Page:The Pima Indians.pdf/83

78 Tcil’tipĭn. (Sp.). This pepper is raised by the Papagos and brought to the Pimas.

Tcoʼhokia. The leaves are gathered in spring and sometimes baked in tortillas. In summer the seeds are gathered, ground on the metate, mixed with meal or squash, or they may be parched and ground to be eaten dry.

Tcoʼtcĭk â’nûk, Suæda arborescens; S. suffrutescens. These are added to greens or cactus fruit to give flavor.

To’a, Quercus oblongifolia. The acorns of this oak are traded from the Papagos. After the hulls have been removed they are parched and ground into meal.

Ոrtam, Atriplex lentiformis. The seed of this saltbush is cooked in pits which are lined with Suæda arborescens and the papery inner bark of the cottonwood moistened and mixed together. The roasting requires but one night, then the seeds are taken out, dried, parched, and laid away for future use. When eaten, it is placed in a cup and water added until a thick gruel is produced.

Vakwai’hai-ĭndûm, Solanum elæagnifolium. The berries are put in the milk from which cheese is made to serve as a substitute for rennet.

Vakʼwandam, Rumex berlandieri. This plant is used with the cactus fruit, Opuntia arborescens, in the same manner as the saltbush, Suæda arborescens.

Viʼpĭnoĭ, Opuntia versicolor. The fruit is sometimes eaten raw, but it is usually prepared in the same manner as Opuntia arborescens.

Dr Edward Palmer, who collected among the Pimas in 1885, obtained some nuts of the "quinine plant," Simmondsia californica Nutt., which he says are eaten either raw or parched. Professor Thornber states that the Mexicans use the oil as a hair tonic. He also describes an "Indian potato," Hoffmanseggia falcaria Cav., which, when roasted, tastes like the cultivated Irish potato. However, this is a member of the pea family and not a potato. A true Solanum is found native to Arizona, but we have not learned that the Pimas know of it.

At least three kinds of chewing gum are in use. That most highly esteemed is called vi-ipam, "milky;" it is obtained from a plant which somewhat resembles a sweet-potato vine. The pointed pods are gathered, their milk poured into a squash stalk and heated in the ashes, whereupon it is ready to chew. A bush, Encelia farinosa, called tohafs, exudes a clear gum; and that on the stems of some of the Compositae is sometimes gathered and chewed by children.