Part 1

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: