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Show 1900] INDIAN LIFE 223 iheal. In central California the acorn is the great source of food, and is likewise made into a meal and subsequently prepared in various ways. In the southwest, besides the cultivated plants, the mes-quite and the prickly- pear yield food; and in this region mescal is generally eaten to produce a kind of intoxication much in favor among the Indians. In the northeast the wild- rice provision of the Ojibwa has already been mentioned, 1 and wild cranberries and the other small fruits of the Great Lake region were also added to their diet. East of the Mississippi and south of the St. Lawrence basin, agriculture diminished the importance of wild fruits, but they still contributed to the Indian's larder. It is needless to specify in detail, for it can truly be said that every edible plant was made use of by the natives; and it was only in certain regions where a given variety exerted a marked influence on the residence, such as the water- lily among the Klamath, the camass on the plateaus, and the wild rice among the Ojibwa and other eastern tribes, that it deserves especial mention. Of cultivated plants, maize, beans, squashes, and tobacco must be accorded the first place, particularly in the southeast. In certain regions, notably the southwest, these plants were supplemented by the seeds of the sunflower. Of animal food, what might be termed the transition form consisted of insects, for in the dry regions 1 See above, chap. x. |