pottage pot over - a slow fire, and a strong decoction of the leaves thus cured - is their beloved liquor, of which they drink large quantities, - both for health and pleasure, without sugar or other mixture. - They drink it down and disgorge it with ease, repeating it very - often, and swallowing many quarts. They say it restores lost - appetite, strengthens the stomach, and confirms their health, - giving them agility and courage in war. It grows chiefly in the - maritime parts of the country, but not farther north than the - capes of Virginia. - - The Indians on the seacoast supply those of the mountains - therewith, and carry on a considerable trade with it in - Florida, just as the Spaniards do with their South Sea tea - from Paraguay to Buenos Ayres. Now, Florida being in the same - latitude north as Paraguay is south, and no apparent difference - being found on comparing the leaves of these two plants - together, it is not improbable they may be both the same. - - In South Carolina it is called cassena, in Virginia and North - Carolina it is known by the name of yopon; in the latter of - which places it is as much in use amongst the white people as - among the Indians, and especially among those who inhabit the - seacoast. - - This plant is raised from the seeds, which lie 2 years in the - ground before it appears; it grows plentifully on many of the - sand banks on the seashore of Carolina. - -In that rare and quaint narrative of Jonathan Dickenson (1790), “who -was shipwrecked on the southeast coast of Florida among the savage -cannibals,” he states that when a short distance south of the “village -of Sta. Lucca” (St. Lucia), and among the Indians and at the “house -of the Cassekey,” he heard often a strange noise in another part of -the house which he could not account for. The following quotation is -interesting; it shows that cassine grows on the extreme south coast of -Florida, and gives the method of preparing the black drink among those -barbarous nations: - - In one part of this house where the fire was kept was an Indian - man having a pot on the fire wherein he was making a drink of - the leaves of a shrub (which we understood afterward by the - Spaniard is called cassena), boiling the said leaves after they - had parched them in a pot; then with a gourd having a long neck - and at the top of it a small hole which the top of one’s finger - could cover and at the side of it a round hole of 2 inches - diameter, they take the liquor out of the pot and put it in a - deep round bowl, which being almost filled containeth nigh 3 - gallons. With this gourd they brew the liquor and make it froth - very much; it looketh of a deep brown color. In the brewing of - this liquor was this noise made which we thought strange, for - the pressing of the gourd gently down into the liquor and the - air which it contained being forced out of the little hole at - top occasioned a sound, and according to the time and motion - given would be various, this drink, when made and cooled to - sup, was in a shell first carried to the Cassekey, who threw - part of it on the ground and the rest he drank up, and then - would make a loud _hem_, and afterwards the cup passed to the - rest of the Cassekey’s associates as aforesaid, but no other - man, woman, or child must touch or taste of this sort of drink, - of which they sat sipping, chattering, and smoking tobacco, or - some other herb instead thereof, for the most part of the day. - -In a letter from William Baldwin, a noted naturalist and surgeon in the -U. S. Navy, written from St. Marys, Fla. (6 miles from Fernandina), -in 1816, he mentions finding the _Ilex prinoides_ predominant on the -sandy, shrubby plains of the vicinity: - - Its common height is about 6 or 8 feet, and at this season - (December), with its ripe crimson-colored fruit, makes a fine - appearance. The berry of this species is considerably larger - than that of any other I have seen, and is not unpleasant to - the taste, possessing an agreeable sweet, along with a slight - bitter. I have eaten freely of it with entire impunity. - -He discusses the question whether the genus Prinos should not be merged -into that of Ilex. They are so near alike that their leaves doubtless -possess similar properties, and are probably mixed with cassine. - -Collinson, in a letter from London, England, to John Bartram, 1739, -makes mention of “the yupon of Virginia, or cassena of Carolina” (_Ilex -cassena_ or _I. vomituria_). The Indians drive a great trade with the -berries (?) to make tea with to the Gulf of Mexico. It grows nowhere to -the northward of that island they found it on, which belongs to Col. -Custis. I have it in my garden. (He errs as to the berries being used, -but proves that it can be cultivated.) - -Dr. Fothergill cultivated it together with maté in his botanical garden -in London in 1784. (See his Memoirs.) - -John Lee Williams, in his history of east and west Florida, 1837, a -work unique in character and of special value to historians, contains -but one mention of the “black drink.” It is in a mention of Oseola, a -noted chief of the Seminoles. In writing of his parentage, he says: - - Powell, or Oseola, is a native Red Stick; who his father was - is unknown, but it is said that his mother was at one time - connected with an Englishman of the name of Powell. We are - informed by a respectable Creek chief that his name is As-sin - Yahole, “Singer at the black drink.” - -Now this word As-sin is a variation of cassine, and Oseola was probably -one of those whose duty it was to sing during the ceremonies which -accompanied the drinking of cassine. - -It is strange that the cassine has not been celebrated in poetry or -song. The songs of the Creeks have not been preserved. Perhaps they -sung the praises of the “black drink.” The only mention I find in -poetry is an allusion to it as “the tough cassine,” in the poems of -Mrs. Sigourney, when she enumerates the variety and qualities of the -trees of America. - -C. C. Jones, in his “Antiquities of the Southern Indians,” writes (page -11): “The black drink was a decoction of the leaves and tender twigs -of the cassine, or Ilex yupon.” He mentions no other ingredients, -but other observers claim that the _Iris versicolor_ (blue flag) and -sometimes the _Lobelia inflata_ were used. My opinion is that, when -used in their wars or religious festivals, other ingredients were used, -for it is represented as powerfully purgative and emetic. Yet, on the -other hand, we are told that the two species of _Ilex cassine_ and -_dahoon_ possess these qualities. The _I. cassine_ is called by some -botanists _Ilex vomitoria_. On social occasions the black drink was -probably made of the leaves of the cassine alone, or made much weaker. -Jones writes: - - The Mico councillors or warriors meet every day in the public - square, sit and drink acee (assi), a strong decoction of the - cassine yupon, called by traders black drink, talk of the news, - the public and domestic concerns, etc. They have a regular - ceremony for making as well as delivering the acee to all who - attend the square. - -The black drink made by the Seminoles is described as “nauseous to the -smell and taste, and emetic and purgative.” It is a mixture and not -brewed of the cassine alone. All our beverages, such as tea, coffee, -maté, and even chocolate, when drank very strong are capable of causing -diuresis, purging, and vomiting. - -One peculiarity of the drinking of the black drink is that, so far as I -can ascertain, it was not used at their meals as we use tea and coffee, -but wholly as a social beverage or at festivals and other public -occasions. I do not think the women were allowed to drink it, at least -not publicly. Authorities differ on this point. - -Among the Creeks the women sometimes prepared the black drink, but -Narvaez writes that the Indians on the coast of what is now Texas did -not allow a woman to come near it during its preparation. - -That a beverage containing caffeine should fall into disuse and become -almost forgotten is a singular fact. The use of maté has not decreased -from the time of the conquest of South America by Europeans. The reason -why the latter is still in use and the former not lies, perhaps, in -the fact that the Europeans in South America mixed with the natives, -married, and adopted their customs, while the English and French -who settled the Gulf States did not associate with the Indians, and -adhered to the use of Chinese tea. Now that we know that the leaf of -the cassine contains caffeine or theine, can its use as a beverage be -revived? - -It is not as pleasant in odor and taste as _Thea sinensis_, and this -may be against it; on the other hand, it seems to have some salutary -properties which the latter does not possess, and may, perhaps, be far -more cheaply obtained. - -[Illustration: Distribution of the _Ilex cassine_, indicated by dotted -portions along coast line.] - -A rough estimate can be made as to the number of square miles upon -which it grows. Estimating the coast line from the James River, -in Virginia, to the Rio Grande, in Texas--about 2,000 miles--and -multiplying this by 20 miles, the extent of its growth inland, we get -a total of about 40,000 square miles. On this area could be picked an -immense quantity of the leaves, and if the trees are not destroyed in -the picking the crops could be harvested every year. No estimate can be -approximated even of the amount of the crop of leaves which could be -gathered, because we can not estimate the number of trees on this area. - -It would seem possible that further inquiries on this point and careful -experiments in cultivation and manipulation might result in furnishing -our market with a product which would be found in many cases an -acceptable and useful substitute for the more expensive imported teas. - - - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] This was written before Professor Venable’s recent investigations, -hereafter referred to. - -[2] Prof. W. Trelease, of the Shaw School of Botany, St. Louis, Mo., -has written an excellent synopsis of the genus Ilex in the United -States embracing 14 species. - -[3] This was written before Professor Venable’s recent investigations, -hereafter referred to. - -[4] Vol. II, p. 39, “Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society.” - -[5] Only when drunk in great quantity.--H. - -[6] This is the _Prinus glaber_ of Linnæus sp. pl. p. 471 and Cassena -vera Floridanorum, Catesby’s Carolinas, 2 t. 57. - - - - -Transcriber’s Notes - -Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. Variations -in accents have been standardised but all other spelling and -punctuation remains unchanged. - -Italics are represented thus _italic_. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ILEX CASSINE, THE ABORIGINAL -NORTH AMERICAN TEA *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ -concept and trademark. 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