INDIAN CORN. 21 



" of wood with a polt, lap it in rowles in the leaues of 

 " their corne, and so boyle it for a daintie. They also 

 " reserue that corne late planted that will not ripe, by 

 " roasting it in hot ashes, the heat thereof drying it. 

 " In winter they esteeme it being boyled with beanes 

 "for a rare dish, they call Pausarowmena. Their old 

 a wheat (maize) they first steepe a night in hot water, 

 " in the morning pounding it in a morter. They vse a 

 u small basket for their teinmes (sieve), then pound 

 u againe the great, and so separating by dashing their 

 " hand in the basket, receiue the flower in a platter made 

 " of wood, scraped to that forme with burning and 

 " shels. Tempering this flower with water, they make 

 " it either in cakes, covering them with ashes till they 

 " be baked, and then washing them in faire water, they 

 " drie presently with their owne heat : or else boyle 

 " them in water, eating the broth with the bread which 

 " they call Ponap. The groutes and peeces of the 

 " comes remaining, by fanning in a platter or in the 

 " wind, away, the branne they boyle 3 or 4 houres with 

 " water, which is an ordinary food they call Vstata- 

 " hamen. But some more thriftie then cleanly, doe 

 " burne the core (cob) of the are to powder, which 

 " they call Pungnough, mingling that in their meale, 

 " but it never tasted well in bread, nor broth." 



Mr. Schoolcraft, in his late Report, says, that it is 

 conceded on all hands, that this is a tropical, or at least, 

 a southern plant. He remarks, that it was not known 

 in Europe before the discovery of this country, and 

 that we learned the mode of cultivation from the 

 Indians, and not they from us. It was cultivated by 

 the Iroquois in fields sufficiently large to entitle 

 them to the name of agriculturists. It was un- 

 doubtedly highly prized by them, as an essential 

 article of support, as Mr. Schoolcraft states that the 

 warriors of the Six Nations were in the habit of under- 

 taking journeys of thousands of miles in extent, carry- 

 ing no other food than a little meal from parched and 

 pounded corn, relying on the forest for meat. One 

 tablespoonful of this meal, mixed with a little sugar 



