They also told us that as long as we went upriver we would encounter people who spoke their language but were their enemies. They said that these people would not have any food for us to eat, but that they would welcome us and give us many cotton blankets and hides and others things of theirs. Still they thought that under no circumstances should we go in that direction.

We stayed with them for two days, wondering what to do and which would be the most suitable and beneficial way for us to go. They gave us beans and squash to eat. Since their way of cooking them is so novel, I want to tell about it here, so that people may see and know how diverse and strange human ingenuity and industriousness are. They have no pots; so to cook what they want to eat, they fill a large pumpkin halfway with water. They heat many stones in a fire, and when the stones are hot, they grab them with wooden tongs and put them in the water inside the pumpkin, until the water boils with the heat of the stones. Then they place in the water whatever they want to cook. The whole time they remove stones and add other hot stones to bring the water to a boil and cook whatever they wish. This is their method of cooking.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

How We Followed the Corn Route

After spending two days there, we decided to go look for corn. We did not want to follow the buffalo trails towards the North and go out of our way, since we were always sure that by heading west