308 OMAHA SOCIOLOGY. 



round, and at others elliptical. When the Oinahas wish to dry it, they 



pull off the skin. Then they cut oil' pieces about two inches long, and 

 throw away the hard interior. Then they place these pieces in a mortar 

 and pound them, alter which they dry them. When they are dried 

 they are frequently mixed with grease. Occasionally they are boiled 

 with dried meat without being pounded. The soup is very good. 



Nii uke£i n , or Pomme de terre, the native potato, is dug in the winter 

 by the women. There are different kinds of this root, some of which 

 have good skins. Several grow on a common root, thus: £n3~0"© These 

 potatoes are boiled ; then the skins are pulled off, and they are dried. 



The "si u " is an aquatic plant, resembling the water-lily. It is also 

 called the " si n/ -uke^i n ," being the wild rice. In order to prepare it as 

 food it is roasted under hot. ashes. 



The other rice is the " si u '-waniu'de " ; the stalk on which it grows is 

 the " si u '-wanin'de-hi," a species of rush which grows with rice in 

 swamps. The grain is translucent, and is the principal article of diet 

 for those Indians who reside in very cold regions north of the Ponkas. 



Si u '-skuskuba, which some Ponkas said was the calamus, is now very 

 rare. Few of the Omahas know it at present. They used to eat it after 

 boiling it. Frank La Fleche said that this could not be calamus, as the 

 Oinahas called that maka n -ninida, and still eat it. 



$ 173. Beans. — Beans, hi n b£iu'ge or ha n b£in'ge, are planted by the 

 Indians. They dry them before using them. Some are large, others 

 are small, being of different sizes. The Indians speak of them thus: 

 "buia-hua n i, bifaska ega n ," they are generally curvilinear, and are some 

 what flat. 



La Fleche and Two Crows speak of many varieties, which are pro- 

 bably of one and the same species : " Hi n b<j>iiige sab8 g^eje, beans that 

 have black spots. 2. Ska gfej6, those with white spots. 3. Zi'g<j;ej6, 

 those with yellow spots. 4. Jide g<f;ej6, those with red spots. 5. Qiide 

 g(f;eje, those with gray spots. 6. Jideqti, very red ones. 7. Sabeqti, 

 very black ones. 8. Jide cabe 6ga n , those that are a sort of dark red. 

 9. Ska, white. 10. j^u 6ga n sabg, dark blue. 11. Ji' ega n siibg, dark 

 orange red. 12. Ska, ug^se t<5 jide, white, with red ou the "ug^e" or 

 part that is united to the vine. 13. Hi ug<j;6 16 sabS, those that are black 

 on the " ug^e." 14. ^u gfeje ega u , blue, with white spots. 15. A n pa" 

 hi n ega n , qude zi ega u , like the hair of an elk, a sort of grayish yellow. 



The hi u b£i u "abe, or hi n b<|;inge ma n tanaha, wild beans, are not planted. 

 They come up of their own accord. They are fiat and curvilinear, aud 

 abound under trees. The field-mice hoard them in their winter retreats, 

 which the Indians seek to rob. They cook them by putting them in hot 

 ashes. 



§ 174. fi&fawe is the name given to the seeds and root of the Nelum- 

 bium luteum, and is thus described by an Omaha : The je^awe is the 

 root of an aquatic plant, which is not very abundant. It has a leaf 

 like that of a lily, but about two feet in diameter, lying on the surface 



