Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/419

 the North American Indians, 407

beloved man warns the inhabitants to be ready to plant on a prefixed day. At the dawn of it, one by order goes aloft, and whoops to them with fhrill calls, " that the new year is far advanced, that he who expects to eat, muft work, and that he who will not work, muft expect to pay the fine according to old cuftom, or leave the town, as they will not fweat themfelves for an healthy idle wafler." At fuch times, may be feen many war-chieftains working in common with the people, though as great em perors, as thofe the Spaniards beftowed on the old fimple Mexicans and Peruvians, and equal in power, (i. e. perfuafive force) with the imperial and puifiant Powhatan of Virginia, whom our generous writers raifed to that prodigious pitch of power and grandeur, to rival the SpaninV accounts. About an hour after fun-rife, they enter the field agreed on by lot, and fall to work with great cheerfulnefs ; fometimes one 'of their orators cheers them with jefts and humorous old tales, and fings feveral of their mod agreeable wild tunes, beating alfo with a flick in his right hand, on the top of an earthern pot covered with a wet and well-ftretched deer- ikin : thus they proceed from field to field, till their feed is fown.

Corn is their chief produce, and main dependance. Of this they have three forts ; one of which hath been already mentioned. The fecond fort is yellow and flinty, which they call " hommony-corn." The third is the largeft, of a very white and foft grain, termed "bread-corn." In July, when the chefnuts and corn are green and full grown, they half boil the for mer, and take off the rind; and having diced the milky, fwelled, long rows of the latter, the women pound it in a large wooden mortar, which is wide at the mouth, and gradually narrows to the bottom : then they knead both together, wrap them up in green corn-blades of various fizes, about an inch- thick, and boil them well, as they do every kind of feethed food. This fore of bread is very tempting to the tafte, and reckoned moft delicious to their ilrong palates. They have another fort of boiled bread, which is mixed with beans, or potatoes ; they put on the foft corn till it begins to boil, and pound it fufficiently fine j their invention does not reach to the ufe of any kind of milk. When the flour is ftirred, and dried by the heat of the fun or fire, they fift it with fieves of different fizes, curioufly made of the coar- fer or finer cane-fplinters. The thin cakes mixt with bear's oil, were for merly baked on thin broad ftones placed over a fire, or on broad earthen bottoms fit for fuch a ufe: but now they ufe kettles. When they intend to

bake:

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