The principal berries used by the Indians of Yosemite and tribes
lower down in the foothills were those of the manzanita
(_Arctostaphylos glauca_). They are about the size of
huckleberries, of a light brown color, and when ripe have the
flavor of dried apples. They are used for eating, and also to
make a kind of cider for drinking, and for mixing with some food
preparations. Manzanita is the Spanish for "little apple," and
this shrub, with its rich red bark and pale green foliage, is
perhaps the most beautiful and most widely distributed in
California. Strawberries, black raspberries, elderberries, wild
cherries and the fruit of the Sierra plum (_Prunus subcordata_)
are also used by the Indians, but wild edible berries are not as
plentiful in California as they are in the Atlantic States.


GRASSHOPPERS AND WORMS.

In addition to the staple articles of food already mentioned,
many other things were eaten when they could be obtained. These
included grasshoppers, certain kinds of large tree worms, the
white fungi which grows upon the oak, mushrooms, and the larvae
and pupae of ants and other insects. The pupae of a certain kind
of fly which breeds extensively on the shores of Mono Lake, about
forty miles from Yosemite, was an important article of commerce
across the mountains, and was made into a kind of paste called
_ka-cha´-vee_, which is still much relished by the Indians, and
is a prominent dish at their feasts.

The manner of catching grasshoppers was to dig a large hole,
somewhat in the shape of a fly trap, with the bottom larger