418 AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 
great quantities being dried for use in the winter. These plants grow in 
arid desert localities which produce nothing better; they are large and 
of a bright red to purple color; of a rather pleasant, sweet, somewhat 
acid taste, and have thin skins and rather large seeds, which are dis- 
carded. The skin is studded with bunches of very fine downy spines, 
which the Indians brush off with a bunch of grass. The Apaches use 
wooden tongs to gather the fruit, to prevent being scratched by these 
spines or the thorns of the plant. The Pawnees and Papajoes dry the 
unripe fruit of the Opuntia tor future use, to be cooked with meat and 
other substances. The fresh unripe fruit is often boiled in water from 
ten to twelve hours, until soft, when it becomes like apple-sauce; then, 
being allowed to ferment a little, it becomes stimulating and nutritious. 
Some Indians roast the leaves of the Opuntia in hot ashes, and, when 
cooked, the outer skin, with the thorns, is easily removed, leaving a slimy, 
sweet, succulent substance, which is eaten. Hunger and destitution 
frequently compel Indians and white men to live for many days on this 
food. A yellowish white gum often oozes out of the leaves of the 
Opuntia, which is also eaten. 
Indian pear, (Pyrus rivularis.)\—The fruit of this tree has a very pleas- 
ant flavor, and is largely consumed by the Indians cf Alaska. , 
Prunus Americana is found in Colorado, Kansas, Utah, Oregon, and 
Texas. During the ripening of the fruit the Indians live sumptuously, 
and collect quantities for drying. 
Dwarf cherry, (Prunus pumila, Figs. 3, 4,5, 6, Plate 7.)—This inter- 
esting species of the plum is but asmall bush two to six feet high. The 
fruit is larger than a damson, sweet, and in color varies from a light 
pink to a deep crimson, and from a light to deep yellow, and grows 
abundantly in the Indian Territory. Every Indian, young and oid, capa- 
ble of traveling, goes to the plum ground in the proper season, as it is 
their great harvest. The fruit is dried, and also made into preserves. 
The plant thrives in sandy wastes, and is sometimes called sand-hill 
plum. 
Spanish bayonet, (Yueca baccata, Figs. 1 and 2, Plate 7.)—The fruit 
of this spinous-leafed plant is commonly called banana. It is produced 
upon a stem a little longer than the leaves, with several laterals. The 
pumber of the fruit that matures on a plant varies from one to six. 
When ripe they are the size and somewhat the shape of the West In- 
dian banana, from their resemblance to which the common name of the 
plant is derived. The fruit is of a greenish yellow color, of a soft, 
pulpy nature, very sweet and palatable, with large black seeds. It is 
produced every.other year. The Indians of Arizona, New Mexico, and 
Utah are very fond of it, and they dry great quantities for winter use. 
On one occasion the troopsin Northern Arizona captured a quantity of 
- the dried fruit from the Apaches, and, being sweet, it was generally 
eaten; and for some time neither salts nor castor-oil were needed from 
the medicine-chest, as this fruit proved to be a vigorous cathartic when 
dry. The unripe fruit is roasted in hot ashes and then eaten. The 
young flower-buds when about to expand are also roasted, being a 
highly-prized article of diet. To a white man it is an insipid substance. : 
The leaves of this species of Yucca produce a long and strong fiber, 
somewhat coarse, but very durable. The Indians of New Mexico and 
Arizona prepare the fiber either by first drying the leaves, and then 
beating off the dry pulp, or by macerating them in water, which rots off 
ibe pulpy matter. The plant will grow on the poorest kind of dry 
soil, and its introduction into such portions of the Southern States as 
are suited to its growth would seem to be desirable. 
