Indians of the Yosemite Valley and Vicinity - Their History, Customs and Traditions by Galen Clark
page 40 of 82 (48%)
page 40 of 82 (48%)
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than the opening at the top, so that the insects could not
readily get out of it. This hole was dug in the center of a meadow, which was then surrounded by Indians armed with small boughs, who beat the grasshoppers towards a common center and drove them into the trap. A fire was then kindled on top of them, and after they had been well roasted they were gathered up and stored for future use. [Illustration: _Photograph by Fiske_. A WOOD GATHERER. As in all Indian tribes, the women do most of the work.] Other articles of food were various kinds of roots, grasses and herbage, some of which were cooked, while others were eaten in their natural condition. The lupine (_Lupinus bicolor_ and other species), whose brilliant flowers are such a beautiful feature of all the mountain meadows in the spring and summer, was a favorite plant for making what white people would call "greens," and when eaten was frequently moistened with some of the manzanita cider already referred to. Among the roots used for food were those of the wild caraway (_Carum_), wild hyacinth (_Brodioea_), sorrel (_Oxalis_), and camass (_Camassia esculenta_). Chapter Five RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES AND BELIEFS. |
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