THE ash tree, the leaves and bark of which were the universal specific
for the poison of the rattlesnake, had its origin in a warrior whose wife
and two children died from the bite of a rattlesnake that had found its
way into their wigwam. The brave's grief was so violent that the Great
Spirit gave him permission to turn into a tree, the branches of which
would make bows and arrows with which his people could kill their deadly
enemies; the green leaves placed in a circle around the sleeping warriors
would form a barrier through which the reptiles would not crawl; the
bruised leaves would act as a poultice to draw the venom from the wound,
and from the bark could be brewed a draught that would drive the delirium
from the body of the suffering victim.
A form of words was pronounced as the Indians approached the ash tree to
draw on its resources for any of the purposes named. They would say: "Oh,
my brother, the mighty friend of the Indian, your red brother comes to
you for help. He has met the forked-tongue whose bite is like the sting
of bad arrows. He knows not where to turn except to his noble brother,
whose goodness is known to all the Indians. Help me, my brother, for the
sting of the forked-tongue is deep and the eyes of your brother close in
sleep if you do not help him. I wound you, my brother, but my fathers
have told me of your goodness and of your hatred of the forked-tongue."