MCGEE] THE SECOND HARVEST 211* 



feeble thrift- sense may be regarded as emerging. And the rise of thrift 

 in Serihmd^ like esthetic and industrial beginnings generally, is shaped 



huDiai] body, separate the seeds from it, and roast, grind, and eat tliera, making merry over their 

 loathsome meals, which the Spaniards therefore call the second harvest of the Californians. [This 

 statement is corroborated in all particulars by Claviiieru in his Storia della California, Venice, 1789, 

 vol. I, p. 117.] AVheu I first heard that such a tilths habit existed among them I was disinclined to 

 ln'Iieve the repiirt, but to my niter rugrt't I became afterwards repeatedly a witness to tlie proceeding, 

 wliicli tliey are unwilling tci abandon, like many otlier bad practices [probably because of the fiducial 

 character iif tlio custom— W J M.]. Yet I must say in their favor that they have always abstained 

 from human tlesli, contrary tn the horrible usage of so many other American nations who can obtain 

 theii- daily food much easier than these poor Californians. 



"Tliey have no other drink but the water, and heaven be praised tliat they arc unacquainted with 

 such strong beverages as are distilled in many American provinces from Indian corn, the aloj'-, and 

 other plants, and which the Americans in those parts nu'rely drink for the purpose of intoxicating 

 themselves. AVhen a Californiaii encounters during his wanderings a pond or pool, and feels a desire 

 to ijuench his thirst, he lies flat on the ground and applies his mouth directly to the water. Some- 

 times the horns of cattle are used as drinking vessels. 



"Having thus far given an account of the diflVrent articles used as aliment by the aborigines of the 

 peninsula, I will now proceed to describe in what manner they prepare their victuals. They do not 

 cook, boil, or roast like jieople in civilized countries, because they are neither acquainted with these 

 methods nor po.ssessed of vessels and utensils to employ for such purposes; and, besides, their 

 jjatience would be taxed beyond endurance if they had to wait till a piece of meat is well cooked or 

 thoroughly roasted. Their whole jn'ocess simply consists in hurning. singeing, or roasting in an open 

 fire all such victuals as are not eaten in a raw state. Without any formalities, the ju'ece of meat, 

 the fisli, bird, snake, field mouse, bat, or whatever it may be is thrown into the flames or <iii the 

 glowing emiiers, and left tliere to smoke and to sweat for about a tjuarter of an hour; after which the 

 article is withdrawn, in most cases only burned or charred on the outside, but still raw and bloody 

 within. As soon as it has become sufiiciently cool, they shake it a little in order to remove the 

 adhering dust or sand, and eat it with great relish. Tet I must add here, that they do not previously 

 take the trouble to skin the mice or disembowel the rats, nor deem it necessary to clean the half- 

 emptied entrails and maws of larger animals, which they have to cut in pieces before they can roast 

 them. Seeds, kernels, grasshoppers, green caterpillars, the white worms already luentioned, and 

 similar things that would be lost, on account of their smallness, in the embers and flames of an open 

 fire, are parched on hot coals, which they constantly throw up and shake in a turtle shell or a kind 

 of frying pan woven <uit of a certain plant. "What they have parched or roasted in this manner is 

 ground to powder between two stones, ami eaten in a dry slate. Bones are treated in like manner. 



"They eat everything unsalted, though they might obtain plenty of salt; but since they cannot 

 dine every day on roast meat and constantly change their quarters, they would find it too cumbersome 

 to carry always a supply of salt with them. 



'"The ]>reparation of the aloe, also called wescale ot 7naffue)/ by the Spaniards, requires more time 

 and labor. The roots, after being properly separated from the plants, are roasted for some liours in a 

 strong fire, and then buried, twelve or twenty together, in the ground, and well covered with hot 

 stones, hot ashes, and earth. In this state they have to remain for twelve or fourteen hours, and 

 when dug out again they are of a fine yellow color, and perfectly tender, making a very i)a]atable 

 disli, whieh lias served me frequently as food when I had nothing else to eat, iiras dessert after dinner 

 in lieu of fruit. But they act at first as a purgative tni persons who are not accustomed to them, and 

 leave the throat somewliat rough for a few hours afterwards. 



"To light a fire the CalilVfrnians make no use of steel and flint, but obtain it by the friction of two 

 pieces of wood. One of them is cylindrical, and i)ointed on one end, which fits into a round cavity in 

 the other, and by turning the cylindrical piece with great rapidity between their hands, like a twirl- 

 ing stick, they succeed in igniting the lower piece if they continue the process for a suflicieut length 

 of time. 



"The Californians have no fixed time for any sort of business, and eat, consequently, whenever 

 they have anytliing, or feel inclined to do so, which is nearly always the case. I never asked one of 

 them whether he was hungry who failed to answer in the affirmative, even if his appearance indicated 

 the coTitrary. A meal in the middle <if the day is the least in use among them, because they alt set 

 out early in the morning fi)r their foraging expeditions, and return only in the evening to the place 

 from which they started, if they do not clioose some other localitj" for their night quarters. The day 

 being thus spent in running about and searching tor food, they have no time left for preparing a 

 dinner at noon. They start always empty-handed; for if perchance something remains from their 

 evening repasts they certainly eat it during the night in waking moments or on the following morn- 

 ing before leaving. The Californians can endure hunger easier and much longer than otlier peojde; 

 whereas they will eat enormously if a chance is given. I often trieil to buy a piece of venison from 

 them when the akin had but lately been stripped off the deer, but regularly received the answer tliat 

 nothing was left ; and I knew well enough that the hunter who killed the animal needed no assistance 



