1380 
also attain the stature of trees. Both Venegas in the middle of 
the eighteenth century and Salva Tierra in the latter part of the 
seventeenth century could not have avoided seeing the suwarro 
and their notes on large pitahayas undoubtedly refer in part at 
least to this plant. 
arly in the nineteenth century Lieut. R. W. H. Hardy passed 
through the southern portion of the region inhabited by the 
suwarro, although it cannot be definitely stated that he refers par- 
ticularly to this plant in the record of his travels (Travels in the 
Interior of Mexico. 1829). No such doubt exists, however, as 
to the observations of Pattie, an Indian trader and trapper who 
passed up and down the Gila river several times where he saw a 
tree (1825) of which he says “It grew to a height of forty to 
sixty feet. The top was cone-shaped and almost without foli- 
age. The bark resembles that of the prickly pear; and the body 
is covered with thorns. I have seen some three feet in diameter 
at the root, and throwing up twelve distinct shafts’”’ (Pattie, J. O., 
Personal Narrative of Six Years Journeyings. P.68. 1833). 
The ene given above include many notes to as to the 
uses to which the pitahaya was put by the Indians; the woody 
skeleton for aie and shelters and the pulp and seeds for food. 
During my recent explorations in the southwest it was found that 
this plant is to be added to the list of those furnishing water for the 
use of the animals on the desert. It is asserted that birds of vari- 
ous species pierce the softer upper portions of the stems and eat 
the juicy pulp for the moisture contained. Travellers are also 
reported to have secured water from the trunks for their animals. 
To do this young trees were felled and the ends of the prostrate 
a were Pula a few feet above the ground with the 
ddle sagging in such manner that it rested on a kettle or 
ae partly buried in the soil. Incisions were made in the 
trunk over this vessel and fires were built under the ends of the 
trunk, which resulted in driving out quantities of sap. The 
amount of water obtainable by this method is by no means in- 
considerable. Thus a young unbranched tree 15 feet in height 
weighs in the neighborhood of half a ton and must therefore con- 
tain about nine hundred pounds of water, a large proportion of 
which might easily be expressed. 
