RissELLl THE FOOD SUPPLY 71 



and eaten without further preparation. The tree grows on tlic iiiosas 

 on all sides of the villages, where it is very conspicuous for a few days 

 in May, when it is covered with a mass of purple flowers. 



Ila'kowat, Phoradendron calif ornicum. The berries of the mistletoe 

 that grows on the niesciuite are gathered and boiled without strip- 

 ping from the stem. They are taken in the lingers, and the berries 

 stripped ofl" into the mouth as eaten. \'arious species of mistletoe 

 are very abundant on tiie trees along the Gila, but tliis one only is 

 eaten. 



Halt, Cucurbit a pepo Linn. The common species of pumpkin 

 grown by the Pinias, as well as by the whites and Mexicans, is cut in 

 strips and dried, when it is known by a number of different names, 

 according to the manner of cutting and the particular variety. Tliis 

 species includes the pumpkins proper, the bush scallop scjuashcs, the 

 summer crook-necks, and the white or yellow warty squashes. The 

 club-shaped, pear-shaped, or long-cylindrical smooth squash is Cucur- 

 bita moscliata Duchesne. It is extensivelj- grown by the Piinas. The 

 seeds of the pumpkin are parched and eaten. When the dried ])umi)- 

 kin is used, it is softened in water and boiled. 



Ila'n'dm. Opuntia arborescens. The fruit of this cactus (pi. viii, a) 

 is gathered with an instrument that resembles an enlarged wooden 

 clothespin. It is collected in large cpiantities and carried home in 

 the kiaha, or carrjnng basket. A pit is dug and a fire built in it, on 

 which stones are heated. As the fire dies down the stones are removed 

 and a layer of the saltbush, Suseda arborescens, is placed over the 

 coals; above this is placed a layer of cactus fruit, then hot stcmes, 

 and so alternately to the top, over which a thick laj'er of saltbush is 

 laid with earth outside. The pit is left undisturbed over one night, 

 then its contents are spread out, dried, and the fruit stirred with a 

 stick until the thorns are rubbed off, whereupon it is ready to store 

 away for future use. In its final preparation it must be boiled. It is 

 then salted and eaten with pinole. The acid flavor is usually relieved 

 hj the addition of various plants cooked as greens. 



Ila'rsany, Cereus giganteus Engelm. The fruit of the giant cac- 

 tus, or, as it is more generally known in the Southwest, the saguaro 

 (pis. VIII, h, and ix, c, d), is gathered in June, and so important is 

 the harvest that the event marks the beginning of the new year in 

 the Pima calendar. The supply is a large one and only industry is 

 required to make it available throughout the entire year, as both the 

 seeds and the dried fruit may be preserved. Seeds that have passed 

 through the body are sometimes gathered from the dried feces, 

 washeil, and treated as those obtained ilirectl}' from the fruit, though 

 there would seem to be some special value ascribed to them as in the 

 case of the "second harvest" of the Seri." 



a Cf . W J .McGee in Seventeenth Annual Report of Bureau ot American Ethnoiogyi 21Z 



