Page:The Hasty-Pudding.djvu/29

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INDIAN CORN.
21

of wood with a polt, lap it in rowles in the leaues of their corne, and so boyle it for a daintie. They also reserue that corne late planted that will not ripe, by roasting it in hot ashes, the heat thereof drying it. In winter they esteeme it being boyled with beanes for a rare dish, they call Pausarowmena. Their old wheat (maize) they first steepe a night in hot water, in the morning pounding it in a morter. They vse a small basket for their temmes (sieve), then pound againe the great, and so separating by dashing their hand in the basket, receiue the flower in a platter made of wood, scraped to that forme with burning and shels. Tempering this flower with water, they make it either in cakes, covering them with ashes till they be baked, and then washing them in faire water, they drie presently with their owne heat: or else boyle them in water, eating the broth with the bread which they call Ponap. The groutes and peeces of the cornes remaining, by fanning in a platter or in the wind, away, the branne they boyle 3 or 4 houres with water, which is an ordinary food they call Vstatahamen. But some more thriftie then cleanly, doe burne the core (cob) of the eare to powder, which they call Pungnough, mingling that in their meale, but it never tasted well in bread, nor broth.”

Mr. Schoolcraft, in his late Report, says, that it is conceded on all hands, that this is a tropical, or at least, a southern plant. He remarks, that it was not known in Europe before the discovery of this country, and that we learned the mode of cultivation from the Indians, and not they from us. It was cultivated by the Iroquois in fields sufficiently large to entitle them to the name of agriculturists. It was undoubtedly highly prized by them, as an essential article of support, as Mr. Schoolcraft states that the warriors of the Six Nations were in the habit of undertaking journeys of thousands of miles in extent, carrying no other food than a little meal from parched and pounded corn, relying on the forest for meat. One tablespoonful of this meal, mixed with a little sugar