Acorus calamus L. Sweet Flag, Calamus.
Siⁿkpe-ta-wote (Dakota), “muskrat food” (siⁿkpe, muskrat; wote, food).
Makaⁿ-ninida (Omaha-Ponca).
Maⁿkaⁿ-kereȟ (Winnebago).
Kahtsha itu (Pawnee); kahtsu, medicine; ha, in water; itu, lying.
All the tribes hold this plant in very high esteem. It was used as a carminative, a decoction was drunk for fever, and the rootstock was chewed as a cough remedy and as a remedy for toothache. For colic an infusion of the pounded root stock was drunk. As a remedy for colds the rootstock was chewed or a decoction was drunk, or it was used in the smoke treatment. In fact, this part of the plant seems to have been regarded as a panacea. When a hunting party came to a place where the calamus grew the young men gathered the green blades and braided them into garlands, which they wore round the neck for their pleasant odor. […]
Among the Teton Dakota in old times warriors chewed the rootstock to a paste, which they rubbed on the face to prevent excitement and fear in the presence of the enemy.
Three sentences omitted at […]: they concern the plant's sacred and ceremonial uses, which the Library does not transcribe.