USEFUL WILD PLANTS 



of the autumnal gathering of the nuts was celebrated 

 with dances and songs of thanksgiving and rejoicing. 

 One of these songs, quoted by Powers, is Englished 

 thus: 



"The acorns come down from heaven ; 

 I plant the short acorns in the valley; 

 I plant the long acorns in the valley; 

 I sprout, I, the black acorn sprout; 

 I sprout." 



Such dances (and they still have some vogue in the 

 remoter parts of the State) were night affairs in 

 the open, stamped out in the glow of blazing log 

 fires to the accompaniment of minor melodies of 

 fascinating appeal, the words of the songs repeated 

 endlessly and emphasized with dramatic gestures, 

 until the morning star appeared in the east. To this 

 day the oak groves in those parts of California 

 where any considerable Indian population still 

 lingers are invested with traditional acorn rights, 

 and recognized by general consent as the harvest 

 grounds of particular communities, none poaching 

 upon the preserves of another. 



Traveling in mountainous regions of the West 

 where coniferous forests prevail, one sometimes 

 comes upon the remains of large camp-fires strewn 

 roundabout with charred pine-cones and twig ends. 



74 



