Pine nuts were another important article of food, and were much
prized by the Indians. They are very palatable and nutritious,
and are also greatly relished by white people whenever they can
be obtained. The seeds of the Digger or nut pine (_Pinus
Sabiniana_) were the ones most used on the western side of the
Sierras, although the seeds of the sugar pine (_P. Lambertiana_)
were also sometimes eaten. On account of their soft shell, nuts
from the pinon pine (_P. monophylla_), which grows principally on
the eastern side of the mountains, were considered superior to
either of the other kinds, and were an important article of
barter with the tribes of that region. All of these trees are
very prolific, and their crop of nuts in fruitful years has been
estimated to be even greater than the enormous wheat crop of
California, although of course but a very small portion of it is
ever gathered. Many other kinds of nuts and seeds were also
eaten.
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.