610 THE GLACIAL LAKE AGASSIZ. 



by their flowers, the harebell, gentian, phlox, Pentstemon, Gerardia, Ortho- 

 carpus, Pycnanthemum, Monarda, Spiranthes, Sisyrinchium, Uvxilaria, 

 Smilacina, lily, wild onion, spiderwort, etc. Often I have seen large tracts 

 of the natural prairie yellow with sunflowers or golden-rod; other areas 

 purple with Petalostemon, Liatris, or Gerardia, or blue with asters; and 

 still others white with the profusely flowering Galium boreale L. Several 

 yellow-flowered species of the Compositse, blooming in the middle and 

 later portions of summer, resemble each other by growing frequently in 

 clumps or bunches, as the Grindelia, Aplopappus, Clu-ysopsis, and Gutier- 

 rezia in the list of western plants, here noted in the declining order of their 

 height. 



Numerous species of plants prefer the sandy beaches of Lake Agassiz 

 and grow there in greater abundance and luxuriance than elsewhere, among 

 these being the pasque flower, Psoralea argophylJa Pursh, and P. esculenta 

 Pursh, two varieties of PofentUIa pennsylvanica L., Eosa arhansana Porter, 

 Liatris punctata Hook., Chrysopsis villosa Nutt., Lepachys columnar is Ton: and 

 Gray, Gaillardia aristata Pursh, Lilium philadelpMcum L., and Ammophila 

 longifolia Benth. Near Arden, Manitoba, one of the beaches of Lake 

 Agassiz has been named Ijy the settlers Orange Ridge, from its orange-red 

 lilies, and another is called the Rose Ridge. 



DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



The aboriginal tribes of Ojibways and Dakotas, living on the southern 

 portion of the area of Lake Agassiz, had made little progress toward a sys- 

 tem of agriculture which would provide their principal food during the 

 whole year. Like the other tribes of hunting Indians who inhabited all 

 the area of the United States, excepting its southwestern borders, their 

 dependence Avas chiefly on the chase and entrapping of game and on fishing. 

 But even their rude and very limited efforts in agriculture yielded an impor- 

 tant and valued portion of their sustenance. In pre-Columbian times and 

 onward to the present day the Indians have cultivated small patches of 

 land, carefully tending their crops and storing tip the harvest for gradual 

 use during the rigors of winter and until the next harvest, supplementing 



