100 PLANTS USED BY THE KLAMATH INDIANS. 



RHAMNACEAE 

 Ceanothus prostiatus lU'iith. 



tia-ga' -e-sum sa'-ivah. — A prostrate shrub, common in most parts of 

 the yellow-pine forest, forming broad, dense mats not more than a deci- 

 meter (4 inches) in height, and known in some parts of California as 

 '•mahala mats." The plant lias no use among the Indians. Its name, 

 however, is interesting on account of its derivation from ga-ga' es, 

 hawk; iim, plant, and sii'-wals, arrowhead— from the saying among 

 the Indians that in the old days when the animals lived like men the 

 hawks used the leaves of Ihis plant for arrowheads. The significance 

 of this saying is evident from the thick, holly like, coarsely toothed 

 leaves which closely resemble an inverted arrowhead of a certain type. 



Rhammis purslrana IK'. 



iSiir' tim-bt'ik-ifih.— A tall shrub usually-! to .'J meters (about (J to 10 

 feet) high, with black-skinned berries, their flesh soft, greenish, and 

 insipid or slightly bitter, common in moist woods and rocky places 

 along streams in the western part of the reservation, abundant between 

 the agency and the old fort, and at Modoc Point. The bark of this 

 plant is commercially used in medicine under the Spanish name cas- 

 cara sagrada. though in this part of Oregon it apparently was not 

 gathered for the market. The foliage, twigs, and bark are made into a 

 tea by the Indians and used as an emetic. The berries also act as an 

 emetic. 



LOASACEAE. 

 Mentzelia albicaulis Dougl. 



Lo'-Uis. — A branching annual with roughly canescent pubescence, 

 pinnatitid leaves, white or nearly white stems, and small yellow orange- 

 centered flowers, common in cultivated ground and old fields. The 

 minute, grayish seeds are much used for food. 



ONAGRACEAE 



Oenothera hookeri Torr. & Or. 



Wa'siim choh'-wiis. — The native evening primrose of the region, a 

 common weed in cultivated ground and in waste places around dwell- 

 ings. Its yellow flowers, which open at night, are about 7.5 cm. 

 (3 inches) in diameter. The Klamath name of the plant, derived from 

 was, coyote, iim, plant, and chon-wiis, vomit, is associated with the 

 following story, in which 1 have retained as nearly as possible the 

 sentiment and sequence of the Indian narrator. A long time ago, 

 when the animals lived and talked like men, the coyote, or prairie wolf, 

 who was very keen and smart, but a good deal of a sneak, just as he 

 is to day, met one day the Indian Christ, Isis. who could do anything 

 he wanted to — could make flowers, " grub " (i. e., food), anything. The 



