Davenport Democrat Davenport, Scott, Iowa July 20, 1924 IT WASN'T SO FANCY BUT IT WAS DELICIOUS How Davenporters of the Early Thirties Prepared Their Food. Nowadays, when Davenport might be called "the city of restaurants," there are very few citizens who would turn up their noses at the delicious, substantial fare enjoyed by their forebears of the early thirties. To witness the various processes of cooking in those days would alike surprise and amuse those accustomed to cooking stoves, ranges and fireless cookers. Kettles were flung over the large fire, suspended with pot-hooks, iron or wooden, on the crane, or on poles, one end of which would rest upon a chain. The long handled frying pan was used for cooking meat. It was either held over the blaze by hand or sent down upon coals drawn out upon the hearth. This pan was also used for baking pancakes, also called "flap-jacks," batter-cakes, etc. A better article for this, however, was the cast-iron spider, or Dutch skillet. The best thing for baking bread, those days, was the flat-bottomed bake kettle, with closely fitting cast iron cover, and commonly known as the Dutch oven. With coals over and under it, bread and biscuit would quickly and nicely bake. Turkey and spare-ribs were sometimes roasted before the fire, suspended by a string, a dish being placed underneath to catch the drippings. Hominy and samp were very much used. The hominy, however, was generally hulled corn-boiled corn from which the hull or bran had been taken by hot lye; hence sometimes called "lye hominy." True hominy and samp were made of pounded corn. A popular method of making this, as well as real meal for bread, was to cut out or burn a large hole in the top of a huge stump, in the shape of a mortar, and by pounding the corn in this way a maul or beetle suspended by a swing pole like a well sweep. When the samp was sufficiently pounded it was taken out, the bran floated off and the delicious grain boiled like rice. The chief articles of diet in an early day were corn bread, hominy or samp, venison, pork, honey, pumpkin (dried pumpkin for more than half the year), turkey, prairie chicken, squirrel and some other game, with a few additional vegetables a portion of the year. Wheat bread, tea, coffee and fruit were luxuries not to be indulged in except on special occasions as when visitors were present. ROAST DOG WAS DELICACY MUCH LIKED BY INDIAN Dog feasts were one of the big events of Indian life in the days when the redskins roamed the vicinity of Fort Armstrong. At such celebrations, white men were occasionally the invited guests, and they were obliged to eat all that was placed before them or else hire some person to do so. Not to do so was considered a great breach of guest etiquette. Such feasts usually terminated all afternoon exercises, which were not only interesting but also highly instructive to those who witnessed them. Meats, vegetables and pies were served up in such provisions at the Indian banquets that many armfuls of the leavings were carried off- it being a part of the ceremony, religiously observed- that all victuals left upon such an occasion should be taken home. It was usually after the ceremony of painting the post that dog feasts were held. Post Painting. At the post painting, the feats of Wau-co-shaw-she, the chief, were portrayed. Ten headless figures were painted, signifying that the chief had killed ten men. Four others were then added one of them smaller than the others, one of them a child. A line was then run from one figure to another, terminating in a plume to signify that all had been accomplished by a chief. A fox was then painted over the plume, which plainly told that the chief was of the Fox tribe. These characters are so expressive that if an Indian of any tribe were to see them he would at once understand them. Following the sign of Pau-tau-co-to, who thus proved himself a warrior of high degree, were placed 20 headless figures-the number of Sioux he had slain. Cathy Joynt Labath Scott Co, IA USGenWeb Project http://www.celticcousins.net/scott/index.htm Iowa Old Press http://www.IowaOldPress.com/