DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
 
 OFFICE OF INDIAN AFFAIRS 
 
 Bulletin, 1928, No. 1. 
 
 PRIMITIVE AGRICULTURE 
 OF THE INDIANS 
 
 THE INDIAN PRINT SHOP 
 CHILOCCO INDIAN AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL 
 CHILOCCO. OKLAHOMA. 
 
 Uhb3 
 
 

Primitive Agriculture of the Indians 
 
 Excerpt from The Handbook of American Indians 
 Bulletin 30, Bureau of American Ethnology, 
 
 |N OPINION Long prevailed in the minds of the people 
 that the Indians north of Mexico were, previous to and 
 at the time Europeans began to settle that part of the 
 continent, virtually nomads, having no fixed abodes, and 
 hence practising agriculture to a very limited extent. 
 Why this opinion has been entertained by the masses, who have 
 learned it from tales and traditions of Indian life and warfare as they 
 have been since the establishment of European colonies, can be readily 
 understood, but why writers who have had access to the older records, 
 should thus speak of them is not easily explained, when these records 
 speaking of the temperate regions, almost without exception notice the 
 fact that the Indians were generally found, from the border of the 
 western plains to the Atlantic, dwelling in settled villages and culti¬ 
 vating the soil. DeSoto found all the tribes that he visited, from the 
 Florida peninsula to the western part of Arkansas, cultivating maize 
 and various other food plants. The early voyagers found the same 
 thing true along the Atlantic from Florida to Massachusetts. Capt. 
 John Smith and his Jamestown colony, indeed all the early colonies, 
 depended at first very largely for subsistence on the products of In¬ 
 dian cultivation. Jacques Cartier, the first European who ascended the 
 St. Lawrence, found the Indians of Hochelaga (Montreal island) 
 cultivating the soil. “They have,” he remarks, “good and large fields 
 of corn.” Champlain and other early French explorers testify to the 
 large reliance of the Iroquois on the cultivation of the soil for sub¬ 
 sistence. LaSalle and his companions observed the Indians of Illinois, 
 and thence southward along the Mississippi, cultivating and to a large 
 extent subsisting on maize. 
 
 Sagard, an eye-witness of what he reports, says, in speaking of the 
 agriculture of the Hurons in 1623-26, that they dug a round place at 
 every 2 feet or less, where they planted in the month of May in each 
 hole nine or ten grains of corn which they had previously selected, 
 culled, and soaked for several days in water. And every year they 
 
2 PRIMITIVE AGRICULTURE OF THE INDIANS 
 
 thus planted their corn in the same places and spots which they reno¬ 
 vated with their small wooden shovels. He indicates the height of 
 the corn by the statement that he lost his way quicker in these fields 
 than in the prairies or forests (Histoire du Canada, I, 265-266, 1636, 
 reprint, 1866). 
 
 Indian corn, the great American cereal, “was found in cultivation 
 from the southern extremity of Chile to the 50th parallel of North 
 latitude” (Brinton, Myths of the New World, 22, 1868). “All the 
 nations who inhabit from the sea as far as the Illinois, and even 
 farther, carefully cultivate the maize corn, which they make their 
 principal subsistence” (Du Pratz, Histoire de la Louisiane, II, 239, 
 1763).” The whole of the tribes situated in the Mississippi valley, in 
 Ohio, and the lakes reaching on both sides of the Alleghenies, quite to 
 Massachusetts and other parts of New England, cultivated Indian 
 corn. It was the staple product” (Schoolcraft, Indian Tribes, I, 80, 
 1851). 
 
 The great length of the period previous to the discovery during 
 which maize had been in cultivation is proved by its differentiation 
 into varieties, of which there were four in Virginia; by the fact that 
 charred corn and impressions of corn on burnt clay have been found 
 in the mounds and in the ruins of prehistoric pueblos in the South¬ 
 west; by the Delaware tradition and by the fact that the builders of 
 the oldest mounds must have been tillers of the soil. 
 
 Some idea of the extent of the cultivation of maize by some of the 
 tribes may be gained from the following estimates. The amount of 
 corn (probably in the ear) of the Iroquois destroyed by Deronville in 
 1687 was estimated at 1,000,000 bushels (Charlevoix, Histoire Nou- 
 velle France, II, 355, 1744; also Documentary History New York, I, 
 238, 1849). According to Tonti, who accompanied the expedition, 
 they were engaged seven days in cutting up the corn of four villages. 
 Gen. Sullivan, in his expedition into the Iroquois country, destroyed 
 160,000 bushels of corn and cut down the Indian orchards; in one or¬ 
 chard alone 1,500 apple trees were destroyed (History New York Dur¬ 
 ing the Revolutionary War, II, 334, 1879). Gen. Wayne, writing 
 from Grand Glaize in 1794, says: “The margins of these beautiful 
 rivers—the Miami of the Lake and the Au Glaize— appear like one 
 continuous village for a number of miles, both above and below this 
 place; nor have I ever before beheld such immense fields of corn in 
 any part of America from Canada to Florida” (Manypenny, Indian 
 Wards, 84, 1880). 
 
 If we are indebted to the Indians for maize, without which the peo¬ 
 pling of America would probably have been delayed for a century, it 
 is also from them that the whites learned the methods of planting, 
 storing and using it. The ordinary corncribs, set on posts, are copies 
 of those in use among the Indians, which Lawson described in 1701 
 (History Carolina, 35, reprint, 1860). 
 
 Beans, squashes, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, tobacco, gourds, and 
 
PRIMITIVE AGRICULTURE OF THE INDIANS 3 
 
 the sunflower were also cultivated to some extent, especially in what 
 are now the Southern States. According to Beverly (History Virginia, 
 125-128, 1722), the Indians had two varieties of sweet potatoes. Mar¬ 
 quette, speaking of the Illinois Indians, says that in addition to maize, 
 “they also sow beans and melons, which are excellent, especially those 
 with a red seed. Their squashes are not of the best; they dry them in 
 the sun to eat in the winter and spring” (Voy. and Discov., in French, 
 Historical Collections, Louisiana, IV, 83, 1852). 
 
 The foregoing applies chiefly to the region east of the Rocky Moun¬ 
 tains but the native population of the section now embraced in New 
 Mexico and Arizona not only cultivated the soil, but relied on agri¬ 
 culture to a large extent for subsistence. No corn was raised or agri¬ 
 culture practised anywhere on the Pacific slope north of the lower Rio 
 Colorado, but frequent mention is made by the chroniclers of Coro¬ 
 nado’s Expedition to New Mexico of the general cultivation of maize 
 by the Indians of that section, and also of the cultivation of cot¬ 
 ton. It is stated in the Relacion del Suceso (Winship in 14th Report, 
 Bureau of American Ethnology, 575, 1896) that those who lived 
 near the Rio Grande raised cotton but the others did not. The writer, 
 speaking of the Rio Grande Valley, adds: “There is much corn here.” 
 
 “From the earliest information we have of these nations [the Pueblo 
 Indians] they are known to have been tillers of the soil, and though 
 the implements used and their methods of cultivation were both simple 
 and primitive, cotton, corn, wheat [after its introductions], beans, 
 with many varieties of fruits were raised in abundance” (Bancroft, 
 Native Races, I, 538, 1882). Chile and onions are extensively cultivat¬ 
 ed by the Pueblo tribes, as also are grapes and peaches but these lat¬ 
 ter, like wheat, were introduced by the Spaniards. 
 
 The Indians of New Mexico and Arizona had learned the art of 
 irrigating their fields before the appearance of the white man on the 
 continent. This is shown not only by the statements of early explorers, 
 but by the still existing remains of their ditches. “In the valleys 
 of the Salado and Gila, in southern Arizona, however, casual observa¬ 
 tion is sufficient to demonstrate that the ancient inhabitants engaged 
 in agriculture by artificial irrigation to a vast extent.***Judging from 
 the remains of extensive ancient works of irrigation, many of which 
 may still be seen passing through tracts cultivated to-day as well as 
 across densely wooded stretches considerably beyond the present non- 
 irrigated area, it is safe to say that the principal canals constructed 
 and used by the ancient inhabitants of the Salado valley controlled the 
 irrigation of at least 250,000 acres” (Hodge in American Anthrop¬ 
 ology, July, 1893). Remains of ancient irrigating ditches and canals 
 are also found elsewhere in these territories. 
 
 The sunflower was cultivated to a limited extent both by the In¬ 
 dians of the Atlantic slope and those of the Pueblo region for its 
 seeds , which were eaten after being parched and ground into meal be¬ 
 tween two stones. The limits of the cultivation of tobacco at the time 
 
4 PRIMITIVE AGRICULTURE OF THE INDIANS 
 
 of the discovery has not yet been well defined. That it was cultivated 
 to some extent on the Atlantic side is known; it was used aboriginally 
 all over California, and indeed a plant called tobacco by the natives 
 was cultivated as far North as Yakutat bay, Alaska. 
 
 Although it has been stated the Indians did not use fertilizers, there 
 is evidence that they did. The Plymouth colonists were told by the 
 Indians to add fish to the old grounds (Bradford, History Plymouth 
 Plantation, Massachusetts Historical Society Collections, 4th series, 
 III, 100, 1856). It is also stated that the Iroquois manured their 
 land. Lescarbot says the Armouchiquois, Virginia Indians, and 
 others “enrich their fields with shells and fish.” The implements 
 they used in cultivating the ground are described as “wooden howes” 
 and “spades made of hard wood.” 
 
 “Florida Indians dig their ground with an instrument of wood 
 fashioned like a broad mattock,” “use hoes made of shoulder blades of 
 animals fixed on staves,” “use the shoulder blade of a deer or a tor¬ 
 toise shell, sharpened upon a stone and fastened to a stick, instead of 
 a hoe;” “a piece of wood, 3 inches broad, bent at one end and fastened 
 to a long handle sufficed them to free the land from weeds and turn 
 it up lightly.” Mention is also made of shells used as digging imple¬ 
 ments, and Moore and Cushing have found in Florida many large 
 conchs that had served this purpose. 
 
 Such are some of the earlier statements in regard to the agricultural 
 implements used by the Indians; however, certain stone implements 
 have been found in vast numbers which are generally conceded to have 
 been used in breaking the soil. Of these the most characteristic are 
 the hoes and spades of the middle Mississippi valley. 
 
 Formerly the field work was generally done by women. Hariot 
 (Hakluyt, Voy., Ill, 329, 1810) says, “The women, with short pickers 
 or parers (because they use them sitting) of a foot long, and about 
 5 inches in breadth, do only break the upper part of the ground to 
 raise up the weeds, grass, and old stubs or cornstalks with their 
 roots.” It was a general custom to burn over the ground before 
 planting in order to free it from weeds and rubbish. In the forest 
 region patches were cleared by girdling the trees, thus causing them 
 to die, and afterward burning them down. 
 
 The aquatic plant (Zizania aquatica) generally known as “wild rice” 
 has been for many generations one of the most important food pro¬ 
 ducers of the Indian country about the Great Lakes and adjacent 
 waters. The comparatively dense population in the wild-rice area 
 and the physical well-being of the Indians there resident have been 
 remarked by many writers. Henry in 1775 and Carver in 1776 record 
 the fact that the great expeditions to the rivers of the west and the 
 preservation of the “infant colonies” beyond the settled east would 
 hardly have been possible without this cereal. The nomenclature of 
 the wild-rice area is of importance, since Jenks concludes that in this 
 
PRIMITIVE AGRICULTURE OF THE INDIANS 5 
 
 limited region of North America alone “more geographic names have 
 been derived from wild-rice than from any other natural vegetal pro¬ 
 duct throughout the whole continent.” The plant itself is multi-nomial, 
 no fewer than 60 synonyms in English, French, and the Indian tongues 
 being cited by Jenks. The use of wild rice (which is mentioned rather 
 late in the Jesuit Relations) seems to have been stimulated not a little 
 by the pressure of the whites on the Indians, which forced them more 
 and more into closer quarters in this region and cut off some of their 
 resources, especially hunting. Wild rice is remembered in several 
 Indian month-names and some interesting legends are connected with 
 it. The Menominee tribe is so-called from the plant. Practically all 
 that is known about the botany of wild rice, its production and food 
 uses, its influence on Indian life and customs, and its use by white 
 settlers, will be found in Dr. A. E. Jenks’ monograph, “The Wild-Rice 
 Gatherers of the Upper Lakes” (19th Report, Bureau of American 
 Ethnology, 1900). 
 
 ******** 
 
 (Additional information relative to Indian agriculture, implements, 
 products, etc., may be gleaned from The Handbook of American 
 Indians North of Mexico, Bulletin 30, Bureau of American 
 Ethnology). 
 
 ***** 
 
 BIBLOGRAPHY 
 
 Adair, James: 
 
 The History of the American Indians. London: Edward and 
 Charles Dilly, 1775. 
 
 Barber, E. A.: 
 
 Moqui Food Preparation. American Naturalist, XII, 456, 1878. 
 Barrows, David Prescott: 
 
 The Ethnobotany of the Coahuilla Indians of Southern California. 
 Chicago: The University Press. 1900. 82 pp. 
 
 Carr, Lucien: 
 
 The Mounds of the Mississippi Valley historically considered. 
 Cincinnati. 1883. Reprint from Memoirs of Kentucky Geo¬ 
 logical Survey, Vol. II. 1882. 
 
 The Food of Certain American Indians and their methods of pre¬ 
 paring it. American Antiquarian Society Proceedings, new 
 series, Vol. X, pp. 156-190. 1895. 
 
6 PRIMITIVE AGRICULTURE OF THE INDIANS 
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 Chestnut, V. K.: 
 
 Plants used by the Indians of Mendocino County, California. 
 Washington: 1902. Contributions to the National Herbari¬ 
 um, VII, pp. 295-408. 
 
 Coville, Frederick Vernon: 
 
 Wokas, A Primitive Food of the Klamath Indians. Annual Re¬ 
 port U. S. National Museum, 1902, pp. 725-739, 13 pi. 
 
 Directions for Collecting Specimens and Information Illustrating 
 the Aboriginal Uses of Plants. Bulletin 39, U. S. National 
 Museum, Part J. 
 
 Cushing, Frank Hamilton: 
 
 Zuni Breadstuffs. The Millstone, IX and X, Indianapolis, 1884-85. 
 
 Donaldson, Thomas: 
 
 The George Catlin Indian Gallery in the U. S. National Museum 
 (Smithsonian Institution). From Smithsonian Report, 1885. 
 Washington: 1887. 939 pp. 
 
 Goddard, P. E.: 
 
 Life and Culture of the Hupas. Vol. 1, North American Archae¬ 
 ology and Ethnology, University of California. 
 
 Harshberger, J. W.: 
 
 Maize: A Botanical and Economic Study. 1893. 
 
 Havard, Victor: 
 
 The Food Plants of the North American Indians. Bulletin, Torrey 
 Botanical Club, XXII, No. 2, February; No. 3, March, 1895. 
 
 Drink Plants of the North American Indians. Bulletin, Torrey 
 Botanical Club, XXIII, No. 2, February, 1896. 
 
 Hoffman, Walter J.: 
 
 The Menomini Indians. 14th Annual Report, Bureau of American 
 Ethnology, Pt. 1. Washington. 1896. 
 
 Hough, Myrtle Zuck : 
 
 Plant Names of the Southwestern United States. The Plant 
 World, Washington, 1900, III, p. 137. 
 
 Hough, Walter: 
 
 The Hopi in Relation to their Plant Environment. The American 
 Anthropologist, X, No. 2, 1897, pp. 33-44. 
 
 The Hopi Indians. Cedar Rapids, Iowa: The Torch Press. 1915. 
 
PRIMITIVE AGRICULTURE OF THE INDIANS 7 
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 Kenton, Edna: 
 
 The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents; Travels and Ex¬ 
 plorations of the Jesuit Missionaries in North America 
 (1610-1791), selected and edited by Edna Kenton. New York: 
 Albert and Charles Boni. 1925. 527 pp. ill. 
 
 Mindeleff, Cosmos : 
 
 Aboriginal Remains in Verde Valley. 13th Annual Report, Bu¬ 
 reau of American Ethnology, 1891-92. Washington. 1896. pp 
 185-257. 
 
 Moorehead, Warren K.: 
 
 Prehistoric Implements. Cincinnati: The Robert Clark Co. 
 1900. 431 pp., ill. 
 
 Newberry, J. S.: 
 
 Food and Fiber Plants of the North American Indians. Popular 
 Science Monthly, XXXII, Nov. 1887. pp. 31-46. 
 
 Palmer, Edward: 
 
 Plants used by the Indians of the United States. American 
 Naturalist, XII, pp. 653. 
 
 Food Products of the North American Indians. In Report of the 
 Department of Agriculture, 1870-71. 
 
 Parker, Arthur C.: 
 
 Iroquois Uses of Maize and other Food Plants. New York State 
 Museum Bulletin 144 (Education Department New York 
 State Bulletin 482). Albany: University of the State of New 
 York. 1910. 119 pp., ill. 
 
 Schoolcraft, Henry R.: 
 
 Historical and Statistical Information respecting the History, 
 Conditions, and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United 
 States. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1851-57. 6 vols. 
 
 Stickney, Gardner P.: 
 
 Indian Use of Wild Rice. In American Anthropologist, Vol. IX. 
 No. 4, 1896, pp. 115-121, ill. 
 
 The Use of Maize by Wisconsin Indians. Parkman Club Publi¬ 
 cations, 13, March 9, 1897. Milwaukee. 
 
8 PRIMITIVE AGRICULTURE OF THE INDIANS 
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 STURTEVANy, E. Lewis: 
 
 Indian Corn and the Indian. The American Naturalist, vol. XIX, 
 March, 1885, No. 3. pp. 225-234. 
 
 Thwaites, Rueben Gold (ed.): 
 
 The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents. Cleveland. 1896. 
 73 vols. 
 
 Will, George F.: 
 
 Hyde, George E.: 
 
 Corn among the Indians of the Upper Missouri. St. Louis: The 
 Wm. Harvey Miner Co. 1917. 323 pp., ill. (Little Histories 
 of the North American Indians No. 5). 
 
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