Howard] THE PONCA TRIBE 43 



extent by some Northern Ponca. PLC (1961, p. 18) mentions learning 

 to trap as a boy. 



Concerning Ponca fishing practices, J. O. Dorsey writes ; 



Both Ponkas and Omahas have been accustomed to fish as follows in the 

 Missouri River : A man would fasten some bait to a hook at the end of a line, 

 which he threw out into the stream, after securing the other end to a stake next 

 the shore; but he took care to conceal the place by not allowing the toi) of the 

 stick to appear above the surface of the water. Early the next morning he would 

 go to examine his line, and if he went soon enough he was apt to find he had 

 caught a fish .... [1884 a, p. 301.] 



PLC described a somewhat similar method of fisliing, but in this 

 instance the fisherman remains on the bank. He throws out his baited 

 line, but leaves a coil of loose line at his feet. When this begins to 

 micoil he knows he has a fish. 



According to PLC, fish were once so abundant that they could be 

 caught with the hands. Barbed spears were also extensively employed 

 to take fish but : "Now there are too few fish to make this way of fish- 

 ing any use" (PLC). According to PLC, bird claws were commonly 

 used for hooks and lines were made of rawhide. Dorsey (1884 a, p. 

 301) , however, says that the lines were of horsehair. After a success- 

 ful fishing trip, the Ponca angler distributed a part of his catch 

 among the old people in the camp, just as a hmiter distributed meat 

 after killing a deer, elk, or bison. 



Turtles were, and still are, speared by the Ponca. Today a pitch- 

 fork is commonly used for this purpose. PLC was engaged in turtle 

 spearing in Ponca Creek when I first visited him in 1949. 



In addition to wild game and fish, an amazing number of wild 

 plant foods were collected and used by the Ponca. As the tribe moved 

 from place to place following the bison, the women, equipped with 

 long digging sticks, kept a sharp watch for edible plants with which 

 to supplement and vary the diet. M. R. Gilmore (1919) provides us 

 the best listing and description of these. They included wildrice, 

 wild onions, Indian-potatoes, wild sweetpeas, water chinquapin, and 

 of course tipsina or 'prairie turnip,' the pomme blanche of the 

 French. Milkweed sprouts, clusters, and the young fruit were valued 

 as additions to the daily fare. The fruits of the blackhaw were 

 eaten, but not gathered in quantity. Wild flaxseeds were used in 

 soups. Morel was much esteemed and arrowleaf also was eaten on 

 occasion. Even such unlikely items as corn smut and puffballs were 

 used as foods when in a fresh state. James (1905, vol. 15, p. 171) 

 mentions that the roots and nuts of NelumMum were eaten by the 

 Ponca. J. O. Dorsey (1884 a, p. 308) says that calamus roots were 

 eaten as a food, but I am inclined to believe that they were restricted 

 to medicinal use. 



