854 PLANTS USED BY INDIANS OF MENDOCINO COUNTY, CAL. 
ROSACEAE. Rose Family. 
Cercocarpus betuloides Nutt. 
Kos-chet'-tsi (Wailaki).—The shrub very familiarly known as moun- 
tain mahogany. It grows 6 to 15 feet high, and is very common 
on dry, brushy hillsides throughout the region. It is easily distin- 
guished by its small, distinctly pinnate-veined leaves, its long, feather- 
tuiled seeds, and the extreme hardness of its wood. The wood was 
formerly used for arrow tips and furnished the tool used by women 
in digging ** Indian potatoes” and worms out of the ground. For 
this purpose a straight, pointed stick was used, and this was taken 
as a badge of the gentler sex. Many of the women now use iron for 
digging the bulbs. The larger sticks were also used for spears and 
for war and fighting clubs. One old Indian related a story about a 
bear fight which he had seen his father, a very powerful man, engage in 
when he wasa boy. His only weapon consisted of a stick of mountain 
mahogany, about 7 feet long, which had a large knob on one end anda 
sharpened point at the other. He placed the child in a tree for safety, 
As the enraged bear made a dash at the Indian, he, jumping skillfully 
to one side, hit the animal a terrible blow on the legs as it passed, 
Again and again, as the bear dashed forward, it was struck on the legs 
until it was nearly disabled, when it was speedily dispatched with the 
sharp end of the club. 
Fragaria californica Cham. & Schlecht. 
Pol-put' mam (Yuki).—The wild strawberry, which is fairly com- 
mon on wooded hillsides. The berry is much like that from the eul- 
tivated plant, but smaller. It is never gathered in quantity, but is 
eaten, especially by children, direct from the vines. 
Rosa californica Cham. & Schlecht. 
Aal'-e (Yuki). —The wild rose which forms « considerable part of 
the brush fields in damp soils in Round Valley. It has an abundance 
of semifleshy fruit, but this is very rarely used for food. 
Rubus parviflorus velutinus (Brewer) Greene. 
Wa'-sa (Concow).—The well-known thimbleberry, a thornless, wide- 
leaved shrub, 3 to 8 feet high, with showy white flowers. It is abun- 
dant on brushy hillsides throughout the country. The berry is red 
and has much the appearance of a raspberry, but is more nearly hemi- 
spherical. Further south the berry is rather dry and insipid, but the 
more abundant rainfall of this region, together with the fogs which 
frequently cover certain areas, develops a more fleshy and finely fla- 
vored berry. It is never gathered in quantity, but is eaten directly 
from the bush by old and young alike, 
