304 OMAHA SOCIOLOGY. 



hoppers, or other insects, and dried fish-spawn. Nor do they ever use 

 as drinks fish-oil or other oils. 



LC6. Corn, Wata n zi. — La Fleche and Two Crows mention the follow- 

 ing varieties as found among the Omahas : 1. Wata n 'zi ska, white corn, 

 of two sorts, one of which, wata"'zi-kugfi, is hard; the other, wata"'zi 

 ska proper, is wat'ega, or tender. 2. Wata n 'ziqu, blue corn; one sort is 

 hard and translucent, the other is wat'ega. 3. Wata u 'zi zi, yellow corn; 

 one sort is hard and translucent, the other is wat'ega. 4. Wata n 'zi 

 g<feje, spotted corn; both sorts are wat'ega; one is covered with gray 

 spots, the other with red spots. 5. Wata n/ zi ;ujide, a "a reddish-blue 

 coin." 6. Wata n 'zi jideqti, "very red corn." 7. Wata n 'zi igaxiixu, zi 

 Id jide ihahai, ugaai ega n , figured corn, on which are yellow and red 

 lines, as if painted. 8. Wa^astage, of three sorts, which are the "sweet 

 corn" of the white people; wa^astage ska, which is translucent, but not 

 very white; wa^astage z>i, which is wat'ega and yellow, and wa^astage 

 411, which is wat'ega and blue. All of the above varieties mature in Au- 

 gust. Besides these is the Wajiit'a n -ku^e, "that which matures soou," 

 the squaw corn, wiiich first ripens in July. 



§ 167. Modes of cooling the corn. — Before corn is boiled the men call 

 it wata n 'zi saka, raw corn ; the women call all corn that is not boiled 

 "savage." Wata n zi skife, sweet corn, is prepared in the following ways: 

 When the corn is yet in the milk or soft state it is collected and boiled 

 on the cob. This is called "wab<faiga" or " wab^uga {jafiga," because 

 the corn ear (wahaba) is put whole (b<j;uga) into the kettle. It is boiled 

 with beans alone, with dried meat alone, with beans and dried meat, or 

 with a buffalo paunch and beans. 



Sometimes the sweet corn is simply roasted before it is eaten; then 

 it is known as "wata n/ zi siting uha n -baji, sweet corn that is not boiled." 

 Sometimes it is roasted on the ear with the husks on, being placed in 

 the hot embers, then boiled, shelled, and dried in the sun, and after- 

 wards packed away for keeping in parfleche cases. The grain prepared 

 in this manner has a shriveled appearance and a sweet taste, from 

 which the name is derived. It may be boiled for consumption at any- 

 time of the year with but little trouble, and its taste closely resembles 

 that of new corn. Sometimes it is boiled, shelled, and dried without 

 being roasted ; in this case, as in the preceding one, it is called " wata u 'zi 

 skiife uha n i, boiled street com? This sweet corn may be boiled with 

 beans alone, or with beans, a buffalo paunch, pumpkins, and dried meat; 

 or with one or more of these articles, when all cannot be had. 



They used to make " wa<j:iskiskida, corn tied up." When the corn 

 was still juicy they pushed off the grains having milk in them. These 

 were put into a lot of husks, which were tied in a bundle, and that was 

 placed in a kettle to boil. Beans were often mixed with the grains of 

 corn before the whole was placed in the husks. In either case wafi- 

 skiskida was considered very good food. 



Dougherty said, "They also pound the sweet corn into a kind of 



