﻿378 
  PROCEEDINGS 
  OF 
  THE 
  CALIFORNIA 
  

  

  which 
  are 
  thickly 
  covered 
  with 
  minute 
  prickles 
  — 
  I 
  know 
  not 
  what 
  it 
  is. 
  All 
  

   tiiese 
  seeds 
  are 
  generally 
  parched 
  a 
  little, 
  and 
  then 
  beaten 
  to 
  flour, 
  and 
  eaten 
  

   without 
  further 
  cooking, 
  or 
  made 
  into 
  bread 
  or 
  mush. 
  The 
  dry, 
  parched 
  flour 
  

   of 
  the 
  crowfoot 
  seed 
  has 
  that 
  peculiar, 
  rich 
  taste 
  of 
  parched 
  corn. 
  

  

  There 
  is 
  an 
  umbelliferous 
  plant, 
  (shokum) 
  the 
  root 
  of 
  which 
  the 
  Indians 
  esteem 
  

   very 
  highly 
  for 
  food 
  ; 
  more 
  highly 
  than 
  any 
  other, 
  it 
  being 
  their 
  nearest 
  equiv- 
  

   alent 
  to 
  potatoes. 
  I 
  know 
  not 
  if 
  it 
  is 
  the 
  true 
  cammas 
  ; 
  I 
  think 
  it 
  is 
  at 
  least 
  a 
  

   species 
  of 
  it. 
  It 
  grows 
  on 
  rocky 
  hill-sides, 
  blossoms 
  in 
  June 
  and 
  July, 
  has 
  an 
  

   extremely 
  delicate, 
  fringe-like 
  leaf, 
  and 
  a 
  root 
  about 
  an 
  inch 
  long 
  and 
  a 
  quarter 
  

   as 
  thick, 
  sweetish-pungent 
  and 
  agreeable 
  to 
  the 
  taste. 
  In 
  Penn 
  Valley, 
  Neva- 
  

   da 
  county, 
  they 
  gather 
  large 
  quantities 
  of 
  it. 
  

  

  They 
  are 
  acquainted 
  with 
  the 
  Yerba 
  santa, 
  but 
  attach 
  no 
  particular 
  value 
  

   to 
  it. 
  

  

  Around 
  old 
  camps 
  and 
  corrals 
  there 
  is 
  found 
  a 
  wild 
  tobacco, 
  [Nicotiana 
  

   ■plumhaginifolia—pan) 
  which 
  they 
  smoke 
  with 
  great 
  satisfaction. 
  They 
  gather 
  

   the 
  leaves 
  and 
  dry 
  them 
  in 
  the 
  sun 
  in 
  a 
  rude 
  fashion, 
  then 
  cut 
  them 
  up 
  fine. 
  It 
  

   has 
  a 
  pungent 
  peppery 
  taste 
  in 
  the 
  pipe, 
  but 
  is 
  better 
  than 
  nine-tenths 
  of 
  the 
  

   Chinese-made 
  cigars. 
  It 
  is 
  smoked 
  in 
  a 
  wooden 
  or 
  stone 
  pipe, 
  which 
  is 
  con- 
  

   structed 
  of 
  a 
  single 
  straight 
  piece, 
  the 
  bowl 
  being 
  simply 
  a 
  continuation 
  of 
  the 
  

   sti'm, 
  enlarged. 
  I 
  saw 
  one 
  made 
  ofsoapstone, 
  about 
  six 
  inches 
  long, 
  five 
  inches 
  

   of 
  it 
  being 
  the 
  bowl, 
  which 
  was 
  nearly 
  an 
  inch 
  wide 
  at 
  the 
  extremity, 
  so 
  that 
  it 
  

   would 
  hold 
  enough 
  to 
  last 
  half 
  an 
  hour. 
  It 
  was 
  quite 
  a 
  handsome 
  piece 
  of 
  

   workmanship, 
  perfectly 
  round 
  and 
  smooth, 
  tapering 
  evenly 
  down 
  to 
  a 
  bulb, 
  

   which 
  was 
  inserted 
  in 
  the 
  mouth. 
  The 
  tobacco-pipe 
  is 
  called 
  panemcoolah. 
  

  

  There 
  are 
  two 
  plants 
  used 
  for 
  textile 
  purposes. 
  One 
  is 
  a 
  kind 
  of 
  tule-grass, 
  

   or 
  small 
  bulrush, 
  {Juncus 
  — 
  doccun) 
  which 
  they 
  hetcheled 
  with 
  flints 
  or 
  with 
  

   their 
  finger-nails, 
  bleached, 
  and 
  wove 
  into 
  breech-cloths. 
  For 
  strings, 
  cords, 
  

   and 
  nets, 
  they 
  used 
  the 
  inner 
  bark 
  of 
  the 
  lowland 
  milk-weed 
  (Asclepias—poo) 
  . 
  

   When 
  it 
  is"dry, 
  the 
  Indian 
  takes 
  both 
  ends 
  of 
  a 
  stalk 
  in 
  his 
  hands, 
  passes 
  it 
  

   through 
  his 
  mouth, 
  and 
  crushes 
  it 
  with 
  his 
  teeth, 
  or 
  else 
  passes 
  it 
  over 
  a 
  stone 
  

   while 
  he 
  gently 
  taps 
  it 
  with 
  another 
  ; 
  then 
  strips 
  off 
  the 
  bark 
  and 
  twists 
  it 
  into 
  

   strands, 
  then 
  into 
  cords. 
  The 
  rock 
  milk-weed, 
  {oampoo) 
  has 
  a 
  medicinal 
  value 
  ; 
  

   tlieyuse 
  the 
  root 
  for 
  the 
  toothache, 
  the 
  same 
  way 
  the 
  root 
  of 
  the 
  buckthorn 
  is 
  

   used. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  necessary 
  to 
  state 
  that 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  medicines 
  above 
  mentioned 
  are 
  of 
  the 
  

   class 
  which 
  the 
  women 
  are 
  allowed 
  to 
  become 
  acquainted 
  with 
  and 
  to 
  employ. 
  

   There 
  are 
  several 
  other 
  substances 
  which 
  are 
  more 
  rare 
  and 
  valuable, 
  or 
  at 
  least 
  

   they 
  deem 
  them 
  more 
  valuable, 
  and 
  which 
  the 
  medicine-men 
  alone 
  know 
  any- 
  

   thing 
  about. 
  They 
  are 
  found 
  far 
  up 
  in 
  the 
  mountains 
  or 
  in 
  other 
  localities, 
  and 
  

   may 
  be 
  calltd 
  the 
  medicines 
  of 
  commerce, 
  having 
  a 
  tolerably 
  well-settled 
  value 
  in 
  

   shell-money. 
  I 
  regret 
  that 
  I 
  was 
  generally 
  unable 
  to 
  secure 
  sufficiently 
  com- 
  

   plete 
  specimens 
  to 
  determine 
  them. 
  For 
  instance, 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  root 
  [luhno) 
  which 
  

   I 
  should 
  call 
  Seneca 
  snake-root, 
  but 
  of 
  which 
  I 
  could 
  procure 
  only 
  a 
  little 
  piece. 
  

   A 
  root 
  about 
  as 
  large 
  as 
  a 
  pipe-stem, 
  and 
  four 
  inches 
  long, 
  is 
  worth 
  about 
  

   a 
  dollar. 
  A 
  decoction 
  of 
  it 
  is 
  used 
  for 
  diarrhcea, 
  that 
  scourge 
  of 
  aboriginal 
  life 
  ; 
  

  

  