390 
RURAL HOURfe. 
they consider dainties. * * When they intend to go a great 
distance on a hunting expedition, or to war, * * they pro- 
vide themselves severally with’ a small bag of parched corn or 
meal ; * * a quarter of a pound is sufficient for a day’s sub- 
sistence. When they are hungry they eat a small handful of the 
meal, after which they take a drink of water, and they are so well 
fed, that they can travel a day. When they can obtain fish or 
meat to eat, then their meal serves them as well as fine bread 
would, because it needs no baking.” Speaking of their feasts, he 
says : “ On extraordinary occasions, when they Avish to entertain 
any person, then they prepare beavers’ tails, bass-heads, with 
parched corn-meal, or very fat meat stewed, Avith shelled chest- 
nuts, bruised.” — Not a bad dinner, by any means. Thus aa'c see 
that Avhile they relied on the maize in times of scarcity and fatigue, 
it made a principal part of their every-day fare, and entered into 
their great feasts also ; but potatoes do not appear at all. 
In using the word sa 2 ')aen, Vanderdonck leads one to believe it 
cither a proA'incialism of the New Netherlands, or an Indian Avord. 
Very possibly it may liaA^e been borroAved from the red man, like 
the quaasiens or squash. There is, however, a word Avhich cor- 
responds to our English sup, to SAvalloAv Avithout mastication, 
Avhich in Saxon is zupan; the Dutch are said to have a Avord sim- 
ilar to this, and sapaen may prove a provincialism derived from it. 
A regular Hollander could probably decide the question for us. 
Samp for cracked corn ; homimy for grain more coarsely cracked ; 
and succotash for beans and maize boiled together, are all consid- 
ered as admitted Indian Avords. Mush is deriA'ed from the German 
Musse, for pap, and probably has reached us through the Dutch. 
Thursday, 2Zd. — Thanksgiving-day. Lovely Aveather ; beau- 
