IN CALIFORNIA 115 



straight, natural stick of manzanita five feet long. 

 I'd like to be stake holder for that offer!" 



The fruit is a berry in shape like a tiny apple 

 (which is the meaning of the Spanish word man- 

 zanita) but the likeness goes no further, for it is 

 dry, stony and puckery. It is, however, packed 

 with nutrition for stomachs that can digest it, and 

 bears and Indians are in that class. Mr. V. K. 

 Chesnut states that the green berries, while so indi- 

 gestible as to cause colic if consumed in quantity, 

 are tart enough to quench thirst, a fact worth know- 

 ing to any one caught waterless on the dry, hot hill 

 sides which the plants often occupy. The Indians 

 of Northern California use them in various ways, 

 but the fruit must be eaten in moderation or the 

 intestines become stopped to a degree that may 

 cause death. Manzanita cider, which some tribes 

 make to perfection, appeals even to civilized pal- 

 ates. By the mountain white folk the berries are 

 gathered for jelly making, and one of the pleasant 

 incidents on the chaparral trail is your coming upon 

 a party of happy-faced lads and lassies at their 

 manzanita harvest, shouting to one another across 

 the expanse of bushes, to the accompaniment of 

 their tinkling pails. The Indian way is to thrash 

 the berries into the huge maws of their conical bur- 

 den baskets work which is done by the squaws, the 



