"There is something fascinating about science. One gets such wholesale returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of fact." - Mark Twain.

Why 'Hoppers Chew Tobacco

"An ethnologist tells an interesting story as to how tobacco was first obtained by man, according to the tradition of the Menominee Indians.

"One day the god-hero Manabozo was on a journey, when he perceived a delightful odor. It seemed to come from a crevice in the cliffs high up on a mountain side. On going closer he found a cavern which was occupied by a giant. In fact, the giant was the tenant of the mountain, and from the mouth of the cave a passage led down into the very center of the hill, where there was a large chamber. Around the chamber was stacked great quantities of bags filled with curious dried leaves. From the leaves proceeded the delicious fragrances.

"Theses leaves were tobacco. Once a year, the giant explained, all the spirits came to the mountain for the purpose of smoking this exquisite weed. But it was not possible to give any of it away, said the ethnologist. Nevertheless, Manabozo watched for an opportunity, and, snatching up one of the bags, fled, closely pursued by the giant. The thief leaped from peak to peak, but the giant followed so fast as to finally overtake him. So Manabozo turned upon him, and, upbraiding him for his stinginess, transformed him into a grasshopper.

"That is the reason why the grasshopper is always chewing tobacco. Manabozo took the bagful of leaves and distributed them among his friends, the ancestors of the Indians of to-day. Since then they have had the use and enjoyment of the plant."