A Deer's Bill of Fare. 205 



brook with its creeping root-stalk, the shoots of which 

 resemble the long quills of the porcupine ; it is one of the 

 horsetail family. There are also sedges with edible roots 

 which I think deer would eat, and they are not averse to 

 digging when occasion demands. For instance, they are 

 so fond of beets, turnips, carrots, and parsnips, that they 

 will dig for them. I have not the evidence at hand, but 

 feel almost sure that they would like the bulbs of the 

 camass, favorite food of Indians.* Grizzly bears dote 

 on these, and Indians set so great store by them that 

 the Nez Perce war in Idaho was fought for the possession 

 of the grounds where they are found in abundance. As 

 a boy I often ate the new growth of the fern fronds, found 

 in the spring-time in our northern woods. Deer I think 

 would like them.f Among other roots which grow here 

 and which man accepts as food are the wild onion and the 

 bulb of the Washington lily, also the wild hyacinth, the 

 root of the mountain primrose (the racine amere of 

 the voyageurs) , the bulbs of the yellow globe-tulip, and of 

 the green-banded Mariposa lily, by the Indians the most 

 passionately loved of all bulbs that grow. I should expect 

 to find that deer also like these, but have not the requisite 

 evidence that they do.$ Near Mono Lake, on the desert 

 side of the mountains, grows the bitter-brush, bearing 

 seeds said to be favorite food of cattle and very fattening. 

 The meat of this little nut, which looks like a diminutive 



* Camassia esculenta. 



t Bruised fern-roots are recognized Indian food. 



t Mr. Galen Clark, the doyen of the Yosemite guides, told me that near 

 Wawona grew a plant called by the Indians "toonge," which had an edible 

 root like a small sweet potato. This is not found in the Yosemite Valley. 

 Can any one give further information? On the desert side of the Sierra, 

 near Mono Lake, I was told of an edible root, called by the Indians 

 " tubuse," which tastes like milk. Can some one supplement this scanty 

 information ? 



