ADMINISTRATIVE KEI'OKT I.Iil 



indi<>eiioiis in central Mexico but cultivated and distributed 

 over the greater \r,\vt (if the American hemisphere during- pre- 

 Cohimbiau times. Prominent among the uoncultivated pLmts 

 was that known as wild rice (^Z/^aiiia, of two species), which 

 grew extensively in the sAvamps and about the margins of the 

 lakes left by the Pleistocene ice sheet m central North America; 

 and several tribes learned to harvest, store, and utilize the 

 natural crop yielded annually by this plant. Hitherto the 

 knowledge concerning the use of wild rice by the aborigines 

 has been vague; but in 1898 Dr Albert Ernest Jenks, an 

 advanced student in the University of AVisconsin, undertook 

 to systemize the knowledg-e by bringing together the refer- 

 ences to the use of wild rice scattered through the early and 

 rare literature pertaining to the aboiigines of this region. As 

 the work })rogressed, his interest grew, and he instituted 

 inquiries concerning the use of the plant by surviving tribes- 

 men in modern times; and when the results of his work were 

 brought to the attention of the Bureau, he was commissioned 

 to extend his field operations into northern Wisconsin and 

 Minnesota, where the wild-rice crop is still harvested annually. 

 The accompanying memoir is the product of Dr Jenks's re- 

 searches in the literature and in tlie field. 



As is shown by the descriptions and illustrations, wild rice 

 gathering is a well developed industry, playing an important role 

 in the ceremonial and ritualistic life of the tribesmen, as well as 

 in their domestic economy, though the ritualistic features of 

 the harvesting and jjrejjaration of the crop have so far fallen 

 into desuetude as to be traceable rather through vestiges than 

 through conspicuous observances. A notable feature of the 

 industry is the careful foix'thought given to the har\csting, as 

 shown l)y the elaborate processes and devices adopted to pro- 

 tect the grain from birds, as well as from loss by storms, etc.; 

 and this foresight, which is comparable to that of civilized 

 agriculture, is brought into the greater prominence by reason 

 of the almost total neglect of seeding, or of other devices (save 

 those of magicid character) for the preservation of the })lant 

 and the maintenance of the important natural resource which 

 it I'epresents. Doubtless the unwitting ])rocesses of harvesting 



