Medicine pipe blend

[JW_Halverson]

THAT is the kinda stuff I like toread, referencing first person accounts from the period. Very educational.

[Dan K]

I've heard some good stuff about red sumac.  How do you tell the difference between safe and dangerous sumac?  Any pics or guidance?

[Olanigw (Pekane)]

Staghorn sumac's bark is often fuzzy on new growth.  It's flowers, and later berries, are closely packed together in "cones" on the ends of branches.


This is good

[Dan K]

So is it the leaves or the flowers that you smoke?

[Olanigw (Pekane)]

Leaves, collected during autumn when they turn color.

[Dan K]

We better get on it then! 

[JW_Halverson]

I have a redware clay pipe bowl that dates to the late 1600's.  One of Jamestown Colonies only successful industries in the early days.  I loaded it up with some of Olanigw's special blend and fetched flint and steel to it.  It drew nicely, but was too lightly packed at first.  A second dash with the flint and steel and it took fire nicely.

It's an interesting blend, quite mild unless you try to puff on it like a steam engine pulling a grade! Definitely the smoothest non-tobacco blend I have ever tried.  I have some wild native tobacco leaf that I might try mixing with it, too.  I like the idea of having something historically correct in my haversack, and this fits the bill.

[Olanigw (Pekane)]

I have a redware clay pipe bowl that dates to the late 1600's.  One of Jamestown Colonies only successful industries in the early days.  I loaded it up with some of Olanigw's special blend and fetched flint and steel to it.  It drew nicely, but was too lightly packed at first.  A second dash with the flint and steel and it took fire nicely.

It's an interesting blend, quite mild unless you try to puff on it like a steam engine pulling a grade! Definitely the smoothest non-tobacco blend I have ever tried.  I have some wild native tobacco leaf that I might try mixing with it, too.  I like the idea of having something historically correct in my haversack, and this fits the bill.

Thanks for the review, JW!  Definitely mix in wild tobacco if you have it, roughly 1:2 with the current mix.  Period correct from first contact to present day

[IsaacW]

Period correct from first contact to present day

Not to be picky (okay... it is picky) but mullein was an introduced plant.  The first contact smoke may not have had it but I know that Peter Kalm (Swedish Botanist) sees it in North America commonly in 1749 and mentions it even being called "Indian Tobacco."  This said, I have not seen early references to smoking it, only that it looked similar to Indian Tobacco (Nicotiana rustica).  It is a bronchial dialator though and helps open up stuff.  I always laugh with my friends that we sometimes put it in the mix to open things up more to take in the nicotine that usual closes things up. 

Isaac, had a pipe yesterday!!

[Olanigw (Pekane)]

Period correct from first contact to present day

Not to be picky (okay... it is picky) but mullein was an introduced plant.  The first contact smoke may not have had it but I know that Peter Kalm (Swedish Botanist) sees it in North America commonly in 1749 and mentions it even being called "Indian Tobacco."  This said, I have not seen early references to smoking it, only that it looked similar to Indian Tobacco (Nicotiana rustica).  It is a bronchial dialator though and helps open up stuff.  I always laugh with my friends that we sometimes put it in the mix to open things up more to take in the nicotine that usual closes things up. 

Isaac, had a pipe yesterday!!

In western abenaki, the name for mullein is literally "magician/medicine man's tobacco".  It didn't take long for mullein to spread from the jesuits' and early settlers' gardens to those of the shamans/medicine men/spiritual leaders.
How long until it naturalized in the wild? no clue.  When did it make its way into "recreational" smokes?  Even less of a clue.

[IsaacW]

In western abenaki, the name for mullein is literally "magician/medicine man's tobacco".  It didn't take long for mullein to spread from the jesuits' and early settlers' gardens to those of the shamans/medicine men/spiritual leaders.
How long until it naturalized in the wild? no clue.  When did it make its way into "recreational" smokes?  Even less of a clue.

Cool... I always am linguistically interested in what names are for things and what they mean.  In Ojibwe, it is called Waabooyanibag.  Basically it is referring to the leaves being like a rabbit's ears.  Some think it more translates as blanket leaf (blanket in Ojibwe literally is rabbit skin). I have not seen much as to its use out here but it likely has not been here as long.   As I said, Kalm was seeing it in the 1740s out east.  Anyway, I am sure it was used but do not have any good references (thinking like a historian here) compared to things like bearberry, sumac, dogwood, etc.

BTW, I have a cool quote mentioning flavoring tobacco and mixes with beaver castor... Hmmmmm....

IW

[JW_Halverson]

Having smelled beaver castor, I am going to continue to opt for the more pure form of this mix.   

[IsaacW]

Having smelled beaver castor, I am going to continue to opt for the more pure form of this mix.   

Ahh... Common JW... castor is like magic!  I love the smell of that stuff.  My wife has a perfume that smells VERY much like the beaver lure I make with castor and she knows that good things happen when she wears it! 

Seriously, I love the smell of castor, and yes, I have tried it for flavoring the tobac and it was not too bad.  My understanding is that it wasn't smoked but a slice put in the tobacco to add flavor (and likely it helped keep it moist).

IW

[JW_Halverson]

Having smelled beaver castor, I am going to continue to opt for the more pure form of this mix.   

Ahh... Common JW... castor is like magic!  I love the smell of that stuff.  My wife has a perfume that smells VERY much like the beaver lure I make with castor and she knows that good things happen when she wears it! 

She told me that you immediately get excited, run outside, chew down a tree and drag it into the neighbor's pool.

[Dharma]

Here in Northern Arizona, you can find Navajos and trading posts selling Mountain Smoke. Mountain Smoke is basically wild tobacco, Nicotiana Attenuata, but there are herbal mixes called Mountain Smoke. There are different versions of Mountain Smoke, as well as other smokes, and it depends on who made it and what's it's for. Some is ceremonial and some is medicinal. You can find many different smokes at the flea markets on the Rez here. You can find some amazing deals at these flea markets, by the way. They're not set up for tourists, so the prices are very reasonable and you'll find things not usually marketed to the tourists. It's all cash. Some barter can be done depending on what you have to trade.

At Peyote meetings, there will be smoke. People will have their own blends. Star Anise is found in a lot of the blends, as well as juniper tips, flat cedar, and just regular Cavendish pipe tobacco.