FOOD PRODUCTS OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 411 
of this tree to make skirts, and twist it into rope or twine, and even 
weave it into baskets. 
Western juniper, (Juniperus oecidentalis.\—The fruit of this tree is a 
large and tuberculated berry, sweet and nutritious, especially when it 
is first ripe; nevertheless it has a resinous taste peculiar to the juni- 
per. It is largely consumed by all the Indians of Arizona and New 
Mexico, who gather great quantities for winter store. When dried and 
ground into flour, mixed with water, kneaded into a hard mass, and 
dried in the sun, it has a chaffy look of a brownish yellow color, is very 
light, easily digested, and not offensive, as its juniper taste is not objec- 
tionable to the Indians. The bread, having a chaffy or sawdust con- 
sistency, would not be palatable to the white man. Mexicans consume 
this fruit in large quantities, and it constitutes an article of trade among 
them. An analysis of the bread shows: Water, 14.34; proteine com- 
pounds, 5.69; starch, 17.87; sugar, 10.66; cellulose, gum, oil, &c., (by 
difference,) 47.58; ash, 3.86100. 
NUTS. ' 
Hickory nuts, (Carya alba ;) Pecan nuts, (Carya oliveformis ;) Hazel 
nuts, (Corylus Americana ;) Walnuts, (Juglans nigra.)—Tiaese nuts grow 
abundantly in most of the States east of the Missouri River, in the 
Indian Territory, and in Arkansas. In former years they furnished the 
‘food for a much larger number of Indians than at present, the greater por- 
tion of the tribes having been removed farther west. The quantity con- 
sumed at one time seems incredible, and would certainly be unsafe for 
more civilized stomachs. 
Iron-wood, (Olneya tesota.)—This tree grows in the most desolate and 
rocky places of Arizona and Sonora. The seeds are produced in bean- 
- like pods of a shiny mahogany color, in size and shape somewhat lke 
@ pea, and are eaten raw and roasted by the Indians. When care is 
taken to parch them they equal peanuts, with no perceptible difference 
in taste. The Mohave Indians, of Arizona, store them for winter use. 
Pine nuts, (Pinus Sabiniana, P. monophylla, P. Parryana, P. Lambert- 
jana flexilis, P. Coulteri.\—These trees grow in the mountains of the 
western Territories, and the seeds are commonly called pine nuts, and 
are used as an article of food by all the Indians inhabiting the regions 
in which they grow. The seeds are oily, of a very disagreeable flavor, 
but highly nutritious. The woodpeckers coliect them for winter use, 
and the Digger Indians hunt for the hidden stores and pilfer them with 
much delight. The Indians of California, Nevada, and Utah consider 
these nuts one of their main articles of subsistence. 
Edible pine, (Pinus edulis.\—This small scrubby pine grows on the 
dry rocky mountains of New Mexico, and is called by the Mexicans 
pion. The seed is about the size of a kidney bean, with a rich. oily 
kernel in a thin shell. It has a pleasant flavor, and sometimes oil is 
expressed from it. In favorable seasons the seeds are gathered in quan- 
tities and sold by the Indians to the people of New Mexico, Arizona, 
and the border settlements of Mexico. The price is 50 cents to $1 per 
pound. They should be roasted before eaten, though sometimes they 
are consumed raw. 
The Indians of Alaska in the spring are in the habit of stripping off 
the outer bark of Pinus contorta and seraping the newly formed cam- 
bium from the trunk. This is eaten fresh or dried, pressed into com- 
pact cakes of a dark claret brown. It has a coarse look, as if made of 
tanner’s bark, and if broken up it presents a checkered appearance. - 
When fresh it is not unpleasant, and the effect is that of a gentle lax- 
