Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1898-09-28
rns GIANT oAorUs.

0exaoaAa ana 1nd4ans Make Many
Uses Of the Ugly Plant.
Southern New Mexico and Arizona
and southwestern Texas embrace re-
gien totally unlike any other section
Of the United States. This portion of
our country bears evidence OF its Mexi-
can origin IN its swarthy population
and it's lew-built adobe" houses, while
h bleak mountains hiding treasures Of
precious metal and its sandy deserts,
Inpong whose greasewood and mesquite
bushes live the poisonous tarantuaa, the
vsaomSos rattlssnake and the stinging
1oerp3on, seem but part and parcel OF
sur sister republic on the south.
That which strikes the traveller most
eDcablN however. IN 1ourneying
tAFs096 tho sandy wastes, n the won
6s<4m mxur3ance Of the cactus family
wn1ch appears to srew everywheFe-
the lsWly chslla (choy yah). the reed
nke oca1ll2A ts-kah-Aee'-yah) anA that
unsae1*H giant the great sahua1a (sah-
eaaeraAl The dryer the sand and
10 better The Gun the better the castus
bssrns 70 Aourish. On some mountain
SAss fhe chollas grow 20 thick one can
not pkas through them, 50 6erce are the
sharp spines Of the cholla balls"
Curved At their ends like ash-hooks.
these little spines pierce leather and
fasten upon the skin Of the foot. caus-
ing the most intense pain.
Rough and repulsive as these variouS
kinds Of cactus are, however, yet . use
A<>w oHx A ~.
er treating the stems Of some Of the
smaller tarietfsA furniture is manu-
featured from them-ehairs, tables and
other small articles; the tall, graceful
stems Of the ocaliEa are gathered and
woven into fences, vhile the weird, un-
couth sahuara is Dut to a number of
uses which will require . more detailed
description.
The sahurara. easily the king Of the
cactus family. IS peculiar to Arizona.
its huted columns with its gaunt, up
ward-growing arms, covering the des-
erts, in some places, like a veritable
forest 1t is often twenty feet in height
and its heart is watery pulp protected
by long parallel strips Of tough, fibrous
"Oou AVoNAAh6 AAVlh DooC " pOP, NkiC
whole covered with q thick. green skin
which successfully turns the suns rays
and prevents the evaporation Of the
water within. Where the sahuara gets
this water is a mystery since 1t grows
In the dryest Of places where rains
come. II they come at ALL at almost
yearly intervals. This water, how
ever, Is Of no use to man as many a
poor prospector has found to his sor-
row. 1t Is estringent and bitter, serv-
ing only to increase thirst.
The Indians of the country-Apaches
Pimas, Papagoes, Maripocas-use the
straight flexible poles which form the
skeleton of the sahuara in the construc
ton Of their huts. Like the 'pric.ly
pear" the giant cactus also bears a
fruit which grows on the very tips Of
the parent stalk and its branches This
fruit ID nearly the size and shape Of a
hens egg. When ripe 1t is Of a scarlet
hue and splits open into four lobes, dis
closing a pulpy mass about the co..
sistency Of fig and filled with minuts
black seeds. The Mexicans and mdian0
are passionateiy fond Of this fruit-anA
SO are the birds. The former, if -
fortunate as to get ahead Of their feath-
cred rivals take long poles and knock
the fruit from the top Of the stalk. The
Indian sQuaws dry it and prepare 1t
into a dish resembling fig-paste.
But there is a use to which the
sQpaws put the fruit which is not so
cA1mAndable. 1t is pressed in wide.
MNlow basket and the juice collected
in pottery olla0 (o'-yahs), vessels Of ma
tive manufacture. The ollas are then
stored In a small room where fire is
kept burning until the appearance Of
white froth on the surface Of the liquid.
It Is then q strong drink called "tiz-
win," for which the Indians show a
fondness. In former years
the government always expected
trouble from it's red proteges in "tiz-
win-t time" and extraordinary precau-
tons were taken to hold the savages
in check during those particular
periods.