The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1897-12-30
THE oIAN'T CACTUS.

THE alANf CACTUS.
heNicans and Indians Make yan
Uses of the Ugly Plant.
Southern New Mexico and Ari,o,,
and southwestern Texas e,r,l,,..,,,,
region totally unlike any other sec
ton of the United States. This porto,
OF our country bears evidence of if.
Mexican origin in its swarthv popuIa
ton and its lOw-built "adobe'' bouees
while its bleak mountains hidino irons
ures of precious metal and IT'S sand,
deserts, among whose CROSSWORD and
mesquite bushes live the noisono,,s
tarantuIa, the venomous rattIesnake
and the singing scorpion. seem but
part and parcel of our sister renublic IN
the south.
That which strikes the traveller most
1orcloly, however, in iourneving
through the sandy wastes. is tbe won.
derful luXuriance of the cactus fan,iI,,
which appears to grow everywhere
the lowly cholla (choy'-yah). the reed
IKE ocaillla (o-kah-Iee'-yah) and that
unsIghtIy giant. the great sabuara
(sah-wah -rah). The driver the sand
and the hotter the sun the better +ba
cactus seems to flourish. On soma
mountain-sides the chollas GROW 60
thlck one cannot pass through them 81
herce are the sharp spines of the cboIIa
balls" Curved at their ends like fish
hooks, these little spines pierce leather
and tasten upon the skin of the foot
causing the most intense pain.
N(ough and repulsive as these various
] 49,: - s5-se77. ~ Z 7ss
has been found for most of them. After
treating the stems of some of the small
er varieties, furniture is manufactured
from them-chairs, tables and other
small articles; the tall. graceful stems
of the ocalilla are gathered and woven
into fences, while the weird, uncouth
sahuara is put to a number of uses
which will require a more detailed de-
scription.
The sahuara, easily the king of the
cactus family, is peculiar to Arizona,
its fiuted coIumnsf with its gaunt. up
ward-groWing arms, covering the des-
crts, in some places, like veritable
forest 1t is often 20 feet in height and
its heart is watery pulp protected by
long parallel strips of tough, tibrous
wood reaching from base to top, the
whole covered with a thick, green skin
which successfully turns the suns rays
and prevents the evaporation of the wa
ter within. Where the sahuara gets
this water isl mystery since it grows in
the dryest of places. where rains come,if
they come at all. at almost yearly inter
walls. This water, however, is of no use
to man as many poor prospector has
found to his sorrow. 1t is astringent
and bitter, serving only to increase
thirst.
The Indians of the country-Apaches
Pimas, Papagoes, Maricopas TIE
straight flexible poles which form the
skeleton of the sahuara in the con
struction of their huts. Like the
''prickly pear" the giant cactus also
bears a fruit which grows on the very
tips of the parent stalk and its branches
This fruit is nearly the size and shape
of hens egg. When ripe it is of
scarlet hue and splits open into -four
lobes, disclosinga pulpy mass about the
consistency of a fig and filed with
(-7ninufe black seeds. The MeXicans and
lSndians are passionately fond of this
|ifruit-and so are the birds. The form
er. if so fortunate as to get ahead OF
| their feathered rivals, take long poles
and knock the fruit from the top OF the