PLANTS USED BY INDIANS. 241 



with themselves, and not borrowed, as some suppose, from the Spaniards. It is a sim- 

 ple affair, consisting of two round, strong, short poles, one suspended and the other 

 fastened to the ground. Upon these is arranged the warp. Two long wooden needles 

 with eyes are threaded with the filling, which is more loosely twisted than the warp in 

 order to give substance or body to the blanket. Each time that the filling is thrust 

 between the threads of the warp by one hand, the Indian female, with a long, wide, 

 wooden implement in the other hand, beats it into place. This tool resembles a carving- 

 knife, but is much larger and longer. One edge is thin, and in this is made a number 

 of teeth or notches not so sharp as to cut. 



li Y. ichipjjlei, — This plant in bloom is one of the finest garden ornaments, very com- 

 mon over most parts of California. The young flowering stems, while in their tender 

 condition, are eaten either raw or roasted by the Indians. The seeds are gathered, 

 ground into flour, and eaten. The leaves yield a very soft white fibre, which is capable 

 of being made into very nice thread. Indians use this fibre to form a padding to their 

 horse-blankets, the outer part of which being made of the fibre from the Yucca baccata 

 is very rough. A wooden needle is threaded with twine made from the same fibre, and 

 the lining is firinly quilted to the saddle-blanket, forming a soft covering, without which 

 it would injure the animal's back. 



"Agave deserti. — This is on the whole one of the most useful of natural produc- 

 tions to the Indians of Arizona, New Mexico, and Lower California. Tbe heart of the 

 plant, after being roasted, is a nutritious article of diet. From it is distilled a strong 

 liquid called mescal by Mexicans; the seeds are ground into flour and eaten ; the leaves 

 are long and very fibrous, and are cleaned like those of Yucca baccata. Sometimes 

 after the leaves are dead and quite dry they are pounded until the epidermis is separated. 

 The fibre thus cleaned is not so smooth and white as that first soaked in water, but 

 very strong and durable ropes, mats, nets, and sewing-thread are made therefrom. 

 This is a very abundant plant, covering many thousands of acres of land unfit to grow 

 anything more useful. 



" Willow trees. — Those along the Colorado Eiver, Arizona, yield abundance of long, 

 soft bark, from which the Indians on this stream make ropes and twine for domestic 

 purposes, as well as sandals and mats. The females generally dress scantily; only that 

 part of the body from the waist to the knees is hidden from view. This custom is 

 observed by most of the Indian females living along the Colorado Eiver. They strip 

 off the bark from the willow trees and bury it in blue mud for a few days, after 

 which it is taken out, washed clean, and dried. It is now soft, pliable, and easily 

 handled. Being cut into requisite lengths, they are fastened very thickly to a belt of 

 the wearer. 



"Ajpocynum cannabinum. — The Indians of Southern Utah, California, and Arizona 

 use the fibre prepared from the stems of this plant to make ropes, twine, and nets; and 

 before the advent of Europeans it was used in the manufacture of various articles of 

 clothing. In order to remove the fibre the woody stems are first soaked in water, the 

 bast with the bark is then easdy removed. The latter being washed off leaves a soft, 

 silky fibre of a yellowish-brown color, which is very strong and durable. I have seen 

 ropes made of it that have been in constant use for years. 



" Urtica holosericea. — The fibre of this plant is used by the Indians of Southern Cali- 

 fornia to make their bow-strings. In order to separate the fibre, the plant has to go 

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