1880. 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



181 



ing up with wonderful rapidity after the tirst 

 rains, and witliering when the moisture fails in 

 the Summer. It is a very easy and ijood fern 

 for house cultivation. In the same places, but 

 loving a little more sunshine, is seen the Gym- 

 nogramme triangularis, its polished brown 

 stipes supporting handsome triangular fronds, 

 the backs of which are covered with the bright 

 yellow powder from which it gets its name of 

 Gold Fern. Nearer the coast, and on the edge 

 of the desert, they are found coated with a 

 shining white powder, and are then called Sil- 

 ver Ferns, but botanists do not recognize them 

 as distinct varieties. 



(To be continued.) 



NOTES FROM WASHINGTON TERRITORY. 



KY FANNY E. BRIGGS. 



Another year has brought us little additional 

 knowledge of the country and its climate, ex- 

 cept as to its capacity for storms. Thfe winter 

 had been unusually cold and storm}', and cold 

 rains continued with little intei'mission until 

 July, and interfered unusually with haying and 

 harvest. With brief intervals of pleasant 

 weather, the autumn was very wet, and early in 

 December the rain changed to snow. On the 

 night of December 24th, the mercury stood at 

 three degrees above zero, the coldest night in 

 many years. On the 9th of January there was 

 a terrible wind storm, continuing four or five 

 hours. At the very beginning of the storm, a 

 tree fell upon a school-house only two miles 

 distant, killing two children instantly and injur- 

 ing almost every one in the house, some severe- 

 ly. Great masses of trees were felled, filling 

 roads, cumbering fields, and destroying fences, 

 buildings and stock. 



On February 18th, we had nearly two feet of 

 very solid snow. March opened quite pleasant- 

 ly, but on the 16th nearly a foot of snow fell, 

 and to-day, March 28th, the ground is white 

 again. So much for the "semi-tropical climate" 

 of which we heard such flattering accounts. 



This can never be a land of gay and smiling 

 landscapes while its native features remain. 

 The ever-present firs, so dark and sombre in the 

 cloudy day, light up, it is true, in the sunshine, 

 and take on altogether a different aspect; but it 

 is only a mild and pensive gladness, and in aut- 

 umn there is only here and there a glimpse of 

 brightness where a dog-wood or vine-maple 

 hangs out its purple or scarlet banner. The 

 grand snow-peaks, Hood, St. Helens, Adams and 



Ranier, are the glory of the land, and a sight of 

 them is always inspiring. 



As the Indian question is now a prominent 

 one, perhaps a few personal observations may 

 not be amiss. The Indians we saw in California 

 were all, I suppose, of those known as Diggers. 

 They worked a little, stole what they could, and 

 lived in the poorest and wretchedest way. With 

 a friend I visited one of their camps. It was 

 built on a hill-side, sloping steeply to a consid- 

 erable stream. The best of the houses were 

 mere huts, patched together with fragments of 

 lumber of all kinds, with no floor, and a single 

 sash for light. These were provided with con- 

 spicuous padlocks, and belonged, no doubt, to 

 the "upper ten." More numerous were huts 

 made by laying poles across low forks, and set- 

 ting up bark or evergreen boughs against them, 

 or hanging blankets or sacking to secure partial 

 shelter. 



Under one of the poorest and smallest of 

 these, upon a few rags, lay a poor woman in ex- 

 treme old age, totally blind and racked with 

 pain. A fire at the mouth of the tent ofi"ered 

 little warmth, and a little acorn soup was the 

 only visible nourishment. With a thankful 

 heart I heard, not many days after, that death 

 had relieved her from sufiering. 



At one side of the village stood a great turf- 

 covered "dance-house." The women were sit- 

 ting about on the ground totally idle and stupid ; 

 the men and boys engaged in noisy games. 

 Large quantities of acorns were gathered here 

 for winter use. These they pound fine and man- 

 ufacture into bread and soup. They pound 

 them with smooth stones in circular basins in 

 the rocks, and these primitive mortars are to be 

 met with on every hand. As a desert after 

 acorns, there were also gathered large quantities 

 of "Indian berries," the scarlet fruit of the 

 beautiful, shrub which Mr. Vick calls American 

 Holly. The Indians were also said to be very 

 fond of the bulbs of some of the pretty flowers, 

 Calochortus, Tritelias, etc. One, a beautiful 

 yellow Calochortus, was known as Indian 

 potato. 



At certain times these Indians meet in large 

 numbers to " mourn their dead." I saw one of 

 these companies on their way. All were in 

 their best attire, and, as means were found to 

 transport all, old and young, and even the blind 

 and crippled, I suppose it is an important rite. 



The Indians I have met with in this region 

 are superior to any I ever saw elsewhere — better 



