The Chippewa Indians for generations have depended upon 

 wild rice for their chief grain food. Ever since they came 

 into Minnesota and Western Ontario, the Chippewas have 

 been the chief harvesters of wild rice and blueberries. 



The Harvesting of Rice. 



With the onward march of civilization the farmers of th( 

 Northwest have constantly improved their methods for gatl 

 ering grain. The Chippewa Indian gathers his wild rice ii 

 exactly the same manner that was employed by his fore- 

 fathers. The Indian bends the stalks of wild rice over his 

 canoe and beats it, thus knocking the rice out. If the water 

 is too high the wild rice becomes difficult to collect, because the 

 stalks cannot be bent over the canoe. If the water is too low, 

 the Indians find it impossible to paddle their canoes into the 

 rice fields. Tons and tons of rice are gathered by the Indians 

 in this manner. They take it to the shore where it is placed 

 in kettles over a slow fire. It is heated and dried so that the 

 chaff comes off easily. After this drying process the Indians 

 winnow it in the wind by tossing it into the air, the wind 

 takes away the chaff. Large quantities of rice are then stored 

 by burying in the sand. The Indians pick out places where the 

 sand is dry and is likely to remain so during the winter for 

 these caches. 



The Wild Rice King. 



It is but natural that one of the best known authorities on 

 wild rice should be found in Minnesota where so much of th( 

 rice grows. For 15 years, F. R. Vance, of Popple, Minnesot 

 has studied wild rice and wild celery. 



This man was formerly a contractor. He lost his all am 

 went to his homestead to live. He started at once the stud] 

 of aquatic plants. His fame as an authority on the growii 

 of wild rice has spread and nearly every winter he is called 

 assist in planting rice fields on private estates, etc. 



Five years sportsmen found that the wild rice beds on th< 

 east coast of the Gulf of Mexico were disappearing. In thei 

 dilemma they turned to F. R. Vance. They asked him to 



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