"
[273-2] The Creeks had, according to Hawkins, not less than seven sacred
plants; chief of them were the cassine yupon, called by botanists _Ilex
vomitoria_, or _Ilex cassina_, of the natural order Aquifoliaceae; and the
blue flag, _Iris versicolor_, natural order Iridaceae. The former is a
powerful diuretic and mild emetic, and grows only near the sea. The
latter is an active emeto-cathartic, and is abundant on swampy grounds
throughout the Southern States. From it was formed the celebrated "black
drink," with which they opened their councils, and which served them in
place of spirits.
[274-1] Martius, _Von dem Rechtzustande unter den Ureinwohnern
Brasiliens_, p. 32.
[275-1] Mr. Anderson, in the _Am. Hist. Mag._, vii. p. 79.
[276-1] Such spectacles were nothing uncommon. They are frequently
mentioned in the Jesuit Relations, and they were the chief obstacles to
missionary labor. In the debauches and excesses that excited these
temporary manias, in the recklessness of life and property they fostered,
and in their disastrous effects on mind and body, are depicted more than
in any other one trait the thorough depravity of the race and its
tendency to ruin.
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