56 ETHNO-BOTANY OF THE COAHUILLA INDIANS 



with long stripes of splendid green. In the Cabeson valley, far above 

 the level of the overflow, these trees grow in clumps or monies, strik- 

 ing their roots down through the sand to the subirrigation below. 

 Frequently the wind has lodged the sand among these monies, until 

 dunes fifteen to twenty feet high have been built up, covering acres in 

 extent and burying all but the upper limbs of the trees a curious phe- 

 nomenon. 



The fruit of the algaroba or honey mesquite (Prosopis juliflora) 

 is a beautiful legumen, four to seven inches long, which hangs in 

 splendid clusters. A good crop will bend each branch almost to the 

 ground, and as the fruit falls, pile the ground beneath the tree with a 

 thick carpet of straw-colored pods. These are pulpy, sweet, and nutri- 

 tious, affording food to stock as well as to man. 



Everywhere in the Colorado country, to the Mojave, Yuma, and 

 Cocopah, as well as to the Coahuilla, they are the staple of life. The 

 Coahuillas gather them in July and August in great quantities, drying 

 them thoroughly and then packing them away in the basket granaries. 

 The beans are never husked, but pod and all are pounded up into an 

 imperfect meal in the wooden mortar. This meal is then placed in 

 earthen dishes and thoroughly soaked. It is then ready to be eaten, 

 and is called by the Coahuillas, pe-chi-ta, or men-yi-kish, according as 

 it is, or is not, sifted. A light fermentation, which shortly results, 

 improves it. The mass itself, while requiring vigorous mastication, is 

 sweet and wholesome. It is sometimes rolled into compact balls and 

 carried for food on a journey. 1 



According to Mr. Havard, this pulp contains "more than half its 

 weight of assimilative principles, of which the most important is sugar, 

 in the proportion of 25 to 30 per cent." 



The "screwbean" or tornillo {Prosopis pubescens, Benth.) is less 

 abundant than the algaroba. Its fruit is a cluster of little yellow spirals 

 united at one point. It contains even more saccharine matter than 

 the algaroba, and may be eaten with relish as plucked from the tree. 

 A fermented beverage can be made from this meal and was once much 

 drunk by the Indians of the Colorado river. Major Heinzleman 

 described its use among the Yumas : "The pod mesquite begins to 

 ripen in June, the screwbean a little later. Both contain a great deal 

 of saccharine matter ; the latter is so full it furnishes by boiling a pal- 

 atable molasses, and from the former, by boiling and fermentation, a 

 tolerably good drink may be made."* 



1 Pacific Railroad Report, Vol. V, p. 98. 



2 EMORY, Mexican Boundary Survey, Vol. I, p. 112. 



