Historical corn

Dear Editor,

Corn is a major grain crop, which originated in the Americas and the New World.

Grain in the Bible was actually wheat, barley and oats, but called corn.

Dried corn and smoked dried buffalo meat provided a winter food supply for Native Americans.

The Hidatsa, Arikara and Mandan Indian women of the Great Plains planted corn, squash and beans. They seldom left their fields unguarded. Crows, horses, raccoons and young Indian boys raided their vegetables regularly.

Armed with a knife made from a buffalo shoulder bone, they sliced pieces of squash and put them on willow sticks to dry. Several days later, they strung them up on braided grass ropes (to keep them on hand).

During corn harvest, at sunset, Indian women picked about five bushels each. They left them out to cool overnight. When morning came, they boiled the ears, then shelled them. They placed them on animal skins inside their dwellings, allowing the kernals to dry. Roofed platforms made from cottonwood trees were constructed with enclosed sections. the grain was stored on them two to 5 five feet above the ground. This kept rodents, dogs, children and insects away from the precious food supply.

Corn was their main food source, and their staff of life. This was supplemented by wild fruits, berries and roots similar to wild turnips.

__Helen Ruth

Arnold,__

Trenton, Neb