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Bandera County Courier is published weekly by Gail S. Joiner, 1210 Hackberry St., Bandera, TX 78003. Subscription price $26 per year in Bandera County, TX; $36 per year for other Texas counties; $40 per year out of Texas. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Bandera County Courier, P.O. Box 1704, Bandera, TX 78003. Periodicals Postage pending in Bandera, Texas.

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Painted Pony columns appearing in the on-line edition of the Courier:

April 3, 2008 March 27, 2008 March 20, 2008 March 13, 2008 March 6, 2008	Feb. 28, 2008 Feb. 21, 2008 Feb. 14, 2008 Feb. 7, 2008 Jan. 31, 2008 Jan. 24, 2008 Jan. 17, 2008 Jan. 10, 2008
Painted Pony columns from 2007
Painted Pony columns from 2006	Painted Pony columns from 2005

The Painted Pony & Beaded Moccasin by Bill Ellis Published April 3, 2008    Most of us know what arthritis is. The National Weather Service is still about 12 hours behind arthritis when it comes to weather prediction. This disease is not only painful, but it can cause disability and disfigurement as well.     Yes, Indians suffered from arthritis, muscle soreness, inflammation and painful, stiff joints, too. We also developed treatments for these ailments.     I believe the sweat lodge was developed for arthritis. The Potawatomi used spikenard as a poultice to reduce pain and inflammation. The Cherokee made a tea of spikenard and drank it to help relieve the pain of arthritis. Between 1916 and 1965, spikenard was listed in the National Formulary used by pharmacists.     The Rappahannock made a tea for arthritis sufferers made from bloodroot. The Aztecs used steam baths for arthritis, as well as an herb called datura which was used as a poultice or taken by mouth. Datura contains atropine, that is still used for treating arthritis.     Primitive doctors also used hot chili peppers for arthritis. A chili extract called capsaicin is used in modern medicine for the same purpose. Indians in South Texas and the American Southwest heated prickly pear cactus and put them on affected joints. Some Indians use the ground up bark of the willow tree to reducing pain and swelling. People call the active ingredient in willow bark “aspirin” today.     Wado     Fried rabbit     Use either a cottontail or a young jack rabbit. Disjoint rabbit and soak for one hour in cold salted water. Pat dry and roll in flour. Pan fry.     The older jack rabbits make good chili or jerky.

The Painted Pony & Beaded Moccasin by Bill Ellis Published March 27, 2008    Aquaculture is the process of raising food crops in water instead of soil. Middle American Indians used raised bed agriculture as early as 1500 BC. When the Indians made mounded earth beds they also dug networks of canals. The canals were havens for fish, shellfish and other aquatic life. Archaeologists believe the fish were as important as the crops.     The Aztecs grew blue green algae for drying. Alger was part of the Aztec diet and was also used as a trade item. The Arawak Indians (West Indies) built large ponds where they cultivated fish and turtles.     First, the Indian farmers would drain the swamp. Then they built islands about five feet above the water line. These small islands were separated by canals. These chinampas not only provided crops, they also provided fish. They were also a haven for birds. In short, the chinampas were a highly efficient environmental system.     The Aztec farmers used the raised beds to germinate corn. Later, the corn plants were replanted in fields. Europeans marveled at transplants. This practice was unknown in Europe. Europeans believed these gardens were floating on woven mats.     Most of these gardens were abandoned after the Conquistadors came. They did not realize how productive this method of farming was.     Wado     Dutch potatoes     8 potatoes     8 wienies (all beef)     8 slices bacon     Scrub potatoes good and punch a hole through each potato. Put a wienie in each potato. Lay potatoes on a slice of bacon and bake in an oven at 450 degrees until potatoes are tender. Baste occasionally with bacon drippings.

The Painted Pony & Beaded Moccasin by Bill Ellis Published March 20, 2008    Embroidery is the art of decorating cloth with needlework. Embroidery was developed by many cultures around the world at about the same time. The Maya who lived in Mexico, Guatemala and Nicaragua are famous for their embroidery.     Archaeologists believe that weaving and embroidery developed in Middle America about 1800 BC. Before the Maya, the area’s heat and humidity kept cloth samples from surviving.     Most evidence for embroidery came from painted pottery and small figurines. Textiles were important trade items for the Maya and the Aztec. Embroidery showing animals, birds, flowers and geometrical designs added value to their merchandise.     Middle Americans decorated cloth with feathers, shells, bells and paintings.     The Nazca of Peru were expert embroiderers. The Nazca used a flat stitch to make their designs. In 700 AD the Nazca were able to make tapestries. Fine examples of Nazca embroidery exist today because of the dry climate.     The Nez Perce of North America wove bags from bear grass and decorated them with dyed plant fibers. Indian embroidery adopted European materials. We began to use silk thread and beads.     Wado     Fried salt pork and gravy     Slice thin and put in cold water for one hour. Drain and pat dry. Dip in flour and fry. Remove from pan, drain off most of the fat and add some flour. Cook a couple of minutes. Remove from heat and add some milk. Serve with hot biscuits.

The Painted Pony & Beaded Moccasin by Bill Ellis Published March 13, 2008    Muscovy ducks were domesticated by the Maya, Aztec and Cherokee as a source of food and feathers. Muscovys are the largest breed of ducks in the world and are related to wood ducks. The Aztecs were more interested in turkeys and left few records of raising ducks.     Muscovy duck bones have been found in Mayan archeological sites dating from 100 BC to 800 AD. The Inca rulers sent ducks to Pizarro as he advanced on the Incan capital. The Inca had ducks in about 1000 AD and the Spaniards took ducks back with them to Europe. Today, 70 percent of the ducks eaten in Europe are Muscovy ducks.     Muscovy ducks are high in flavor and low in fat. They are good fliers but poor swimmers. Males range from 10 to 15 pounds and females are generally five to seven pounds. They have sharp claws that enable them to roost in trees. They are distinguished by a bright red circle around their eyes and a bright red crest above their heads. Wild Muscovys are black and white, while domestic ones are blue, blue and white, brown, brown and white or black and white.     Wado     Salsa cruda or Pico de gallo     Dice and Mix:     2 lg. tomatoes     3 lg. jalapeños     1 sm. onion     2 cloves garlic

The Painted Pony & Beaded Moccasin by Bill Ellis Published March 6, 2008    Wild walnuts are indigenous to most of the United States and Canada. The nuts are covered with a thick husk and are about as big as a golf ball. A number of American Indian tribes used the ground up husks to make a dye, including a California tribe who dyed their reed baskets with them. They also used the husks to tan leather.     Walnut hulls were also used to treat ringworm, both then and now, in addition to illnesses such as headaches, toothaches and constipation.     Parts of the walnut tree can also be poison, so be careful.     American Indians used the walnut meat for food. They used chopped walnuts and walnut oil in cornbread and puddings. Plains Indians ground walnuts and made a soup or ate them with honey.     The Cherokee crushed walnuts and rolled them into a ball. When hot water was added, the nutmeats would separate from the shell and the oil would rise to the top. This was called “kenuche” and was a staple of the Cherokee diet.     Today, walnuts are used to flavor cakes, candy and ice cream all over the world.     Wado     Marinated Kohl Slaw     Shred cabbage and add onion slices. In a pan, combine sugar, vinegar , mustard, salt, pepper and celery seed.     Boil until sugar is dissolved. Blend in salad oil and pour over cabbage. Mix well and refrigerate overnight.     This goes great with hot dogs.

The Painted Pony & Beaded Moccasin by Bill Ellis Published Feb. 28, 2008    Before contact with Europeans, the Bandera hills were a great place to live. This was a benevolent land. It is not too hot. It is not too cold. The creeks and rivers were running with clear, cold, potable water. The water table was high. I personally believe there was water spurting out from under every flat rock.     There was plenty to eat. There were stands of heavy nut trees in every bottom. Pecan, oak and walnut trees were everywhere. There was agarita, dewberrys, Mexican persimmon. There were both red and black haws. Chilipequin and Chilipetin grew along the creek banks.     The animal People gave us deer, bear, turkeys, squirrels, raccoons, opossums and quail. Prickly pear and sotol were baked in stone ovens. Look around and see if you have pink limestone. It you do, you have an Indian encampment nearby. There were large concentrations of Indians at the confluence of the Medina River and Indian Creek.     The land on Highway 16 from Helotes to San Antonio was all farming country. It was all Apache cornfields.     Did I mention buffalo? The Texas Hill Country was the Southern terminus of the Western buffalo herd.     Oh yes, I forgot wild plums, too.     Wado     Marinated meat salad     You may use either beef, chicken or turkey. Slice meat into thin strips. Add thinly sliced onion, salt and pepper. Sprinkle with Italian dressing and add sour cream. Serve on lettuce.

The Painted Pony & Beaded Moccasin by Bill Ellis Published Feb. 21, 2008    In every culture in the world, the months of January and February are known as “the hunger time.” In ancient Germany, it was known as the hunger zeit.     The dried meat, pecans, walnuts and acorns were almost gone. Some dried corn usually remained, but a potion of that had to be saved for seed. The hunters were out searching for wild game, but the game was poor. The grass was dried out and brown. There was not much of true value left.     You think I am kidding? Go out into your pasture and listen to the grass crunch underfoot. There is nothing there. Watch you cattle look at you with hungry eyes. There was no grocery store. You could not ship food in.     The agarita was usually the first thing to ripen, but that wasn’t until April. Then comes the nopal (vegetable made from the young stem segments of prickly pear, carefully peeled to remove the spines). After that, comes the feast.     The People will eat well. The bear, buffalo and turkeys will be fat. There will be feasting. Baskets will be filled with jerky, corn and nuts. Pottery had not been invented yet, so the People made fruit leather by pouring fruit juice and pulp on hot rocks and letting the sun dry it.     When fall comes, there will be acorn mush, pecans and walnuts. After the harvest, the People will go to the mitote and await the coming hunger time.     Wado     Pecan Eggs     Hard boil some eggs and let cool. Peel and split the eggs long ways. Remove the yolks and mix with mayo, chopped pecans and a little sugar.

The Painted Pony & Beaded Moccasin by Bill Ellis Published Feb. 14, 2008    Indians, like everybody else, got bellyaches every now and then. We got heartburn and acid reflux. Many of the medicines used by the American Indian for indigestion are still in use today.     One of the better known and better tasting of those medicines is the papaya. The papaya tree grows in Central and South America. Papayas were grown in orchards by the Aztecs. The papaya contains an enzyme that breaks down protein. Today, papaya juice can be bought in any grocery store.     The Aztecs also used chili to cure upset stomachs. However, too much chili can cause severe problems. When eating chili, a little bit goes a long way.     North American Indians used mint to ease indigestion. Nowadays, after dinner mints are used to aid digestion. The Shoshone made tea from the entire peppermint plant and used it to treat colic in babies. Indians of the Upper Midwest made a tea from wild ginger root.     Ginger is good for digestion and helps with nausea. Wild licorice was also used for poor digestion while the Huron used juice from the red cedar.     All of the above items can be purchased at the grocery store or the health food store. Another Indian treatment was a severe diet. Indian doctors commonly prescribed broths and gruels for digestive ailments.     Well, here we go again – don’t try this at home.     Wado     Pig tails and rice     Brown pig tails and some onion. When browned, cover with water and simmer. Add rice and cook until the rice is done. You might have to add water. Season with a teaspoon of sugar and a little salt and pepper.

The Painted Pony & Beaded Moccasin by Bill Ellis Published Feb. 7, 2008    The loom was invented by Indian weavers independently of other people. It is my belief that the loom was invented in several parts of the world at about the same time.     Most Indian looms were the horizontal type. Some Indian weavers also used the vertical loom. Anthropologists called Indian looms primitive, however weavers today just call them simple.     These simple looms were used to make complicated fabrics. They were used to make gauzes, brocades, stripes, and several other fabrics. Guatemalan weavers, using the same style loom they used thousands of years ago, produce clothing sold in stores and other Indian textiles are popular today.     The earliest American looms come from the coast of Peru. Indians in the American Northeast used the bow loom to weave wampum belts. They used finger weaving to make headbands, sashes and bags. In the American Southwest, the Pueblo practiced finger weaving in about 1000 BC.     The loom came from Mexico along with cotton. The Dineh used sheep’s wool to make their blankets. Navaho blankets are still produced today and are works of art.     Wado     P.S. Don’t forget the San Antonio Pow Wow coming Feb. 16 and Feb. 17 at Crossroads Mall.     Hot dog sauce     Well, we have our steamed Frankfurter on a nice toasted bun. Now we need something to put on it. Brown one pound loose hamburger along with a chopped onion. Add one whole bottle of chili sauce, a good squirt of mustard and a little Tabasco sauce. Let it simmer down until it’s kind of thick. Put the hot dog sauce on the hot dog and enjoy.

The Painted Pony & Beaded Moccasin by Bill Ellis Published Jan. 31, 2008    Yes, American Indians could produce electricity by using chemicals. The Moche in Peru invented chemically-produced electricity. Wet cell batteries were also invented in Baghdad, Iraq, at about the same time.     The Moche used electrical currents for electroplating, or depositing a layer of one metal onto the surface of another metal. Electroplated gold, for example, gives the appearance of solid gold.     Moche craftsmen first created a corrosive bath by mixing saltpeter, nitrate salt and potash in water, producing a strong acid. Gold was then dissolved in this solution. They then put a copper object in it. After copper ions were positively charged, they attracted the negatively charged gold ions. When the copper was covered with gold, it was heated to about 900 degrees F.     The Moche were about 1,000 years ahead of Europe in using this process – not bad for “ignorant savages,” eh? We not only developed chemical electricity, but we used it on a regular basis. Electroplating required a lot of intelligence and a knowledge of chemistry and electricity. They had to experiment and then catalogue this scientific data. Folks, this required a lot of experimentation and just plain hard work.     Wado     Hard Tack     Take some flour and add a little salt, a dab of baking powder and enough water to make a paste. Spread one quarter inch thick on a greased cookie sheet and bake. When done, remove from oven and break into chunks. This will never spoil and is good with chili. chowder and soups. Nabisco used to make hard tack under the name “Pilot Bread.”

The Painted Pony & Beaded Moccasin by Bill Ellis Published Jan. 24, 2008    The prickly pear has a parasite called cochineal from which a red dye is made. It was farmed and was a very important crop. The British bought it by the ton and used it to dye their uniforms red.     While other cultures were utilizing dying techniques, the American Indian were developing dyeing processes that were the equal of those used in other parts of the world at about the same time. They also used mordants and fixatives in the dyeing process.     We dyed baskets, feathers and leather, in addition to edible food coloring. Many of the natural dyes used by the Native Americans were adopted by the Europeans. The Maya were well know for their dyeing and weaving which they still use today.     Dyers made lavender pigment from rotten shellfish. Lavender dyed cloth was easily sold in Europe. Mayan weavers used indigo, logwood, achiote and mineral pigments.     At the time of contact, indigenous people produced brilliant color-fast dyes. In the American Southwest, Indians produced red, yellow and a deep black. The Olneh used rhubarb to make yellow, orange, red, green and brown hues. The Nez Pearce made dyes from grapes and the alder tree.     Earth was used to make blue dye and other dyes were made from algae.     Wado     Easy cole slaw     Shred one small head cabbage. Add some salt and sugar, then stir. Add sweet pickle juice.

The Painted Pony & Beaded Moccasin by Bill Ellis Published Jan. 17, 2008    Seed selection is setting aside seed from this year's crop for planting the next year. Selection could be based on disease resistance, lower moisture needs or a larger crop. Indian farmers used seed selection to develop varieties of corn, beans, squash and tomatoes.     Farmers used seed selection to develop new varieties of plants. The American Indians developed 3,000 varieties of potatoes and 300 grasses before Columbus arrived.     In 5000 BC Indian farmers transformed corn from a multi-stalk plant to a single-stalk plant. The single-stalk plant produced higher yields and was easier to harvest. By 1 AD Indians produced corn plants with strong stalks, bigger ears and fewer ears per stalk. Anasazi farmers produced early maturing corn. In 1860 Mormon farmers adapted the practice of seed saving from the Indians.     Indian farmers in the Southwest developed the bush bean. The Gila River area has one of the shortest growing seasons in the US because of heat and drought. They developed varieties of corn, beans and squash that could live under those conditions.     Mandan and Arikara farmers developed corn that grew ears close to the ground. This corn matured in only 60 days.     White settlers in the Dakotas did not attempt to grow corn until the 1900s. This was corn that had been developed by Indians.     Wado     Fried corn     Cut corn off cob. Brown bacon in a frying pan. Add a little water. Fry about three minutes until water is almost gone. Season with butter, salt and pepper.

The Painted Pony & Beaded Moccasin by Bill Ellis Published Jan. 3, 2008    Scurvy was the dread of sailors and Europeans for centuries. It caused cuts and bruises to heal slowly, tender joints, inflamed gums and teeth to fall out. Scurvy was often fatal.     The American Indian was not plagued with scurvy like the Europeans. When it occurred the Indians knew what to do. Our diet was usually rich in Vitamin C. Lack of Vitamin C is the cause of scurvy.     In 1536 Jacques Cartier's ship became ice bound in the Saint Lawrence River. Of 110 men, there were less than 10 men who could help the others. A Huron chief made evergreen tea for the French. The French did not like the taste of the tree, but they drank it.     Within 10 days their scurvy was cured. Cartier rewarded the Indians by kidnapping the chief and his two sons.     The Europeans ignored the Indian cure until a British naval officer found that drinking lime juice would prevent scurvy. In 1795 lime juice became mandatory for British sailors.     Indians who did not consume Vitamin C had a low incidence of scurvy. Indians ate mostly the organ meats of animals they killed. The muscle meats were fed to the dogs. Scientist have recently discovered that the internal organs have high amounts of vitamins and minerals. Liver and onions anyone?     Wado     Mincemeat pie     Slice six tart apples and mix with one pound shredded roast beef, one cup raisins, 1.5 cups brown sugar, 0.75 cup red wine, one teaspoon cinnamon and one teaspoon clovers. Let stand over night. Put in a pie shell and bake.