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
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_).