Page:Economic History of Virginia Vol 1.djvu/192

 from the flour of the mattoom seed being eaten with deer suet. The principal root which they converted into food was the tuckahoe. Thus was found in the freshwater bogs, and resembled the flag in its growth. It was so abundant that it was said that one individual could gather in a day a sufficient quantity to furnish him a subsistence for a week. To prepare tuckahoe for consumption, the Indians laid the roots together in a pile, and having covered the whole with leaves and ferns, threw loose earth over it in a mass. A fire was then kindled on either side of the mound and allowed to burn for twenty-four hours. In its raw state the tuckahoe was thought to be very poisonous, but roasted in the manner described, it was palatable and nourishing; it had to be tender when cooked; if not, unless sliced and dried in the sun after roasting it, it prickled and tormented the throat when eaten. It was generally mixed with meal and sorrel, this having the effect of lessening its strength.

It was not the custom of the Indians to use any species of herb or leaf alone; for onions or hazel nuts, which the English valued so much, they had a special distaste. In the autumn they were always careful to gather a great quantity of persimmons, drying them on hurdles, and afterwards storing them away after the manner of preserved dates or figs. They also collected a berry that reminded the colonists of the English capers; this they also dried in the sun, and then kept in hot water many hours to remove its poisonous acid. The acorns of the white oak were gathered and boiled for the purpose of extracting the oil, which was used by the Indians in the anointment of their joints and limbs. The kernels were also ground into meal