CUSTOMS OF THE DAKOTAS. 255 



tei's use. It is a bulbous root, firowiu^' deep in the ground, and \ ery nu- 

 tritious; raw aud dried it ibruis the principal item in the Dakotah ineuu. 

 Some years ago ex[)eriiuents were nnide by French savants, and it was 

 found that a nutritious substitute for wheat Hour could be made from 

 the dried turnips. The following bulbous esculent roots are also eateu : 

 a-.sin-iKc, growing in the marshes, about the size of a walnut; pun-cin- 

 na, about the size of hens' eggs, grows on the margins of lakes and 

 rivers; ni-do, iu taste resembles a sweet potato; hu-ba, a large water 

 grass, the stalks of which are eaten ; ou-mui-ca, beans growing wild iu 

 the \alleys aud low lands, having a vine-like top the pod growing at 

 the roots being dug up iu spring and fall of the year ; wild hop-vine, 

 as it sprouts from the ground, the fac-simile of the asparagus, but 

 superior iu delicacy and flavor, aud it is uo uncommon sight on the 

 frontier to see officers of the Army (who are generally epicurean iu their 

 tastes) digging wild hop sprouts for their own table; ta-to (Anglice 

 evidently), a root with a long- branching stalk, dried for winter use; 

 ce-he-ca, a small root the size of a hazel-nut, collected by the ground- 

 squirrels and prairie-mice, aiid deposited in large quantities in their sub- 

 terranean homes. In the fall the Dakotahs collect from these sui^plies 

 for their winter's use. The taste is rather agreeable, resembling- some- 

 what that of a green pea. Shuuka, or dog-, last but not least of the 

 edibles that please the savage palate, can not be called a domestic dish ; 

 it is not eaten, except in cases of dire necessity, as it is considered too 

 delicate for ordinary consumption; buc is usually eaten at a s]>ecial 

 fea.st iu hoiu)r of warriors of renown, to whom, as the highest mark of 

 courtesy, the head is given. All the birds of the air, exce{)ting- the 

 eagle and the turkey, are eaten by the Dakotahs, and all the beasts of 

 the earth, an<l all the denizens of the water. Capable of containing 

 quantities that would surfeit several white men, the Dakotah will in 

 days of scarcity tighten his belt in order to prevent a vacuum, and go 

 on his way uncomplaiuiug. 



MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. 



As soon as the young couple have concluded to cast their lot in common 

 aud are engaged, the young man calls his brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, 

 aud cousins together, aud tells them that it is his desire to take such 

 and such a one for his wife. After eating the repast spread before 

 them they separate for their res})e(;tive lodges. The following day as 

 many as wish return, each bringing some object as a present— a gun, 

 horse, blanket, anything they may have, and of the best (a bridle rej)- 

 resents a horse, and is redeemed on demaiul). All these things they 

 make into a bundle, carried by the mother of the young man u[)on her 

 back, who lays it in front of the lodge of the expectant bride and returns 

 home. Now, the girl's mother or other meml)ei- of lier family l»rings 

 the bundle into the lodge and prei)ai('s -.i feast, inviting all the relatives 

 of the 3"0uug girl, who, after parti(;ipating in the goo<l things spread 



