The Opelousas courier., 1905-09-09
DESERT BILL OF FARE.
SOURCES FROM WHICH THE IN
DIAN SUPPLIES HIS LARDER,
The Grisly Phantom Hunger, with
His Companion, Thirst, Holds Do.
minion Over the Land, Vet the
Natives Manage to Find Food of
3 Sort

SGS ~ Hi SSQ ~
3 Sort.
In the Indian country of the West
l grim spectre stands with bony an
gers ever stretching ont toward the
inhabitants of the region. This girls
~ phantom is the form of hunger,
which with his companion, thirst,
holdS dominion over the land. The
country IS vast and rcomy, but one
wonders what can be found therein
to sustain life.
About some Of the Indian villages
are to he cen small patches of maize
or a few tiny melon patches, but
these cultivated areas are of little
account IS compared with the num-
her Of persons to be fed. These, too,
are exceptions, rather than the rule.
a majority of the towns having no
such cultivated fie,as.
In variaus parts of the arid region,
which shelters so great a portion Of
Il barbarian population, Il found a
tree remarkable for certain proper.
ties. Tie botanical name of this
plant is PROPOSES julidora. It is pop
uiarly known as the lagaroha. OF
honey mesquite. This tree thriyes
with little moisture, grows vita
thick, bushy top, to a height Of TWEEN.
ty to forty feet, affords shelter from
the wind and sun, and best Of all in
the sight Of the hungry natives. 1t
yields abundant crops of fruit Known
as mequite beans, The slim green
pods hang in clusters from the tips
Of the boughs, often bending the
branches nearly to breakings 40 abun-
dant do they grow. The pods, which
are six or seven inches long, are
PUPPY, juicy, fairly palatable and
nourishing. %~
These beans are gathered; dried
All Stored in the peculiar granaries
of the lndians-huga baskets holding
several bushels each-aRa arc pulver-
lied when wanted for food in wooden
or stone fh6rtars, and the meal thus
formed is SOAKED in water and eaten
WITHOUT further preparation. Or it Is
5aked into a sort cf unleavened
bread. 1t is tia principal ana favor
tie food of several tribes.
The screw bean is another fool
product, less plentiful, but even more
highly priced, because of its sugary
qualities. This fruit is often eaten
as plucked from the tree. 1t rfpeis
the latter part Of June or in July, a
little later than the mesquite bean
In some of the mountain sections
the Prunus AnGersonii or chamish,
is found in abundance. The pits Of
this fruit are pounded ii mortars,
and the meal is then eaten. There
are many varieties Of the cactus fruit
which Is utilized fer food, the fruit
Of the Opuntia tuna, Or prickly pear,
being a notable example.
The dead "loco weed" the pest of
the c~attleInea, is a favorite with the
Indians, for the yellow pods of the
plant, when pulYerizeI, serve as spice
to render some OF the otherwise n
sipid dishes palatable.
The roots of the cancer rect are
roasted over live Goals. and when
young, %suceulent and n~0urishing, are
prime favorites with the red epicure-
ans.
Flowers of the yucca AMI agave are
boiled, dried and preserved, to be
eaten as occasion requires. The
young shoots or crowns Of these
| plants are also roasted and eatea,
| Seeds Of the Artemis.a ~tridentata, OF
NORWOOD, and the Atriplex lent,
formis are pulverized AMI eaten.
The apple or berry of the Arctosta.
| phylos glauca, CT manzanita, is an
| other food obtained by the mountain
| dwellers. This is eaten as plucked
and IS also dried and preserved for
| future use. Pine nuts form a very
important item of food with many oil
the tribes in the wooded section Of
the country, and acorns furnish other
tribes with a large part Of their liv
ing.
There are other herbs which are
utilized by the Indians as food. In.
| deed, there are few plants which are
not capable of being rendered edible
In some manner There are, how.
ever, other things besides plants
which are made to satisfy the pangs
of hunger. In the animal kingdom
| are a number of varieties of creat
lures, not classe1 in the game list OF
| the white man, which minister to ths
| appetites and needs OF the red maj
There are in the Southwest, par
ticularly in California, bodies OF bit
| ter. poisonous waters known as bo
racic lakes. Owens Lake, twenty
| miles long, is Of this class. It is q
yeritahle Dead Sea, and, Ike the sea
Of that naine and its counterpart, tins
| Great Salt Lake Of Utah, its heavy
| brackish waters do net support fist
or marine life.
At certain seasons Of the year the
| waters Of these boracic lakes abound
in a white grub known to the indiana
| of that region as 1~koocha5ee.' These
grubs are the laryae Of 9 tWo-winges
fly, the Ephldra Californiea. Sc
| plentiful are these gTulas in their sea
son they line the shores Of the lake
to d depth Of several inches, ewhere
the waves cast them up from theil
watery incubator. The Indians, a
this season OF the year, camp upoT
the shores Of the lake, gather this
peculiar harvest and dry 1t in tbs