1878. | Moqui Food-Preparations. 457 
latter the pik is generally made, although it is occasionally made 
of the white, and, in fact, is produced of every intermediate shade 
of color. In all of the houses, I noticed large quantities.of corn, 
dried and stowed away like cord wood, or hung from the rafters 
in great bundles. This precaution is taken in order to prepare 
for a famine, as the ordinary means of subsistence of the Moquis 
is precarious at best. Being an industrious race, they are, as a 
consequence, provident, so that in time of long protracted drought 
their-supplies of corn, dried fruits, vegetables and meats would be 
ample to carry them safely through the siege. 
The labor of making piki falls to the women, and is indeed a 
singular process. The female, after grinding the meal, mixes it 
with water in a large earthen bowl, when a thin blue paste is ob- 
tained. Into this is sprinkled a small quantity of cedar ash. The 
baker then sits or kneels before a stone oven, with the vessel con- 
taining the batter by her side. The oven consists of a large, flat, 
polished stone slab, some two feet long, a foot and a half wide and 
three or four inches thick, placed horizontally and raised a few 
inches from the floor. Under this a fire is kindled, and when the 
stone becomes hot it is ready for use. First it is greased, and 
then the woman dips her hand into the substance and smears it 
rapidly over the entire surface of the stone in a thin layer. Ina 
few seconds this is peeled off and placed ona corn-husk mat. 
When a number of these sheets have been baked, and while they 
are yet warm and pliable, they are folded together twice and con- 
stitute a loaf. Many of these loaves are made at one baking, and 
when they are finished are placed on a shelf, ready for use. I have 
observed one woman make as many as a dozen heaping baskets 
of piki in a short time. In eating it, pieces are broken off with 
the hand, as it is two brittle to cut. It has a peculiar taste, 
although the corn flavor is prominent, and a relish for it is soon, 
if not immediately, acquired. Another food preparation which is 
made by this interesting tribe, is a mixture or hash of dried fruits, 
chopped meal and straw, which is formed into little flat, circular 
cakes, four or five inches in diameter, and these are then placed 
on-the roof to dry. This toom-e-loch-e-nee (tum-i-lak-i-ni) is the 
most repulsive looking conglomeration conceivable. 
During the summer, pumpkins and melons are cut up and 
dried, which, when used, are said to be pleasant to the taste. 
One evening I had the opportunity of attending a Moqui repast, 
