it is the first of these that is referred to by
Nicollet, as the prairie potato. "All the high prairies (he says)
abound with the silver-leafed _Psoralia_, which is the prairie turnip
of the Americans, the _pomme des prairies_ of the Canadians, and
furnishes an invaluable food to the Indians." There are several
species of _Psoralia_, viz., _esculenta_, _argophylla_, _cuspidata_,
and _lanceolata_.

The prairie turnip grows on the high dry prairies, one or two
together, in size from that of a small hen's egg to that of a goose
egg, and of the same form. They have a thick black or brown bark, but
are nearly pure white inside, with very little moisture. They are met
with four to eight inches below the surface, and are dug by the women
with a long pointed stick, forced into the ground and used as a lever.
They are eaten boiled and mashed like a turnip, or are split open and
dried for future use. In this state they resemble pieces of chalk. It
is said that when thus dried they may be ground into flour, and that
they make a very palatable and nutritious bread. M. Lamare Picot, a
French naturalist, has lately incurred a very considerable expense to
obtain the seed, which he has carried to France, believing that it is
capable of cultivation, and may form a substitute both for potato and
wheat.

The wild bean is found in all parts of the valleys where the land is
moist and rich. It is of the size of a large white bean, with a rich
and very pleasant flavor. When used in a stew, I have thought it
superior to any garden vegetable I had ever tasted. The Indians are
very fond of them, and pigeons get fat on them in spring. The plant is
a slender vine, from two to four feet in height, with small pods two
to three inches long, containing three to five small beans. The pod
dries and opens, the beans fall to the ground, and in spring take root
and grow again. The beans on the ground are gathered by the Indians,
who sometimes find a peck at once, gathered by mice for their winter
store.

There are also several kinds of edible roots growing in the ponds or
small lakes, which are gathered by the Indians for food.

The _psui-cinh-chah_, or swamp potato, is found in mud and water,
about three feet deep. The leaf is as large as the cabbage leaf. The
stem has but one leaf, which has, as it were, two horns or points. The
root is obtained by the Indian women; they wade into the water and
loosen the root with their feet, which then floats, and