Daily camera., 1898-01-07
USES OF THE GIANT CACTUS.
The Ugly Plant Highly Valued by
Mexicans and Indians.
1t Produces a Delicious Fruit and
from 1t the Intoxicating "Tizwfn"
IL Obtained - A Desert
Mystery.

and southwestern texas embrace a
region totally unlike any other sec
ton of the United States. This portion
of our country bears evidence of its
Mexican origin in it's swarthy popula-
ton and its low-built adobe houses,
while it's bleak mountains hiding treas
ures of precious metal and its sandy
deserts, among whose greasewood and
mesquite bushes live the poisonous
tarantula, the venomous rattlesnake
and the stinging scorpion, seem but
part and parcel of our sister republic on
the south.
That which strikes the traveller most
forcibly, however, in journeying
through the sandy wastes, is the won
derful luXuriaI1ce of the cactus family
which appears to grow everywhere-
the lowly cholla (choy'yah), the reed
like ocaIilla (o-kah-lce'-yah) and that
nnsightiy giant, the great sahuara
(sah-wah' -rah). The dryer the sand
and the hotter the sun the better the
cactus seems to flourish. On some
mountain-sides the chollas grow so
thick one cannot pass through them, so
fierce are the sharp spines cf the cholla
balls" Curved at their ends ike fish
hooks, these little spines pierce leather
and fasten upon the skin of the foot,
causing the most intense pain.
Rough and repulsive as these various
kinds of cactus are, however, yet use
has been found for most of them. After
treating the stems CT 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 more detailed de-
scription.
The sahuara, easily the king of the
cactus family, is peculiar to Arizona,
its futed co,umnsf with its gaunt, up
ward-growing arms, covering the des-
erts, in some places, like veritable
forest. 1t is often 20 feet in height and
it's heart is a watery pulp protected by
long parallel strips of tough, fi5rous
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 is mystery since it grows in
the dryest of places, where rains come if
they come at all, at almost yearly inter-
vals This water, however, is of no use
to man as many poor prospector has
found 70 his SORROW. 1t is astringent
and bitter, serving only to increase
thirst.
The Indians of the country-Apaches,
PiInas, Papagoes, Maricopas-us the
straight, flexible poles which form the
skeleton of the sahuara in the con-
struction of their huts. Like the
'pricldy pear" the giant cactus also
bears a fruit which grows on the very
tipsof the parent stalk and its branches.
This fruit is nearly the size and shape
of hens egg. When ripe it is of a
scarlet hue and splits open into four
lobes, disclosing pulpy mass about the
consistency of fig and filled with
minute black seeds. The MeXicans and
Sndians are passionately fond of this
fruit-and so are the birds. The form
CT. if so fortunate as to get ahead OF
their feathered rivals, take long poles
ard knock the fruit from the top of the
stalk. The Indian squaws dry it and
prepare it into dish resembling fig
paste.
But there is use to which the squaws
put the fruit which is not so commend
able. 1t is pressed in wide, shallow
baskets and the juice collected in pot
terry ollas (o'-yahs), vessels OF native
manufacture. The ollas are then
stored in a small room where fire is
kept burning until the appearance OF a
! white froth on the surface of the liquid
indicates that fermentation has com
menced 1t is then q strong drink called
"tizwin," for which the Indians show q
deplorable fondness. In former years
! the government always expected
trouble from its red proteges in ''tizwin-
time" and extraordinary precautions
were taken to hold the savages in check
during those particular periods.-De-
| troit Free Press.