D0UsEv1 PUMPKINS, FRUITS, NUTS, ETC. 307 



Na D/ pa, choke cherries, are of two kinds. The larger ones or na'"pa- 

 jan'ga, abound in a region known as jizabahehe, in Northwest Ne- 

 braska, where they are very thick, as many as two hundred being found 

 on a single bush. Some of the bushes are a foot high, others are about 

 two feet in height. The choke-cherries are first pounded between two 

 stones, and then dried. The smaller variety, or na u/ pa-jin'ga, grow on 

 tall bushes. These cherries are dried. 



Gube, hackberries, are the size of black peppers or the smaller cher- 

 ries (na n pa-jinga). They are fine, sweet, and black. They grow on 

 large trees (Celtis occidentalis), the bark of which is rough and inclined 

 to curl up. 



Agfaukamauge, raspberries, are dried and boiled. Bacte, strawber- 

 ries, are not dried. They are eaten raw. 



Ja n -qude ju are berries that grow near the Niobrara River; they are 

 black and sweet, about the size of buffalo berries. They are dried! 



Nacama a is the name of a species of berry or persimmon (?), which 

 ripens in the later fall. It hangs in clusters on a small stalk, which is 

 bent over by the weight of the fruit. The nacama" is seldom eaten by 

 the Omahas. It is black, not quite the size of a hazel nut; and its seed 

 resemble watermelon seed. 



Hazi, grapes— one kind, the fox grape, is eaten raw, or dried and 

 boiled. 



§170. Nuts.— The " bude" is like the acorn, but it grows on a different 

 tree, the trunk of which is red (the red oak ?). These nuts are ripe 

 in the tall. They are boiled till the water has nearly boiled away, when 

 the latter is poured out, and fresh water and good ashes are put in. 

 Then the nuts are boiled a long time till they become black. The water 

 and ashes are thrown out, fresh water is put in the kettle, and the nuts 

 are washed till they are clean, when they are found to be " najube " 

 cooked till ready to fall to pieces. Then they are mixed with wild honey, 

 and are ready for one to eat. They are "ib£a n qtiwaf6," capable of 

 satisfying hunger to the utmost, but a handful being necessary for that 

 end. 



A n 'jinga, hazel nuts, are neither boiled nor dried ; they are eaten raw 

 The same may be said of " ^age," black walnuts. 



§ 171. Fruits were preserved in wild honey alone, according to J. La 

 Fleche. Since the arrival of the white people a few of the Omahas 

 have cultivated sorghum ; but in former days the only sugars and sirups 

 were those manufactured from the sugar maple and box elder or ash- 

 leaved maple. 



The Omahas know nothing about pulse, mesquite, and screw-beans. 

 Nor do they use seeds of grasses and weeds for food. 



Previous to the arrival of the whites they did not cultivate any gar- 

 den vegetables ; but now many of the Omahas and Ponkas have raised 

 many varieties in their gardens. 

 § 172. Boots used for food.— The nug^e or Indian turnip is sometimes 



