Weekly independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1887-1914, 1897-12-05
HUNTERS AFTER GINSENG.
The Root That Il Supposed by Chinese
DocIorn To HAZE CuFatiTe Power

One OF the most P<cullar ato inltiesh-
ing occupations OF the residents OF ihs
mountain sections Of Il - and other
states at this season Of the year is pick
ing ginseng. This novel calling is just
now being followed By hundreds OF
mountain residents. who are Teapiug no
incoasiderable harvest from their Ia
bors- Mary almost support their tarni-
lies by digging the plant. and 50 PIE
sererirc have been the ginseng ciggers
Of late ! that the plant has become
quite rare in many sections where II
formerly f~ourished.
This valuable medical plant is 10 be
found ell through the Allegheny moCr-
tairs- Il has 4 fieshy roo and a stalk
from four 10 nine iachcs high. which
bears nea. the top three Pctiu'a;e leaves
0! five small Leaflets, AID on the end C.!
the stalk some Insignificant white BIOS
SONS The root i much used in rnedi-
cine il this country. but il is chiefly q
value as an article Of cNpor: to China.
IN which country i; Is supposed TO p-s-
sess remarkable virtues for the treat
nsut Of nearly a.! diseases. Its va,ue
1t thu little aouriair store is usual!
two o. three dollars per pound when
dried. a-d the greco roots there sell fer
ab5u; one do,,a- i pound. The root thus
readily passes as c---ercy in the UoUr-
iai1s. AID j. the chief article given In
payment for ma, purchases made b.
the mountain residents.
Ginseng d.--lr, Is Indeed i move! &C.
cuPai!5a. The "Ea-- d.ccers." a. they
are commonly called. 90 irto the woc1s
armed with : small --aitcck aul 4 sack.
a-d the search f-r the valuable Plant
begins. C:rscu- casually grows in
patches. AL ties. ~To;s are -. . .Cva
tn the mountain res:Ce1's. Of:cn hun
jr,ds = r-G=ls % tie root a.C taken
f-Cn &C .~-'-,s. AID the occu~1'.7u is
= very T~---'-y,r one. Tae Women rs
well - ;lc men hunt cirserc. I'D The
SAX = We. known TO a.! the mountain
.a1s and asses. Ginseng Crews in =
rich, black sell, AID is more commonly
.ou-d OF the hi!!sides thai in the low
lands.
Few are the mountain residents who
90 not devote some Of their time 10
h-cti-- this valuable plant, and in the
mountain ~taTrabCusss there are now.
many hundred pounds Of the article
laid Away waiting the market. While
,Es IA. Is tLr t~alU=::c time !Or ginseng
hU-tiGg. !; l. carried on a.! summer.
When . patch Of the root is found the
hunter lCses 10 time in digging II. To
.,aye l. until fal! would be 10 lose il.
for undoubtedly some other hunter
would fad the patch and dig il.
There j. always n ready market for
the article. and while many sang
dealers visit the mountains. the noun
tain farmers usually sell 10 the noun
tain s'orekeeper.. They are suspicion,
Of the city dealers who come their
way, and they usually find the noun
tain s'0rekeep@r ready 10 give as good
: price rs they can obtain elsewhere.
They trade ginseng for their store sup
plies. boots, and clothing material. In
OuT state alone thousands o! dollars
Worth Of the root are dug annually, and
IN other mountain states Of the cast
great quantities are also marketed.
Minnesota is also q w~elI.known region
Of the plant.
This pant is 80 esteemed in China
that the right 10 gather Il is reserved
to the emperor. II is supposed to pos
sess remarkable virtues for the treat
ncnt at body and mind and for the pro-
!0ngati0n Of LIE. Their physicians have
"r!tt"nEOlumes about IL. and they deem
Il necessary in all their best prescrip-
tons. The best roots have a horny an
PenTanCe and are yellow and semi
transparent. This condition is obtained
10y putting them into steain;nr no,
water. brushing until clean. and then
'tcdming over boiling mi!let. The roots
that a:c bjfurCa'cd or divided are con-
'idcT"i the most powerful. md il il
salu tina IL Is TO this kind OF root that
the plant owes its name. jim Chen
means like a man. and the American
Indian name means the same. The
nearer the ruot resembles the human
form the more "iiicacious il is supposed
to he. The genuine roots, say the
Chinese. have oGshoots to represent the
arms and the legs. The Orientals have
many legends concerning the great
medical plant. and to it they assign
many powers.
Before the discovery OF the root In this
country it frequently brought its
weight in gold in peking. In l7Is the
Jcsui;s began shipping the root to
China. and in l7sj IL sold in this coun-
try for one dollar per pound. Over
$1,000 have been paid for "A single root
in China. Besides China and the United
States. Japan and Corea produce the
valuable plant. in this country nt-
tompts have been made to cultivate the
root. but the attempt has not been so
successful as was expected.
The quality Of the ginseng root varies
greatly. and il requires a shrcwd dealer
TO make n success in tho ginseng bust
ness. Not ;n~frequently the hunters re-
sort 10 strategy 10 get n good round
price for their supply. With it other
and less valuable roots are mixed. and
sometimes the dried roots are immersed
In water and then dried on the outside.
The quality OF the roots also varies
greatly, according TO the time OF dig
ging and their size. The larger roots
are considered the best and command
the highest prices.
In the mountain sections OF our stnte
ginseng hunting has been followed from
the time OF the earliest settlement.
Like hunting. trapping. berry picking.
bark pceling. shinglc making and other
caIIihgs OF the mountain residents, pin.
scnR hunting has it's season, and lust
now hundreds OF mountain residents nrc
securing the mountain woodlands in
quest OF the valuable plant.
These mountain residents nrc jndccd
most primitive pCOplc. They Iiyo much