It was just past midnight when an aged hunter cried out in severe pain. It happened as he tried to find a better position on his pallet to rest. His body hurt all over, but never had the pain been as intense as it was now. Lying on his back and then rolling over on his left or right side offered little relief. He felt as if there was an enormous snake-like kink inside of his body that needed to be straightened out. Since his bed had become a torture chamber instead of a haven of rest, he decided that if he could not sleep, he would go for a walk. In the past, the physical act of walking had seemed to alleviate his pain.

As the old hunter slowly arose from his pallet with the help of a cane, he felt the pain expand throughout his body. Weak and feverish, he was unable to stand erect without assistanceand began to bend over from the extreme pain in his upper back and in the lower part of his abdomen. He walked a few wobbly steps and collapsed in a heap at his neighbor’s hearth in the Great Lodge rudely awakening them. Amid the shrieks of alarm, the Medicine Man was summoned to the rescue.

The Healer arrived with his helpers and, after a brief examination of the old hunter, bade them to carry the patient by litter to the Infirmary for treatment. Once the disturbance was removed, the sleepers returned to their blissful slumbers. The Medicine Man asked the old hunter’s son to accompany him to the Infirmary. He would be a valuable source of information about his father’s condition.

After bathing the old hunter with white wood ash and warm water to remove dirt and grime, the Healer examined the man’s body. While chanting to the Healing Spirits for guidance, he noted the fever, the rapid pulse, the extreme tenderness of the hunter’s bladder, the sore-tothe- touch groin area, and the yellow sheen of the hunter’s skin.

From the hunter’s son, the Healer learned that the old hunter had difficulty passing urine and, as of late, was unable to urinate for days. The fever was a sign of a serious infection. Additionally, the Medicine Man concluded that the old hunter had an enlarged prostate gland and immediately ordered his aides to prepare a rawhide-covered wood-framed tub and fill it with hot water. Held upright, the man sat in the tub to ease the pain. The hot water soak stimulated the flow of urine from his blocked urinary tract. A beneficial healing grass was utilized as the remedy to treat the condition. When rhizome tea is sipped in measured doses, it eases
painful symptoms and fever while also reducing swelling. Given continuous care, thin soups, and lots of rest, the old hunter made a good recovery.

The healing grass utilized is wheatgrass, which is found worldwide. It likes moist-to-dry soils of open prairies, grassy places, and lowlands. Wheat-grass grows in dense colonies in all of its habitats. Also is known as couch-grass, quackgrass, and twitch, it has a two-to-three-year life span.

A member of the grass family, wheatgrass (Agropyron) is characterized as a low perennial grass with a vast spreading root system. Its erect stems grow up to three feet tall and they arise from a dense tangle of elongated, jointed yellow rhizomes whose skin is smooth and without rootlets. The stems end in terminal spikes. Wheat-grass leaves are flat, soft, pale to dark green in color, and have a finely-ribbed surface. Up to 20 spikelets are borne atop of its spikes and each of them houses five tiny flowers which produce a multitude of seed grains. Warning: Ergot (black mold crusts) sometimes grows on the seeds and can be fatal when eaten.

Wheat-grass has medicinal value. Its roots can be chewed to suppress irritating coughs and root tea is often used as a sore throat gargle. Root paste is therapeutic on puncture wounds. Rhizome tea can be sipped for bladder infections and also helps cure urinary tract inflammation. Rhizome tea fights colds, gout, and fever, and can also be used as a wash for skin itches. Boiled strong and sipped in large doses, rhizome tea is used to expel parasitic worm infestation. Rhizome oil extract curbs prostate swelling and benign tumors.

What makes the wheat-grass such a healing plant? Many of its secrets have been discovered by scientific inquiry and medical research. Chemical analysis of its rhizomes and leaves revealed the presence of the glycoside triticin, saponin, mucilage, and various organic acids. A microbiology study confirmed the plant’s use as an infection-fighter. An alcohol extract of its rhizomes stopped the growth of diseasecausing germs on contact in laboratory media.

Wheat-grass also has food value. Rhizomes can be dried and pulverized into flour for use in baking pan bread, pies, and muffins. Its seeds are often toasted and eaten as a cereal. Wheat-grass has limited economic use. Considered a pest weed by farmers, as a self-propagating grass via seeds and rhizomes, it is grown for erosion control in coastal areas and canyon lands.

Finally, wheat-grass has primitive usage. Rhizomes were toasted and boiled as a coffee drink. The plant’s leaves and stems were utilized in basketry and matweaving. Leaf powder was commonly used as tinder, and livestock was fed on its foliage. Seeds added to rice wine to ferment resulted in a mash that was eaten as a tasty treat. And the whole plant can be decocted into a stimulating tonic. Living primitive means living the simple life.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
TR Zimmermann is an ethnobotanist, an inorganic medicine specialist, and a recognized outdoor science educator. He welcomes inquiries and may be reached at PO Box 571382, Houston, Texas 77057.