The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1901-09-13

California represent 20 many distinct
nations as proved by their languages,
which are as Ear apart from one am
other as English Is from Chinese. the
character OF the food supply and
other local conditions applying to all
have made all OF them a good deal
alike In respect 10 habits and Gus
toms. Generally speaking, the cul-
ture OF the tribes OF the Golden State
may be said. as Prof Holmes re-
marks. 10 revolve about the oak tree.
They are eaters OF acorns. which end
less forests OF oak furnish In unllml-
ted quantities They have almost no
earthenware, few OF them understand
anything OF the potters art, but are
the most wonderful basket makers in
the world, their products in this line
displaying remarkably varied phases
OF form, technique and establishment
Prof. Holmes examined several OF
their milling places. and describes one
Of them Ga typical example) as a
mass Of granite rock, with many conf
cal holes, some shallow and some
deep. All about we're stones for
grinding and pounding, adapted In
shane to the hollows, in which acorns
we're put for the purpose OF reducing
them to meal. This place Of industry
was covered with a rude shelter OF
poles and brush to protect the women,
who are obliged to spend much Of
their time at such work, from sun
and rain.
The acorn cracking outfit ordinarily
consists of a round stone with a shall
low pit on the upper surface, and
another stone for striking, the nut
being set on end to receive the blow.
In the absence OF such contriyanc
the teeth are used for breaking the
shells. The kernals, after being dried,
are pounded in a hole, the resulting
meal being winnowed in fiat bas-
ket A basin is then formed in the
sand, and in this the meal is put,
the water being poured upon 1t re-
peatedly and allowed to drain away
until all of the tannin is filtered out.
! IL Is luu JduiLlu bhdU ASAuSAS eAAo
acorn unfit for food in its ordinary
condition, but, after going through
the process described, the -four,
scooped out Of the sand-basin with the
hands, is sweet and wholesome. The
Indians, who call 1t "byota," vastly
prefer it to our wheat -four.
Mortars carved out OF stone are
sometimes employed for grinding the
acorns. with the help of pestle.
Prof. Holmes found two ancient ones.
of a globular shape, in the possession
of an old miner named John Cannon.
They were so highly valued by Mrs
Cannon asreceptacles for watering the
chickens that one of them was Sc
I cured only with the greatest difficulty
j They had been discovered originally
in a mine, together with number Of
y Skeletons buried six feet deep in gold
Q bearing gravel.
Near a place called Murphys tht
! expedition visited a cave carved Out
:. of the limestone by water, which was
entered by an opening descending al
= mos vertically and expanding below
Skulls and other portions Of human
= skeletons had been found there, ant
Pro. Holmes secured from the interio
= of the cavern parts Of the remains
= of huge animal, which, being takel
to Washington, proved to have be
longei to giant sloth, one Of thos
:. huge mammals, long ago extinct
:. which were plentiful over the create
: part of this continent during the ter
= tiary epoch.-New York Herald.