Maize Memoriam Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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Native Americans used these flat flood plains surrounding the lower Esopus River to plant maize (corn) and hunted in the Catskill Mountains to the northeast. Corn, a domesticated grass, was productive and adaptable, making it the basic food plant of the land's first human inhabitants. The Esopus River just through the trees to the north got its name from the Iroquois tribe which inhabited the valley. Dutch and, later, English settlers continued the planting of corn and depended on it as much then as we do today (corn is the most widely grown crop in America). The fields to the south and east of this location are feed corn for the dairy cows at F.C. Brooks Farm further down Tongore Road. To the south and north are sweet corn fields...check out your local farm stands for a delicious sample.
Benjamin Franklin, our favorite Founder, often encouraged American colonists to consume American products, stoking revolutionary fervor. In 1766, Franklin continued his campaign for American goods while arguing against the Stamp Act of the previous year. Writing under the psuedonym Homespun, Franklin said: "Indian corn, take it for all in all, is one of the most agreeable and wholesome grains in the world." While Franklin's pivitol founding role is well documented (helping to write the Declaration, fostering the Revolution, guiding the creation of the Constitution), his encouragement of Americans to enjoy and take pride in their natural bounty played just as important a role in shaping our early culture and society.
Some parting horticultural advise from Dr. Franklin: "Plough deep while sluggards sleep, and you shall have corn to sell and to keep."
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Cbbe Evpuneq zvtug abg unir fnvq vg orggre uvzfrys: FGRRY lbhefrys naq THNEQ ntnvafg fybgu gb fgnl ba gur ebnq gb fhpprff