'Mesachie box' & 'skookum root'?

[David Robertson]

Hi,

I've got 2 questions for anyone who can help answer them.

1.  What is a 'mesachie box'?  I see the term in H.F. Nater's Bella Coola
stem list, as the definition of a Bella Coola word.  It's also used in a
book about Bella Coola culture, according to a mountaineering (!)
discussion list on the internet.

2.  Have you heard the term 'skookum root'?  It's used, at least in
Alaska, for a certain plant.  Does any of you know if this term was ever
used farther south?  There was apparently a 'skookum root' tonic for the
hair bottled commercially in Oregon ca. 1900.  Any connection?

Thanks,

--Dave R.