Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1884-1886, 1885-03-27
THE MORNING. MARCH - isss
AGRICULTURE.
AS CONDUCTED BY THE ORIGINAL
INHABITANTS OF AMERICA
Women the First Farmers Of Our Coun1y
How They Conducted the Bostness-
Products of the Soil Under
Primitive Culture.
Boston Budget

Boston Budget
Women were the aboriginal Igar-te-gaids'
or farmers OF North America, for the saw
age lords OF the soil scorned tillage Is docs
a modern shop boy, and passed their time In
fighting OF in fishing, although they never
refused to eat the product OF the SOIL " nen
a new field was to be cleared up in -wonne-
souam-sauke," the squaws would take their
Ratchet, imade Of sharpened stone) and
girdie the trees by bruising of wide circle
Of the bark: monte jesg-kwai-wag, a.
they called this employment The next
spring, twelve months after heaping dry
limbs and leaves around the decayed trunks,
they would apply fire. and while the flames
consumed the dead giants OF the forest, ana
tie heat killed the roots Of the underbrush,
the ashes would leave the soil mellow and in
fine heat field thus titled would be used
by generations, thus proving the excellence
OF wood ashes as fertilizer for Indian cora.
Great care was taken by the Indians TO
select for seed the best ear for -skamoon,'
which was their name for Indian corn, al
though they had distinct appelations for
the white, the red, the yellow. and the black
varieties, all Of which they possessed, and
kept cottage fish and flesh Of all sorts.
either new taken or dried, as shad, eels, ale
wives. or a kind Of herring. or any ether
sort of fish. But they dried mostly those
sorts before mentioned These they cut in
pieces, bones and all, and boiled them in the
aforesaid pottage. Also, they boiled in this
fermenty all sorts Of flesh taken in hunting
as venison bears' flesh, beaver, moose, otter,
or raccoon, cut in small pieces They also
mixed with it several sorts OF roots, as
Jerusalem nrtichoIe and ground nuts, and
other roots and pumpkins and squashes
Also several kinds OF masts, as oak acorns,
chestnuts, walnuts-these, husked and dried
and powdered, they thickened this pottage
Herewith"
Melons were raised in great abundance. as
W ere also gourds Of all sizes, from the large
"calabashr that would hold two or three
gallons to the tiny receptacle for pigments
used in painting for war. From the sap Of
the maple they made coarse-grained sugar,
which, when mixed with freshly pounded
Indian meal and seasoned with dry whoru- l.
berries, was baked into q dainty dish for
high festivals The dried meats Of Oil-nut,
pounded and boiled in water, was their bow.
erage at such feasts, and from the green
wax of the bayberry they made candles
with rush wicks, which gave clear light,
and yielded a pleasant fragrance while burn
ing. Several varieties Of beans were raised
with the corn; that the fall dish Of "musick-
quatush," or green corn, might be enjoyei
1t was not, however like the "succotash' OF
our day., simply composed Of corn and
leans, for Goodkin tells US that they IRE
9uently boil in this"
"Mishimin,' in the Algonquin tongue, sig
nifed apple, although it is the opinion OF
some learned writers that the fruit was un-
known before the arrival Of Europeans
have in my possession, however. several old
printed compilations Of early voyagers, each
of which reckons apples among tho early
native fruits, and un!ess crab stocks were
found ! do not clearly see how the lars.
orchards mentioned by the early writers
could have been made productive 50 soon
Mr. Wolcott, a distinguished Connecticut
magistrate. wrote in 1855 certainly not
more than FIVE years after this colony was
first planted: Il made 500 hogsheads OF
cider out of my own orchard in one year.
This would have been almost impossible had
he been obliged to raise his orchard from
seed or even had he carried trees Of such
size as could have been transported through
the trackless wilderness The apple may no,
lie indigenous to the soil OF New England,
and yet the Indians may have possessed it.
as they did Indian corn, which un1oubte dly
came from the south, and which was neveI
found growing wild.
After the spring burning, when the oak:
began to leaf, the squaws would cultivate
or, rather. would root up the fields with the
fiat shouder-blades Of the MOSS, and then
mark tie future hills by making small
holes about four feet apart with a rude hoe
the blade Of which was n large clam she'll.
Into each hole they would put an alewife'
caught in some ad jacent stream, or a horse
shoe crab from the seashore, AMI on til.
stimulant drop and cover a half dozen grains
OF corn. The land thus planted was guarded
| against the depredations Of the birds. AMI
| as the corn grew, the earth was scraped
around the stalks with clam-shells until tbs
hills were TWO feet high, mode OF culture
superseded by piowin although some per
sist in laboriously following it at the pre- ,en,
| DAY. Generally the stalks grow six or eight
feet in height, bearing two ears each, an
We ara told that there were eight rows, con
tanning thirty grains, or over. on an ear
Early in September the ears were plucked
| leaving the stalks and leaves to enrich thu
ground, and were carried in ckbaskets Il
I their wigwams There the corn was placed
| nnhusked, on frames resembling the fish
fakes Of our time under which smolder
ing fire was kept up.
When the corn was thoroughly dried i,
was husked, shellej and packed in large
birch bark boxes, which were buried in ths
ground below the action Of the frost. Some
times, when they cooked this corn, it wa
soaked in I've until the hull came off, ther
dried again, pounded in q wooden mortar
and called .nausamp," which was boile1
with yenisou fat and a bit of dried salmon