134 Union Bay 



blooms, young green berries, partly matured yellow ones, and 

 the ripe coral-red berries all on the same plant, a condition 

 which continues until at least the first of October. 



Almost every journal of early explorers contains references 

 to the gathering of vegetable foods and speaks of seeing "a 

 number of Indians" or of "meeting numerous natives," or of 

 "men, women and children" all engaged in gathering, cut- 

 ting, or digging some item of food. Ethnologists point out 

 that the collection and preparation of food supplies usually 

 was not a solitary affair but one in which large groups par- 

 ticipated. Often it was an occasion for the summer meeting of 

 friendly tribes, a meeting at which games, ceremonies, and 

 gambling took place. Some of the more perishable fruits were 

 eaten as they were collected, but it was the period of great- 

 est food supply so that the collectors could eat their fill as 

 well as set aside and prepare large surpluses for the winter 

 . shortage. The areas were gay with color, the natives happy 

 and busy, and everybody, even the children, engaged in some 

 sort of task. 



The harvesting of the wapatoo was just such a communal 

 occupation. Wapatoo is the edible root of a species of arrow- 

 head, a perennial aquatic or marsh herb. The plant derives 

 its name from the shape of its leaves, which resemble the 

 head or point of an arrow. The leaves are coarse, heavily 

 veined, of a handsome darkish-green, and of varying propor- 

 tions, although all of them have the general arrowhead shape. 

 They are found usually in shallow water. The underground 

 stems are often several in number, each of which ends 

 in an edible tuber. The flowers are white, showy, and are 

 borne on long scapes or stalks, which makes them stand out 

 distinctly. In the marsh they grow along the canal margins 

 in fairly large numbers where the water is not too deep. 



Gerard lists two species of this plant under the Latin 

 designation of Sagittaria major and minor and under the 

 English names of "water-Archer, or Great and Small Arrow- 



