Page:American Anthropologist NS vol. 22.djvu/219

 DELABARRE AND WILDER] INDIAN CORN-HILLS 2O/

less. Putting their corn and other grains into large grass sacks, they throw them into these trenches, and cover them with sand, three or foure feet above the surface of the earth, taking it out as their needs require. In this way it is preserved as well as it would be possible to do in our granaries (p. 95).

The description "Of their Planted fruits in Virginia, and how they use them," which Captain John Smith wrote in 1606, is applic- able also to this region.

The greatest labour they take, is in planting their corne, for the Country naturally is overgrowne with wood. To prepare the ground they bruise the barke of the trees neare the root, then doe they scortch the roots with fire that they grow no more. The next yeare with a crooked peece of wood they beat up the weeds by the rootes, and in that mould they plant their Corne. Their manner is this. They make a hole in the earth with a sticke, and into it they put foure graines of wheate and two of beanes. These holes they make four foote one from another; 1 Their women and children do continually keepe it with weeding, and when it is growne middle high, they hill it about like a hop-yard.

In Aprill they begin to plant, but their chiefe plantation is in May, and so they continue till the midst of June. What they plant in Aprill they reape in August, for May in September, for June in October; Every stalk of their corne commonly beareth two eares, some three, seldom any foure, many but one and some none. Every eare ordinarily hath betwixt 200 and 500 graines. The stalke being greene hath a sweet juice in it, somewhat like a sugar Cane, which is the cause that when they gather their corne greene, they sucke the stalkes: for as we gather greene pease, so doe they their corne being greene, which excelleth their old. They plant also pease they call Assentamens, which are the same they call in Italy, Fagioli. Their Beanes are the same the Turkes call Garnanses, but these they much esteeme for dainties. 2

The season for planting, according to Belknap 3, was "when the leaves of the white oak are as big as the ear of a mouse." William Bradford, in his History of Plymouth, 4 says that Squanto "tould them excepte they gott fish and set with it (in these old grounds) it would come to nothing." Mourt's Relation (by Bradford and Winslow) 5 reports the same fact: "According to the manner of the

1 "Four or five feet apart" is the spacing mentioned by W. Strachey, in The Historic of Travailc into Virginia, p. 116.

2 The Historic of Virginia, University of Glasgow Edition, 1907, pp. 5859.

3 History of New Hampshire, vol. in, p. 93.

4 Massachusetts Historical Society Edition, 1912, vol. I, p. 215. A note by the editors on page 220 gives evidence for the fact that the Narragansetts "have good corne without fish." Possibly this may be the reason why we have never heard of the survival of the old corn-hills in Rhode Island.

5 Ed. Dexter, 1865, p. 132.

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