The Icelandic Canadian - 01.05.2008, Page 43

Vol. 61 #2
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
133
icine among the Cree Indians. Roots from
water lilies were used by them to heal
wounds. They were cut in slices which
were then placed against the wounds.
The Indians had no terms for the dif-
ferent organs, and to them all internal dis-
eases fell in the same category, i.e. “sick
inside.” Under this category came illnesses
such as kidney diseases, stomach ailments,
diseases of the liver and many others.
This method by which all these ail-
ments were treated was always the same
inasmuch as the root was the only medicine
to be used by the patients. Sometimes the
root was eaten by them in the form of thin
slices or fine powder. Some patients would
prefer to boil the root and then drink the
juices from it. Others would chew on it and
swallow the juice.
In the case of lung diseases, common
colds, and sore throats, slices of the root
were wrapped up in flannels and the patient
treated with hot fomentations. The applica-
tion of the powder from the root was rec-
ognized as the most effective method of
treating toothache. Finally, it was generally
believed that eating of the root would stim-
ulate the blood circulation and increase the
growth of both beard and hair. It was also
felt that moderate doses of it would give
the hair a desirable sheen.
That is the end of Mr Guttormsson’s
letter. He invariable pronounced the name
of the root as cala’mus, with the accent on
the second syllable. He said that the plant
was a favourite food of the muskrat. Mr.
Guttormsson was never without the root.
His father had used it as a remedy against
“farmer’s lung” which he acquired from
inhaling the dust from mouldy hay.
His attitude to the Crees of his boy-
hood recollections is much the same as that
of Captain William Francis Butler, an Irish
soldier, who was sent in 1870 by Colonel
Wolseley to Fort Garry as his intelligence
office. After peace was restored, he was
sent by Manitoba’s first lieutenant gover-
nor, Adams G. Archibald, to travel to the
foothills of the Rockies to study the Indian
situation and assist in stopping an outbreak
of smallpox among the Plains Indians. On
his return, he wrote of his experiences in
The Great Lone Land, and summed up the
Indians: “This Wild man who first wel-
comed the new-comer is the only perfect
socialist or communist in the world. He
holds all things in common with his tribe—
the land, the bison, the river, and the
moose.” And, “. . . his speech becomes the
echo of the beauty that lies spread around
him. Every name for lake or river, for
mountain or meadow, has its particular sig-
nificance, and to tell the Indian title of such
things is generally to tell the nature of them
also.”
Butler admired their way of life but
deplored their treatment of their sleigh
dogs. Mr. Guttormsson made the same
reservation. The disparity between the
Indians of his early memories and those of
the present day, explains the vehemence of
his remark about Indians and alcohol.
It was a moving experience during our
interview, to hear him recite his vivid
impressions of the meeting of two cultures
in circumstances which can never be
repeated. That moment, was to him, the
morning of the world where all was fresh
and clear and the Indians lived in a verita-
ble Eden.
- Reprinted from the Beaver maga-
zine of the North, Spring issue, 1968, by
permission of The Hudson’s Bay
Company.