150 Audubon s Western Journal 



cannot conceive, for even the lizards, in most 

 places innumerable, are scarce here. The Indians 

 kill them with, a light wand, giving them a dex- 

 terous tap on the head ; they pick up the game ( ?) , 

 slip the head under a belt or string round their 

 waists, and when sufficient are collected a little 

 fire is made, and this delicate repast is enjoyed by 

 them, as an epicure would relish his brace of 

 woodcock. 



I am told that a sort of mush is made of grass- 

 hoppers which abound all over the country, some 

 of which are very beautiful ; the insects are caught 

 and dried, then pounded, and mixed with what 

 meal or "pinole" they have; the "pinole" generally 

 consists of parched wheat or corn, spiced and 

 pounded, or ground dry on the "metale," the stone 

 used by the Mexicans for making the meal used 

 for their tortillas; the dish is considered quite a 

 delicacy by both the Indians and Mexicans; the 

 man who told me this said he had tasted it, found 

 it pleasant, and except for the idea, a pretty good 

 dish. 



The horses of the Indians here are very tolerable 

 but they are spoiled by being ridden too young. 

 They use them steadily when two years old, and I 

 saw even colts with the hair of the tail still curly, 

 under boys fourteen or fifteen years of age. 



The houses are cones, four or five feet high and 

 eight to fifteen feet across, thatched in the rudest 



