Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1893-04-19
NO AC0RNS, NO INDIANS!
THE CONDITION THAT coNFRoNTs
THE PERCHANGo ABoRIGINES.
Precarious Life OF n Southern Cali
fornia Tribe--A Diet of Worms
Cruln Rread and Oucer MHutlern

ulUHS, tuC uCoiu-thIlhS lcill-
nanIs of once formidable tribe. They
dwelt upon the edge of the Mojave Des-
ert, and when pursued by settlers for
stealing stock they would escape by rid.
ing hundreds CT miles out into the burn.
ing sands, where the palc.lace could not
follow them. This tribe finally became
civilized under the combined influence
of tho settlers rifle and the Mission
church. The few that are left are styled
Perchango Indians. Perchango Canyon
opens out into the Pereis Valley, a
pretty and fruitful vale, luxurIantly
shaded with live oak and acorn trees.
These latter afford the Indians their
staff of life; but it has been rather close
picking the past season, and the braves
Of the little village at the mouth OF the
canyon are seriously considering the
policy of burning their brush wigwams
and emgrating to wnere ocorns are more
plentiful.
The chief puts it this way: "No more
acorns; no more Indians-lndian must
90" AT this juncture he pointed over
the mountain range, meaning that acorns
we're plentiful there. He meant to be
understood that for three Successive sea.
sons the acorn crop had been almost a
total failure in this valley, but that it
had been bouutiful during the same sea.
sons on the coast range. 1t always hap.
pened that when the acorn crop was
sparse in the valleys it was bountiful on
the coast range and the reverse. He
could not account for 1t, but pointed
toward the Great Father. His parchment
looking face was the picture oil dlsap-
pointmcut. $40 aCorns, no more In
dams p he SAID in the most woelu[ man
ner.
The "clchc" is basket twelve feet
in height by three feet in diameter, rest
inc on poles three feet in height. This
prevents the dampnoss Of the earth from
rotting the ac)rns, and is also a safe
guard against thc raids of pre- iatory ami
mails. The sides OF these baskets are
formed of bushes interlaced with pine
boughs inverted, the needles OF which
bar out PREDATORY squirrels and also
conduct the rain downward en- the out
side. The roof is of piuc bark, water
tight. The acorns are stored In these
bins, or baskets, for future use, u't as
the woodpeclier stores away acorns fol
other days in the holes which he drills
in the trees. Between grunts, the chicl
declared that the acorn crop had been
emo good" the past season, blE "sood
yonder," pointing to the coast range
Strange enough, it invariably happens
that when the crop is good in the
valleys it is corresponlingIy bad on the
coast range, AMI the reverse. Way this
is no one seems to know. The Indian:
cannot account for it, bus they kno "
that 1t never fails and this accounts for
their migration and return.
These lazy braves do not like work.
1t is falling with all braves; even some
of the palefaces have it. Tno young
women dig the roots AMI herbs and
gather the acorls in snail baskets and
prepare the meals. Tnc children are
also male to WORK, sucl as to gather
brush for fires an | STORM acorns. AcOrni
are made iuto "corn" bread. If the
acorns are wOrmcaten 50 III i21 the
better. A woman takes "lapful''
of acorns and seats herself on the
ground near rock. Elca acorn i:
place on en- upon the rock. 1t Is
struck on the tip end with smooth peo'
BILE, which opens the acorn, separating
the hull from the kernel. Tie acorn'
are spread upon the rock to dry, after
whlcn the woman mlsnes tne acorns into
meal IN a stone mortar aorli the SIZE OF
q wash BASIN, using pestIc OF rock,
something like tna5 used by drd5gists III
mixing compounds for the dlsorganIza.
ton OF the stomach OF the plleface,
While the squaws are thus preparing for
the frugal meal the BUCKS nave built a
tire amid some rocks, which are made q
waite neat. The meal is poured iuto a
water. tight basket about half filled with
water. The waite. heated rocks are
dropped into the basket. Tncrc is {
slzzlng aud Dub5ling and spluttcrln5and
the consistency is stirred with stick un-
til if i, cooked into Il mushv paste OF
Cruel. The water is not permitted to
boil, as that would COX the Drell to-
quickly. A hole is then sc0opei into
the bed Of little stream, the clie IS pat
in aud then Covered with sand anl pe5'
bles. Tle water is then turned over II
a gain for a few hours. The water porco
latcs through the sani and thus removes
the tannin, or bitter taste, from the
acorn bread. Little grains OF sand
adhere to the bread, but the Indian ha'
good digestive organs.
The butter used for this bread il
rather crude, ami perhaps gave rise tt
tue manufacture OF oleomlrSarlne
Wnen foam forms on the banks OF thu
creeks anil in the "dead eddes' of
whirlpool it is Covered with flies and
o.lur insects wnicn make it thick witt
larvae and pupe. The women and chill
dren, with baskets aud scoops, skim OF
this scum OF dead and living insects,
WASH away the foam in fresh water anC
with the Larvae aud pupe they have
"fresh butter" They have another
brand of butter made from grass
hoppers. This is CONSIDERED extra
fine. In catching the festive grass
hopper the women and children form int
u line and with brushes beat about thu
bushes, driving the grasshoppcrs before
tuem into wide, shallow ditch or DIR.
river bed or open spot. the hoppers ar
iayed alive, or to their death, with the
brushes, and then threaded on string;
ald filed away for future use, as In th'
green state they are too rich for thu
Indians turgid blood. Sometimes thu
grass IS set on fire, and then the grass
hopper jumps for life, only to be tayed
and strinted if he jumps out of the fire.
Those that are cr1nated in tue grass fire
are eaten on the spot by WY of luncheon
CHASING the grasshopper is field da!
with the In llans.
Another form of bread is made from
ordinary corn. The kernels are placed
in bowl which ha, been Clipped in I
rock, and the woman kneads the dough,
something after the old fashioned style
of the pale faces. The dough is made