Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1912-05-02
EVEN INDIANS TESTED
THEIR CORN FOR SEED

|RN FOR SEED
Q hasten.
Roast by the fire
My fruit as I stand.
Even roast me.
O hasten!
Rip from its cob
MY fruit as I stand,
And eat me,
In this ritual the Maize is endowed with
a human mind and is made conscious of
Its mission In the world. The poetic feel
ing lies in the call of the maize to man
to behold its up-springing life, it's grad
ual growth and it's final f%ruitage.
After the ceremonies were over the
oIhaha proceeded to plant and cultivate
ms crop. Garden patches were located on
the borders OF streams. and occupancy
constituted ownership; but failure to till
Tor a season was regarded as relinquish-
ment of rights. Contrary to the common
belief. both the men and women worked
together in the field. which was generally
ifom a half to three acres in extent. all
tliolgn occasionally a good worker would
have more. The Indians knew something
OF the Nalue'of fertilizer and soil deterior-
at'oh, TOR the Narragansetts taught the
early Puritan fathers to put fish i'm the
mn long with the corn. The earth was
heal>ed into Oblon2 mounds, with fiat tops.
ABOUT lsX2i inches. Is inches nigh on the
north side and sloping towards the south.
the mounds being scattered at intervals of
from tllree to four feet. In one mound
seven Kernels We're planted, a small blunt
stick being inserted i'm the soft ground.
and the corn deposited in the hole thus
made: the next mound would be devoted
10 squash or pumpkin and SO alternately.
III The family had a large garden, beans
We're planted in mounds by themselves.
and willow poles set for them to climb on:
otherwise they We're planted with the
corn. the stocks of which served the place
OF the poles. Only one garden product was
planted to a mound, and the ground was
Kept carefully hoed with an implement
made from the shoulder blade of an elk.
A FIRST hoeing occurred when the corn
was we'll sprouted. a second when about
a foot nigh. meanwhile the vegetables be-
ing carefully weeded by hand. After the
second hOeing he entire tribe went on the
annual buffalo hunt, at which the years
meat supply was secured, and the garden
left till fall. After the harvest, the corn
was stored in cribs, models of those ele-
waited on posts as made by some southern
tribes today being IN general use.
Kept in Storage.
The corn was frequently stored up and
kept from year to year. In 1857 Demon
any tioN TIC OCSlIOyS0 lIOI0
than a million bushels belonging to the
lroquois. General Leavenworth on his ex-
pedition against the Mandans in 1923, for
having tracherously assaulted Major Ash
ley's party at the mouth of Grand river,
destroyed great quantities of squaw corn,
leaving the Indians destitute for the. WIN
ter. General Wayne in 1894 writing of the
Indian settlements in Ohio. said: 1.-The
margins of these beautiful rivers, the Mi
lmiS of the lake ami the All ClafZa
pear like one continued village for a num-
her of miles, both above and below his
place. nor have / ever behold such inn
mense fields of corn in America from
Canada to Florida"
The Indians cooked some of our most
toothsome corn dishes. When the corn
was in the milk, roasting ears were the
favorites, and were cooked in their jack
cts in the ashes; the Indians eating their
fill. and scraping the surplus off the cob
for drying. (Watanzickitha 1t was called
in Omaha). One of the tribes, the Ari-
kara. in the sign language were called
corn eaters from the movement OF the
hand Stimulating the knawing of kernels
from the cob. The mature grain was
milled, either raw or parched. in mortars,
the meal entering into a variety OF hoe
and ash cakes. mushes (Wanide), pones,
waters, etc. The Omaha called this meal
Washonge. Wabishhnude was equivalent
to our honiny, being produced by either
boiling the corn with wood ashes or soak
ing 1t in lye made from the same to re-
move the outer coat. Wanaxe was made
by drying the hominy, parching it. grind
ing, re%parching and again grinding, and
was packed in leather Bags forming a
highly concentrated food highly favored
by Travellers. Pinolc, formed Of pounded
parched corn formed the favorite food of
some southwestern tribes. The Zuni and
Hopi made a yeast by chewing the corn
and knew how to preserve it by salt.
Probably none of the tribes had learned
to make any intoNicant from the corn.
The Omaha Umbagthe, a. sort of thick
succatash. was made by boiling corn and
beans together. allowing them to stand
and harden over night and was served
in hin slices. Samp was made by some of
the tribes. A peculiar dish was Wacke,
made of pounded corn, honey and buffalo
marrow. Corn boiled with meat formed
Wabthuga. In fact practically every mod
ern food, involving the use of corn alone
was developed by the dusky chefs long be-
fore this arrival OF the first white men,
and under physical difficulties OF which
the present day cook knows nothing.
Hot Shot for the Earnoer.