A Botanical and Economic Study. 143 



The Mexicans made their bread in the following way : They 

 put a large pot filled with water on the fire, which they 

 allowed to remain until the water boiled ; then they put out 

 the fire and poured the grain into a pot. A little lime was 

 added to destroy the skin of the corn, and next morning they 

 carefully cleansed the grain, ground it by stones, and, moist- 

 ening the meal, formed it into a paste, which the}" kneaded 

 and baked into tortillas.' Tortillas of maize, accompanied by 

 the inevitable frijoles, or beans seasoned witli chile or pepper, 

 and washed down with drinks prepared from the maguey and 

 cacao, were the all-sustaining diet of the Nahuas.-' 



The Mexican drink, "chicha," is made from maize. A 

 quantity of grain is soaked in water, and is taken out and 

 sprouted. The sprouted grain is bruised and placed in a 

 large vessel filled with water, where it stays until it begins 

 to ferment. A number of old women then collect and chew 

 some of the grain until they have a sufficient quantity, 

 which is added to water and allowed to ferment. The fluid 

 is drawn off after fermentation, and a strongly intoxicating 

 liquor is produced. 



Division 4. Mythology. — It has been frequently asserted 

 that the Indian had no religion excepting what has been called 

 " the meaningless mummery of the medicine man." This is 

 the very reverse of the truth. The Indian was essentially relig- 

 ious and contemplative, and it might be said that every act of 

 his life was regulated by his religious belief, as the following 

 accounts of ceremonies, myths and legends show. George 

 Catlin ' has described the green corn dance, as practiced by the 

 Minnetaree : "The green corn is considered a great luxury by 

 all those tribes who cultivate it. This joyful occasion is one 

 valued alike and conducted in a similar manner by most of 

 the tribes who raise corn, however remote they may be from 

 each other. It lasts but for a week or ten days, being 

 limited to the longest terms that the corn remains in this 



1 Brocklehurst, Mexico of To-day. 1883, 200. 

 ; Bancroft, Native Races Pacific States, 347. 

 Smithsonian Report, 1SS5, Part II, Catlin Indian Gallery, 314. 



