1885.] Indian Corn and the Indian. 231 
continued village for a number of miles, both above and below 
this place ; nor have I ever before beheld such immense fields of 
corn in any part of America, from Canada to Florida.” Pre- 
ceding this account, Carver, the celebrated English traveler, who 
traveled upwards of 5000 miles of the interior about the period 
of the Revolutionary war, writes that the Ottagammies, the Sau- 
kees and all the Eastern nations, were found growing Indian 
corn. In 1804 the Sioux of the Upper Missouri were found by 
Lewis and Clark cultivating corn, beans and potatoes, and indeed 
the references to Indian cultivation either directly by the ob- 
servers, or indirectly through antiquarian evidence, place beyond 
a doubt the existence of an agriculture often more or less rude, 
often more or less perfect, among the tribes of Northern Indians 
with irrigated fields and a systematized agriculture among some 
of the tribes of the Southwest. 
Let us note very briefly a few points to show that the North- 
ern Indians were intelligently desirous of securing agricultural 
products which would add to their luxury or support. We will — 
not refer to the Southern or Nahua tribes, for their possession of 
maize, beans, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, yams, Cassava, choco- 
late, peppers, tomatoes, etc., etc., in numerous varieties are suffi- 
cient evidence of their progress in agriculture, even if we refrain 
from mentioning the gardens of Mexico and Peru, which antedate 
the existence of similar institutions in France, if Hallam is to be 
credited, and in Mexico “ flowers were the delight of the people.” 
The melon is mentioned in 1494 as grown by the companions 
of Columbus at Isabella island, and this is their first occurrence 
in America. In 1535 Jacques Cartier speaks of the Indians at 
Hochelega, now Montreal, as having “ great store of muskmil- 
ions.” In 1540 Lopez de Gomara mentions melons as grown at 
Quivira, in the country of Tiguex, which appears to be some- 
where in the region of the present Arkansas, and in 1850 Anto- 
nio de Espejo found melons cultivated by the Concho Indians. 
In 1542 the army of the viceroy, sent from Mexico to Cibola, 
found the melon already there. Indeed melons are mentioned 
by the early visitors in New England, Virginia, Florida and the 
West. This rapid distribution of a desirable fruit is strong evi- 
dence in favor of the care the Indians gave to their fields, in 
securing and preserving seed.’ 
1 We must remember, however, that by the older horticulturists the pumpkin 
was often called a melon. 
