MAPLE FAMILY. 365 
times used on this account to make temporary tattoo marks on the 
skin. These disappear as soon as the skin is renewed, but the color, 
asa rule, is very permanent. Some of the purest black strands seen 
in the Pomo baskets are produced, according to Dr. Hudson, by apply- 
ing the fresh juice to them. 
The fruit, which ripens at Round Valley in June and July, is freely 
eaten by the common yellowhammer and by squirrels, and hogs are 
sald to fatten upon both the leaves and the fruit. 
For remedies in case of poisoning the Indians have commonly been 
taught to apply saleratus, and possibly the use of soap root as a paste 
was taught to them by the early settlers, but this appears doubtful. 
One undoubtedly original cure consists in applying a strong decoction 
of the root of the sunflower ( Wyethia longicaulis) to the affected parts. 
The Wailaki name for the plant is /ofs'-ta. 
Rhus trilobata Nutt. 
Bé-bé'-é (Yokia). —The wild red-fruited sumac, a shrub 2 to 5 feet 
high, with very aromatic leaves and yellow flowers. It is rather com- 
mon in open sunny spots around Ukiah, but was not observed in 
Round Valley. : 
One of the leading men of the Yokias informed me that seventy or 
eighty years ago, when smallpox was particularly prevalent in Ander- 
son Valley, and few, if any, white men were around, the fruit, which 
is rather viscid and acid in taste, was used as a remedy against this 
disease. The ripe berries were dried and then finely powdered. 
While the pox were still dry, water was added to the powder, which 
was then applied as a lotion. When the sores were open and moist, 
the powder was dusted upon the surface. This is quite probably the 
smallpox remedy which a Round Valley medicine woman referred to, 
but said that it did not grow inside the valley. 
The wood is used by the Indians in southern California for making 
baskets, but it does not appear to be extensively used for such a pur- 
pose in Mendocino County. 
ACERACEAE. Maple Family. 
Acer macrophyllum Pursh. 
Pal-gon'-shé (Yuki).--The large-leaved maple of the district, a tree 
50 to 90 feet high, often 2 to 3 feet in diameter, which bears char- 
acteristically large, five-lobed leaves, measuring from 5 to 10 or more 
inches across. It grows in the valley near streams and in moist 
situations in the mountains. The inner bark when taken from the 
tree in springtime ‘‘looks very white and new,” and is especially 
valued by the Concow for making baskets. In the fall it is not so 
desirable. I was told that in former years it constituted the chief 
material from which this tribe made their baskets. From the bark 
