Tooker] 



ETHNOGRAPHY OF THE HURON 61 



Clearing of the land was done by cutting down the trees at a height 

 of 2 or 3 feet above the ground. Then all the branches were stripped 

 off and burned at the stump to kill the tree. In the course of time, the 

 roots were removed. Then the women thoroughly cleared the ground 

 between the trees. To plant the corn, romid holes or pits were dug 

 a pace apart by the women and into each of them was put 9 or 10 

 kernels (S 103; C 156). This seed first had been picked out, sorted, 

 and soaked in water for a few days (S 103). They planted enough 

 corn to last 2, 3, or 4 years in order to have enough for a bad year 

 (S 103; C 156) or to trade it with other tribes for furs and other 

 things. Each year, the corn was planted in the same places, which 

 were hoed with a small wooden spade shaped like an ear with a 

 handle at the end. The rest of the land was cleared of weeds.^^ As 

 the fields appeared to be all paths, Sagard got lost in the cornfields 

 more often than in the meadows and forests (S 103-104). 



Each cornstalk bore 2 or 3 ears, each ear containing one or two 

 hundred grains and sometimes four hundred or more. The stalk 

 grew as high as a man or higher and was very thick. The corn 

 ripened in 4 months, and in some places in 3. After the corn was 

 picked, the leaves were turned up, tied around the ears, and arranged 

 in bundles. These bundles were hung in rov/s along the whole length 

 of the house from top to bottom on poles which formed a kind of 

 rack, coming down as low as the edge of the roof in front of the 

 bench. When the grain was dry and fit for storing the women and 

 girls shelled it, cleaned it, and put it into the large vats or casks 

 made for the purpose. These were then placed in the porch or in 

 some corner of the house (S 104) . ^^ 



If the crops failed, the Huron w^ere faced with famine. During 

 one such famine, they lived on acorns, pumpkins, and roots ( JE. 27 : 

 65) ; during another, they relied on hunting (JR 26: 311-313). In 

 the course of some famines, they bought corn from other groups 

 (JE 8: 97; cf. JR 15: 157 — a report of a famine in which Neutrals 

 sold their children to get corn). Sometimes, it was necessary to 

 soAv the crops more than once. One spring, for example, white frosts 

 and worms forced the Indians to sow three times (JR 8 : 99). 



«* In recent times, the digging stick was not used (Waugh 1916 : 15 ; cf. Parlter 1910 b : 

 24—25), but the foot was used to make a hole for tlie seeds and to cover them, or the seeds 

 were planted in the hole left after the cornstalk had been pulled up (Waugh 1916 : 

 17). Before planting, the corn is soaked in water which has some herbs added. This 

 slightly germinates the corn (see Waugh 1916: 18-19; Parker 1910 b: 26-27; Shimony 

 1961 a : 153-154 for full descriptions). Formerly, all the cultivation given was to pull up 

 or trample the weeds in the fields (Waugh 1916: 20). Various devices we^e used to 

 protect the corn from animals and birds (see Waugh 1916: 36-37 for descriptions). 



"5 The Huron methods of harvesting and husking the corn were probably like those more 

 recently described for the Iroquois, with the exception that corn is no longer stored in pits 

 (see Waugh 1916: 39-44 and Parker 1910 b: 31-36 for detailed descriptions). Iroquois 

 bark barrels for storage are described by Morgan (1850 : 74 ; 1852 : 107 ; 1901(2) : 22-23). 



671-292 — 64 5 



