4 SMITHSONIAN MISCKLLANEOUS COI.Lr-:CTIONS VOF.. IO3 



parts of New Mexico and it is quite possible that they may have 

 served the peoples Hving here. Although it is not definitely known 

 that all of the forms were present in earlier times, they are so 

 widespread that it may be taken for granted that they were available. 

 Included in this list are: The sunflower (Helianflius aiiiiuiis) that 

 furnished seeds for parching and for grinding into a paste used in 

 thickening stews and making cakes ; the four-o'clock (Mirabilis viulti- 

 tiara) the roots of which were used in tanning ; purslane {Portnlaca 

 oleracea) that furnished greens; amole or yucca {Yucca- glauca) 

 with seed pods for food and roots for soap; datil {Yucca baccata) 

 the fruit of which was eaten raw and cooked in various ways ; rabbit- 

 brush (Chrysothaimms latisquamcus) the buds of which were eaten 

 and the flowers of which were the base for a yellow dye; pigweed 

 (Aniaranfhus retroHexus) that supplied fresh greens or was dried for 

 winter use; lambsquarter {Chenopodiimi leptophyllum) the leaves of 

 which were used as greens and the seeds of which were ground into 

 meal ; panic grass (Panicum obtusum) with seeds that were ground 

 into a kind of flour; wild peas {Lathynis leucanthiis) that contributed 

 the whole pod as well as seeds ; wild potatoes {Solamnii fendleri and 

 Solanum jamesii) the small tubers of which were boiled with the skins 

 on or were eaten raw with a white clay or talc to counteract certain 

 unpleasant effects they otherwise might have.^ Then, of course, there 

 were the nuts from the pifions {Pinus ediilis) and the prickly pears 

 {Opuntia spp.) that were in high favor with the Indians. 



The bufifalo has disappeared, but a few antelope {Antilocapra 

 americana americana) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus 

 texanns) can still be seen. Some of the local residents report that 

 on occasions they have observed mule deer {Odocoileus hemionus 

 macrotis) in the brakes. This is a little south and east of the normal 

 range for that particular deer, but the animals would not need to 

 stray far to wander into the district. Jack rabbits (Lepus calif ornicus 

 nielanotis) and cottontail rabbits {Sylvilagns audubonii neoinexi- 

 caniis) are plentiful, the prairie dog {Cynomys ludovicianiis ludo- 

 vicianus) and pocket gopher {Geomys breviceps llaiiensis) are com- 

 mon. Coyotes {Canis latrans) were seen by members of the party, 

 lynx or bobcat {Lynx rufus baileyi), badgers {Taxidea taxus ber- 

 landieri), a bulT-gray fox (probably Vulpes vclox velox, but this 



1 These plants were identified by Linda B. Roberts. For further information 

 on native plants as sources of food in the Southwest see Castetter, 1935 ; Castettcr 

 and Opler, 1936. 



