MISCELLANEOUS USES 



themselves when thev einerii^ed from the iiiulcrworkl 

 (their first home) into this world ol" liKhl. Tliou^li 

 the spread of white education amon<^ our abori<^ines 

 has caused this ancient textile art to become almost 

 a lost one, it is not entirely so. Here an<l there an 

 old Indian is still run across who holds to the tradi- 

 tions of the elders and works Hk' aiicit'iil works. 

 One such not long ago, living on the Calit'oriiia 

 desert, made me from the fiber of the ^lescal plant 

 {Agave deserti) a pair of sandals of innnemorial 

 pattern, the spongy sole an inch thick turned up at 

 the heel, and with an elaborate arrangement of cords 

 to keep the foot in place. 



Both Agave and Yucca are treated in the same 

 manner to separate the fiber. After soaking the 

 leaves in water to soften them, they are pounded 

 and repeatedly rinsed until the pulpy ])arl is dis- 

 posed of. The fibers are then combed out, twisted 

 into strands, and woven as desired. According to 

 Dr. Palmer, the old-time Southern California 

 weavers were famous for their Yucca tiber ropes, 

 nets, hairbrushes and saddle blankets. In the last 

 a padding of softer fiber obtained from the (luiote 

 {Yucca Whim)lei) w^is employed to relieve the 

 harshness of the Yucca haccata fiber. '^ The tough 



3 The American Naturalist, Sept., 1878. 



217 



