The Searchlight (Guthrie, Okla.), No. 440, Ed. 1 Friday, November 16, 1906 Page: 3 of 8
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INDIAN CEREAL FOODS GOING.
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Muskogee, I. T„ Nov. 9.—The sofkey
bowl and the ahpuskey Lag are rapidly
disappearing from the five civilized tribes
and the national food or the household
and the warrior on the trail Is disap-
pearing as the customs of the white man
and his more varied food • upercede th»
old India" customs and habit* of life.
From the time that the Indians of th-i
Ave tribes were forced from their East-
ern homer to their present territory and
up to one decade ago, 110 Indian family
was without its sofkey pots and no In-
dan trav led on a long journey without
his skin bag filled with ahpuskey. Sofkey
Is the Creek Indian food. In the Chero-
kee nation it Is known as ccnnahana, in
the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations it is
called tomfulla, and in the Seminole na-
tion the same as the Creek. It differ
slightly in the making in the different
nations,as any food would differ if made
by chefs in different hotels. The Creek
recipe is considered the standard.
Sofkey is made of cora of a special
brand, a little lye, a sprinkling of clean
wood ashes and a good c>al of wate".
The corn resembles popcorn in that the
eaTS are long and slender and the grains
small and flinty, though It is made of
common maize when the better grade of
corn is not available. The corn i3 ta^cen
when it is barely ripe enough to be
shelled and after shelling the grains are
soaked in water for two hours, just long
enough to cause the outer skin to sep-
arate from tho kernels. Th3 co"n is thsn
put into a mortar and pounded until it
is the consistence of coarse grits. It is
th?n put into a sifter m • I" of cane and
the husks and chaff s'Vi'ated ot1 the
same order that wheat is 5i;.a rated .from
chaff In a threshing machine, only the
Indians have but the crud? sifter and a
fan to do the work with. An Indian
woman is most dextrous with one of
these sifters. With a peculia- motion she
keeps the sifter moving i i 3uch a way
that the chaff gathers at one side and
the cracked grains falls through the sitt-
er on the other and at intervals she
throws the cVaff out of the sifter and
onto the ground with a quick movement
that does not stop tho siftit g process.
The sofkey grits are th-.n put into a
sofkey pot, a large earthen pot with an
open mouth, and boiled from four to six
lion '3. A little lye is ad l"d to prevent
fermentation and to give an acid flavor.
Wod ashes are also sprinkled into the
mixture. Several gallons ar° made at
one Uin», depending on il'f size of the
family After the sofkey ' ■ cooked it is
banked in ti.- ashes of the fireplace to
keep it warm. It Is as good cold as hot.
however,, and there are always two sof
pots. One is kept full of coid sof-
food are remarkable. When an Indian
was traveling ho carried a small bag of
this with him lways. lie could live on
it for days at a time and keep In th?
best of condition. White pioneers learned
its use early and valued it highly. Two
or three spoonfuls of this grits in a cup
of water made a soup that was sustain-
ing and exhilarating. A peculiar feature
about It is that stagnant water taken
from a pond on the prairies and other
wise unfit for use can be poured on the
grits and used with impunity, the grits
apparently killing all impur.'tles. Water
that an Indian would not cink was used
In this manner with no i > results. This
was known among the Indians as the
"travel food." White trappers and trav-
elers bear testimony as Its wrth.
Ready for use in appearance it closely
resembles tho Grapfjnu'st ,of tdday.
Those who have used it state that it far
excels any breakfast food that has ever
been made. C. A. I..OONEY.
000000000000000
o BETTIE BOBBITT AT THE - O
O CIRCUS AND PARADE. O
oooooooooooooooo
key .
key and the other cont li is the warm
Water is added :is it is needed, and this
water drawn off th» grits makes a soup
that is very nourishing.
The sofkey i»ot is always open to the
visitor or the traveler who appears at an
Indian home, and he is always invited to
eat. This is a custom that grew out of
the theory that whenever an Indian ap
peared who had been traveling lie would
be*hungry, and lie usually was. All In-
dians like sofkey, but it is an acquired
taste if the white man ike it. White
people who have lived long among the
Indians, however, soon learn to like sof-
key, and it becomes an .nip taut part of
the if daily f It is eaten from largo
wooden bowls and with vToden spoons.
The sofkey pots av.i the bowls and spoons
are now bccniing r ve. The art of pot-
tery making is lost t • the Indians. Few
now make the bowls and spoons. The
sifters made of cane ai" disappearing.
They resemble Indian bav' ts and are
sometimes made of dogwoo 1 "hen cane
Is not available. Srjvnetimes iw.s are
added instead of lye wli.'n the s (key is
to be eaten immediately. This mak<-« it
a very rich food.
Ahpuskey is made \ery similar to
sofkey. It crresponds to the condensed
milk, of today. Corn Is taUen whe.i it
is not quite hard and is shelled from the
cob and placed In a pot where it Is
baked, until it is brown. Then it Is
placed into a mortar anJ pounded until
it is about like coarse m?al. To this a
little sugar is added. The Indians used
maple sugar for this. Ashes were also
used. The nutritious qualities of tihs
"Of f.l'. sorts, descriptions, an 1 man
ners of men were they,
But mortal never saw a crowd other.
wise on circus day."
Some erstwhile rural poet once rhymed
the above couplet, and thought it was
so clever that it niU3t be rushe'd into
pririt. I went up the street and -down
the street, across the street and every
where, and it occurred to me that this
restlc poet knew whereof lie wrote. A
colored Robinson Crusoe in bearskin coat
and cap brought to mind the old time
story of childhood days. Here was a
group of fre3h-faced young girls, evi-
dently from the country, looking with
might and main, and Incidentally, both
eyes, for the coming parud' whose fan
fare of trumpets could be heard in the
distance. "I wonder If they will have
lions and tigers"" queried one. "And
bears!" "And elephants and camels!"
chorused some others. I resolved then
and there to stay pretty close to that
bunch of girls through thf parade, so
located them in my mind and passed
down the street. The farther I went the
more I was Impressed that a circus truly
does bring "all sorts an 1 conditions" of
people to town. Here was a family from
the country, too. The child!en were ex-
claiming and asking a thousand ques-
tions. The little mother, a'-eady tired
of standing and holding "i heavy youngs-
ter in her arms, answered all she could
and finally told them to 'Hush! some
body will hear you chllditr. askin' so
many fool questions." The children were
decked out in the braver;; of new hats,
gorgeous as to color and combinations,
while the little mother, worn and bent
with toil, wore her faded oil hat of style
forgotten. She had added to it a gay
feather in a pathetic attempt to equal
the bravery around her. I nassed on, but
I shall never forget that little woman. I
could imagine her story. Here was a
rustic youth with his sweetheart hang-
ing to his arm, both looking for the won
.Irons parade. lie carrl°i a bag of
peanuts and candy and offered this de-
lectable treat to her. She accepted with
an upward glance of admiration (whether
at his generosity or good loo,<s I could
not determine) blushing a rosy red
Well, of such is the kingdom of Eros!
Here was the smooth politician elec-
tioneering with the farmer. The words
and phrases flowed from his lips in a
steady stream and without any seem-
ing effort. His whlske's occasionally
jerked spasmodically, I oppose occas-
ioned by the promises he was making ' if
| you will vote for me." Politics on a cir-
cus day i3 rather like the trade of the
peanut and taffy man-plentiful and
• cheap, and mostly "taffy."
Whole families, the dogs and well 1
saw no cats, wereTepresei.ted. Crowds
of happy, laughing school girls rushed
he e and theTe, pushing t.nd shoving.
Understand, I did not push nor shove. I
merely drifted along, looking ror some-
thing new. Some negro girls, whose ar-
ray brought to mind tho question "And
Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed
like one of these" rudely Jo»tled every
passerby. The quiet country negro gazed
awe-stricken at the mig'aty throng. A
flashily dressed young fellow, whose eyes
did not meet yours but for a moment,
blustered through the crowd. I would
not give fifteen cents for a purse if he
got a chance at It. Then I saw tho sneak
thief, who with furtive look eagerly
awaited an opportunity to ply his nefari-
ous profession. The balloon vender was
liberally patronized by tne youngsters.
Squeaking balls squeezed by nol3c-lovlng
boys helped the noise along. Gay cos-
tumes of ail descriptions and colors of
the spectrum flashed her * and there
The handsome tallormade costumes of a
group of society belles looked conspicu-
ous, pleasantly so, among the sliabblncss
of the crowd. Sedate m itrons, "taking
the children to the circus," moved slowly
along
Ta! ra! ra! The bugUs blared. The
bandmaster held up his baton. Crash!
And the parade was here. I hied me
•down to my group of country girls and
awaited "developments." They came In
a hurry. The parade »vas on. ' Oh,
'.ookey yonder at that there elephant!
"O-o-o!" interlarded flifi questions
exclamations, joy, wonder, and all the
gamut of human expression passed over
their faces In the few minutes the pa-
rade was passing. They were animated
interrogation points. The parade was
gone and they went around on the next
street so they could see It all again. I
am glad they enjoyed that, and I some
times wl3li I were young again so that
I could see It all as they did and it
could all be utterly new to me
The crowd soon began -to go to the
scene of the many widely advertised
wonders, but before I tell ?ou about that
pa-t of it I must mention a funny little
incident I saw as the pa -ale was pass
ing. An old German "frau", with three
buxom daughters, was in the crowd on
the sidewalk and was very much troubled
because they would pers 131 In getting
-near the edge of the w ilk and^ looking
up the street. When the tugles blared
and announced the coming of the pageant
the three girls Immediately c-aned their
necks as far out as the laws of gravity
would permit. The mother crabbed them
by the arms, saying "You cliust gets
pack der sidewalk on", an 1 jerked them,
but to no avail. "Gretch°n, Gietchen,
vy you no mind yo' mudde* ?" They had
nothing but eyes fo- the parade and If
they heard lier it was not evident. The
old mother pushed lier way to the front,
frantically urging tliem to get back, and
when she saw the elephints passing by,
pushed herself between the girls and got
squarely in front of tlie.-n, where with
arms akimbo and mouth wide open she
stared for all there was in t. Sin was a
■comical sight, dressed a3 she was in
the traditional short rklits, basque
woolen hood and handkerchief folded
around her shoulders. Wo at struck nn
particularly was that she was very anx-
ious that Gretclien and the othe- thre*
girls should not get too rear the street
and "he, when she got a glimpse of it,
was the most eager and the funniest
looking sight of all.
I decided not to go to the afternoon
performance, as everything looked more
'glittery" and "circus like" in the even-
ing, so about 7:30 I hied me to the great
tent whe^e so many wonders were to be.
An obliging manager took me behind t.ie
scenes and I met all the ludy performers
who were to do the "stunt" " They were
very pleasant, and seemed quite cheer
fui and happy, but I coull not but won-
der if all the tinsel and feiltter did not
get very old to them and If they did not
sometimes wish they had rever entered
the ci-cus life. I asked the question and
was told b one that she said every fall
she would never go back into the life of
a circus performer, but that in the
spring when they began to get together
to go on the road, some fa-clnation drew
her back. It is a Bohemian life, and a
life in which there Is much strain on
the ne-ves. One little -tunt only, per-
haps, each night, but a slip or a blunder
means either sudden death or to be
maimed for life.
I was at last "behind th" scenes" 3t
the circus and my curiosity was sated.
I had seen the whole show. Crowds in
the seats outside were anticipating the
sights they were soon to see, but were
they thinking of all the work, wary,
trouMe, petty jealousle*. danger, that
were represented too?
As to the moral side of circus life I
was assured that evening that they were
a pretty clean set, and aboi'e the old time
reco:d. Public opinion has demanded
that this bo tho caso and it is true also
of all classes of amusement companies.
"It Is a good old world, any way,
And specially so on circa* day."
LATE LEGAL DECISIONS
Separation of White and Colored Pas-
sengers. Considerable light Is thrown up-
on the constitutional requirement as to
legislation relatlvo to thi reparation of
the races In public conveyances by three
cases recently decided in Florida. In the
firs caso (State v. Patterson, 36 South-
ern Reporter, 39S) tho -court holds that
a statuto requiring street car companies
to provide separate compartments for the
races, and prohibiting per' ons ot either
race from occupying the compartment
set apart for tho other race, but provid-
ing that the act shall not atply to color-
ed nurses having the care of white child-
ren or sick white persons, Is void for
discrimination. In tho suls^auent cases
of Crooms v. Schad, 40 Southern Re-
porter, 437, and Patterson v. Taylor, 40
Southern Reporter, 493, two city ordi-
nances containing much the same pro-
visions, ono of which, liowtver, excepted
all nurses from Its provisions wlillo the
other contained no exception whatever,
were upheld.
Municipal Construction of Auditorium.
In view of the apparently growing In-
clination of cities to give municipal aid to
the ^erection of structu-»s designed for
auditorium purposes, wo ca" attention to
the recent holding of tho supremo court
of Colorado In City and Cointy of Den-
ver v. Hallett, 83 Pacific Reporter, 1066.
The court there declares that Colorado
constitution, 120, granting homo rule to
tho city of Denver, and providing that
the people in the city sha'l always have
the exclusive power of making, altering,
revising, or amending the',r charter, be-
stowed upon the people ai the power
possessed by the legislature, so that they
were authorized to provide by charter
for the erection of an auditorium, to
purchase a site therefor, and to is3Uo
bonds to discharge the indebtedness aris-
ing from .its construction.
Trade-Marks and Trade-Names. The
supreme court of Michigan In Warren
Bros. v. Barber Asphalt Paving Co., 10S
Northwestern Reporter, 652, holds that
where a city calls for proposals for the
construction of "Bitulltoic'' pavement,
and requires the pavement to he made
according to certain specifications, a
company might be awarded tho contract
for the work, although another company
has habitually used the word "bitullthic"
as a name for the particular pavement
made by them, and had had this trade-
name registered and also filed for record
as a trade-name in the office of the sec-
retary of tho state of Michigan. The
court says that the injunction must be
denied because a tradename does not
givo ono the exclusive right to make o'
sell a given kind of goods, the trade-
name being simply to point cut the orlgi"
or ownership of the article tc which it is
affixed for the protection of the con-
sumer, and that in casas where tho
rights to the use of a tradename are in-
vaded the w*rong consists in the sale of
good3 of one manufacturer under the
false representation that they are the
goods of another.
THE EASTERN OKLAHOMA
POULTRY AND PET STOCK FAIR.
An association has bee.i organized and
incorporated at Stillwater, and will hold
its. first annual exhibition at Stillwater
on Recember 24th to 2Sth.- C. A. Emery
has been secured as judge. The new as-
sociation starts in with a membership
upwards of fifty. Payne county has a
large number of enthusiastic poultry
fanciers, and the business men of Still-
water have subscribed a liberal sum in-
suring a successful exhibit'on. Poultry
breeders from the entire territory are in-
vited and a good show of birds guaran-
teed. Write C. O. Preston, secretary,
Stillwater, Oklahoma, for catalog.
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The Searchlight (Guthrie, Okla.), No. 440, Ed. 1 Friday, November 16, 1906, newspaper, November 16, 1906; Guthrie, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc285080/m1/3/: accessed April 19, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.