The Delta of the Rio Colorado. 13 
Sesbania macrocarpa. Wildhemp. Wild flax 
Grows in open portions of the delta below flovil- level, and some- 
times reaches a height of 15 ft. The stems furnish a fibre which is 
used by the Indians for bow-strings and for other purposes as cords. 
Some attempts have been made to introduce this fibre into commerce. 
Sesuvium sessile. 
Along the shores of streams in the lower portion of the delta, in 
which the soil is moistened by water slightly saline or brackish. 
Allenrolfia occidentalis. 
Along the Santa Clara slough and other areas, in which the soil is 
saline. 
Typha latifolia. Cat-tail tule. 
Growing in level areas below flood-level and multiplying rapidly 
by means of offsets and forming pure cultures of great area. ~ 
underground stems, which are tender and succulent, are eaten by the 
wild hogs, while the sword-shaped leaves are used to pack the inter- 
stices of huts,-and especially the small sweat-houses which are erected 
at the margins of lagoons. The great smokes which are seen almost 
constantly in the delta are mainly made by burning brakes of cat-tails 
for hunting purposes. 
Uniola Palmeri. Wild rice. 
Grows in the sloughs and wet places in the southern part of the 
_ delta, and the seeds are used as food by the Cucopa Indians. 
At one time a herd of domestic hogs were turned loose in the tule 
swamps of the delta, and their progeny have reverted in so many 
features as to be as savage and untamable as their ancestors of a 
thousand years ago.. Here, preying upon the hog and deer, is also 
to be found a “mountain lion,” of a variety not found elsewhere, and 
even the widely-ranging coyote constitutes a species peculiar to the 
region, and quite at home in the mud of the swamps and bayous. 
Surpassing in interest all other features of the delta is the Cucopa 
Indian, who inhabits it, and who is the heir and successor of many 
vanished tribes. First mentioned in the records of the expedition of 
Coronado in 1540 as seen to habitually carry fire-brands, which these 
old explorers naively thought was done for the purpose of keeping 
the hands warm, they were designated as the Tizon ( firebrand) In- 
dians, and the river received the same name. As a matter of fact, 
smouldering fagots were carried for the simple purpose of preserving 
fire and for its convenient use in burning the tules and canes to drive 
out animals hunted for food. At the beginning of the seventeenth 
