The other rice is the "sin´-wanin´de"; the stalk on which it grows is the "sin´-wanin´de-hi," a species of rush which grows with rice in swamps. The grain is translucent, and is the principal article of diet for those Indians who reside in very cold regions north of the Ponkas.
Sin´-skuskúba, which some Ponkas said was the calamus, is now very rare. Few of the Omahas know it at present. They used to eat it after boiling it. Frank La Flèche said that this could not be calamus, as the Omahas called that makan-ninida, and still eat it.
§ 173. Beans.—Beans, hinb¢iñ´ge or hanb¢iñ´ge, are planted by the Indians. They dry them before using them. Some are large, others are small, being of different sizes. The Indians speak of them thus: "búʇa-hnani, b¢áska égan," they are generally curvilinear, and are some what flat.
La Flèche and Two Crows speak of many varieties, which are probably of one and the same species: "Hinb¢iñge sábě g¢ejé, beans that have black spots. 2. Skă g¢ejé, those with white spots. 3. Zi´g¢ejé, those with yellow spots. 4. Jíde g¢ejé, those with red spots. 5. Qúde g¢ejé, those with gray spots. 6. Jíděqti, very red ones. 7. Sáběqti, very black ones. 8. Jíde cábe égan, those that are a sort of dark red. 9. Skă, white. 10. [T]u égan sábě, dark blue. 11. Ji´ égan sábě, dark orange red. 12. Skă, ug¢e tě jide, white, with red on the "ug¢e" or part that is united to the vine. 13. Hi-ug¢é tě sabě, those that are black on the "ug¢e." 14. [T]u g¢eje egan, blue, with white spots. 15. Anpan hin egan, qude zi egan, like the hair of an elk, a sort of grayish yellow.
The hinb¢in´`abe, or hinb¢iñge mantanaha, wild beans, are not planted. They come up of their own accord. They are flat and curvilinear, and abound under trees. The field-mice hoard them in their winter retreats, which the Indians seek to rob. They cook them by putting them in hot ashes.
§ 174. [T]e¢awe is the name given to the seeds and root of the Nelumbium luteum, and is thus described by an Omaha: The ʇe¢awe is the root of an aquatic plant, which is not very abundant. It has a leaf like that of a lily, but about two feet in diameter, lying on the surface of the water. The stalk comes up through the middle of the leaf, and projects about two feet above the water. On top is a seed-pod. The seed are elliptical, almost shaped like bullets, and they are black and very hard. When the ice is firm or the water shallow, the Indians go for the seed, which they parch by a fire, and beat open, then eat. They also eat the roots. If they wish to keep them for a long time, they cut off the roots in pieces about six inches long, and dry them; if not, they boil them.
§ 175. Hin´qa is the root of a sahi or water grass which grows beneath the surface of Lake Nik'umi, near the Omaha Agency, Nebraska. This root, which is about the size of the first joint of one's forefinger, is bulbous and black. When the Omaha boys go into bathe they frequently eat it in sport, after pulling off the skin. Two Crows says that adults never eat it. J. La Flèche never ate it, but he has heard of it.
§ 176. Savors, flavors, etc.—Salt, ni-skí¢ě, was used before the advent of the whites. One place known to the Omahas was on Salt River, near Lincoln, Nebr., which city is now called by them "Ni-ski¢ě." At that place the salt collected on top of the sand and dried. Then the Omahas used to brush it together with feathers and take it up for use. What was on the surface was very white, and fit for use; but that beneath was mixed with sand and was not disturbed. Rock salt was found at the head of a stream, southwest of the Republican, which flowed into the northwest part of the Indian Territory, and they gave the place the name, "Ni-skí¢ě sagí ¢an, Where the hard salt is." In order to get this salt, they broke into the mass by punching with sticks, and the detached fragments were broken up by pounding.
Peppers, aromatic herbs, spices, etc., were not known in former days. Clay was never used as food nor as a savor.
§ 177. Drinks.—The only drinks used were soups and water. Teas, beer, wine, or other fermented juices, and distilled liquors, were unknown. (See § [109].)