Paleo Foraging

Neltuma glandulosa (Torr.) Britton & Rose

= Algarobia glandulosa, Neltuma glandulosa, Prosopis chilensis, Prosopis glandulosa, Prosopis juliflora, Prosopis odorata, Mimosa pseudo-echinus

Honey mesquite, glandular mesquite, mesquite bush, algarroba, mezquite, mizquiqui, mezquite blanco, mezquite amarillo, mezquite colorado, chachacha, tahi, algaroba

Aztec / Nahuatl: mizquitl (Bell and Castetter 1937:3, Vogel 1970)

Akwa’ala: enal (Gifford and Lowie 1928:352)

Apache: nastane – “that which lies about” (Castetter and Opler 1936:61)

Cochimí: guatrá (Clavijero 1852:10)

Cocopa: anyaʟ (Gifford and Lowie 1928:352)

Comanche: namoβitsɔni / natsɔkwe (Carlson and Jones 1939:523)

Kamia: (the pods) anaxi (Gifford 1931:23)

Seri: haas (Felger and Moser 1985:334)

Shoshoni: oh vea (Irwin 1980:12)

Tewa: tsepʽe – “eagle plant” (Robbins et al. 1916:68)

Yukaliwa: ahaª (Gifford and Lowie 1928:352)

Yuma: (the pods) eya’ʹ (Forde 1931:115)

Location in Texas: all TX except far east; very common in Travis Co.

Form: shrub, tree, up to 30 ft. tall; perennial.

Flowers: Feb-Sept (yellow).

Notes – in the author’s research, this species has more uses than any other one in Texas, by far. The USDA classifies this species as an invasive, as it quickly takes over areas cleared for farming or ranching and can be difficult to eradicate. However, it is also native to the Southwest, where it has been used by Indigenous peoples for thousands of years.

Food

Bean pods – an important food source of the Cocopa (Bell and Castetter 1937:21, Garcés 1900:175, Gifford 1933:267, Kelly 1977:32), Pima (Bell and Castetter 1937:21, Bolton 1930:44, Whittemore 1893:54), Cahuilla (Barrows 1967:55, Bean and Saubel 1972:107), Mohave, Tohono O’odham, Walapai (Hrdlička 1908:21,23,24,258,261), Kiowa (Vestal and Schultes 1939:34), Plains-Rockies Indians (Ebeling 1986:48), Indians of Lower California in the mid 1700’s (Baegert 1979), Yuma (Barrows 1967:56, Bell and Castetter 1937:21, Garcés 1900:174, Heintzelman 1853:91,116), Yaquis (Perez de Ribas 1645:284), Kumeyaay Indians of San Sebastian, CA in 1775 (Bolton 1930:131), Indians of Baja California in the late 1700’s (Clavijero 1852:10), Indians of New Spain in 1790 (Hernando 1970:261), Lipan Apache (Ohlendorf et al. 1980:610), Chiricahua and Mescalero Apache (Castetter and Opler 1936:41-42), Apache (Bandelier 1890:185, Bell and Castetter 1937:21), Maricopa, Yavapai, Walapai, Hopi (Bell and Castetter 1937:21), Cáhita (Beals 1943:11,13), Panamint (Coville 1892:355), Mohave (Barrows 1967:Bell and Castetter 1937:21), Kamia (Gifford 1931:23), Southeastern Yavapai (Gifford 1932:205), Seri (Felger and Moser 1985:338), Coahuiltecans on the Rio Grande (Ohlendorf et al. 1980:590), many tribes of Texas (Ohlendorf et al. 1980:610),

They were also eaten by the Kiliwa of Lower California (Beals 1943:26), Shoshone (Irwin 1980:12), Mexican Kickapoo (Latorre and Latorre 1977:345), Comanche (Carlson and Jones 1939:523), and Texas Indians called “Avavares” around 1530 (Augenbraum and Cabeza de Vaca 2013:102).

Fruits – the bean pods were an important food source of the Cocopa (Bell and Castetter 1937:21, Garcés 1900:175, Gifford 1933:267, Kelly 1977:32, Palmer 1871:410), Pima (Bell and Castetter 1937:21, Bolton 1930:44, Palmer 1871:410, Whittemore 1893:54), Moqui (Palmer 1871:410), Cahuilla (Barrows 1967:55, Bean and Saubel 1972:107), Mohave (Hrdlička 1908:21,23,24,258,261, Palmer 1871:410), Tohono O’odham (Hrdlička 1908:21,23,24,258,261), Kiowa (Vestal and Schultes 1939:34), Plains-Rockies Natives (Ebeling 1986:48), Natives of Lower California in the mid 1700’s (Baegert 1979), Yuma (Barrows 1967:56, Bell and Castetter 1937:21, Garcés 1900:174, Heintzelman 1853:91,116, Palmer 1871:410), Yaqui (Perez de Ribas 1645:284), Kumeyaay Indians of San Sebastian, CA in 1775 (Bolton 1930:131), Indians of Baja California in the late 1700’s (Clavijero 1852:10), Indians of New Spain in 1790 (Hernando 1970:261), Lipan Apache (Ohlendorf et al. 1980:610), Chiricahua and Mescalero Apache (Castetter and Opler 1936:41-42), Apache (Bandelier 1890:185, Bell and Castetter 1937:21, Bourke 1895:50, Forrestal 1935:29, Palmer 1871:410), Hualapi (Palmer 1871:410), Maricopa (Bell and Castetter 1937:21, Palmer 1871:410), Yavapai ( Bell and Castetter 1937:21, Palmer 1871:410) Walapai, Hopi (Bell and Castetter 1937:21), Cáhita (Beals 1943:11,13), Timbasha (Coville 1892:355), Mohave (Barrows 1967, Bell and Castetter 1937:21), Kamia (Gifford 1931:23), Yavapai (Gifford 1932:205, Palmer 1871:410), Seri (Felger and Moser 1985:338), Coahuiltecans on the Rio Grande (Ohlendorf et al. 1980:590), Southwest Natives, Mexican folk (Havard 1895:121, Palmer 1871:410), Archaic Period Paleo-Indians of southwest Texas (Dering 1999:663), and many tribes of Texas (Ohlendorf et al. 1980:610),

They were also eaten by the Kiliwa of Lower California (Beals 1943:26), Shoshone (Irwin 1980:12), Mexican Kickapoo (Latorre and Latorre 1977:345), Comanche (Carlson and Jones 1939:523), Texas Natives called “Avavares” around 1530 (Augenbraum and Cabeza de Vaca 2013:102), and folk in northern Mexico (Bourke 1895:43).

Fruits (use by tribe) – the account of the Seri by Felger and Moser (1985:338-340) has the most detailed and comprehensive preparation and consumption methods.

Apache – To prepare mesquite beans, the Apache pounded them into a pulp (using a depression in a rock as a surface), soaked the pulp in cold water, then squeezed the mass simply by hand or in a basket to separate the sweet liquid from the pulp (Hrdlička 1908:258). An alternate method of preparation among the San Carlos Apache was to let the whole bean pods dry, pick out and discard the beans, pound the pod skins (pericarp) into pulp, mix this pulp with cold or warm water, and eat this mixture as mush, without cooking (Hrdlička 1908:258). Salt may be added to this mush (Hrdlička 1908:260). Sometimes, the beans were crushed and eaten as a mush by the San Carlos Apache, but they did not make bread from it (Hrdlička 1908:260). The Apache made a “loaf of bread” or cake of the meal (Bourke 1895:50).

Chiricahua & Mescalero Apache – Podswere gathered, boiled, pounded on a hide or ground up on a metate, the mixture placed in a pan and worked with the hands until it reached a thick consistency (Castetter and Opler 1936:41). The raw beans were ground into a meal on a metate, with the seed coats winnowed being off (Castetter and Opler 1936:41). The meal was made into bread or pancakes (Castetter and Opler 1936:41). The beans were often cooked with meat, with the seed coats being first removed (Castetter and Opler 1936:41). Sometimes, the bean pods were boiled until red, were removed and mashed, then were replaced in the container and boiled until most of the water had boiled off, creating a sort of pudding (Castetter and Opler 1936:41). A fermented, mildly alcoholic drink was made by finely grinding cooked mesquite pods and beans, adding a little water during the grinding process, adding more water to the ground mass, then allowing the mixture to ferment for a day and a night (Castetter and Opler 1936:53). These preparations described are distinct from many other accounts in that the beans were consumed, and the pods and beans were cooked.

Cahuilla – The Cahuilla placed mesquite meal in a basket, dampened it with water, and left it there for a day to harden (Bean and Saubel 1972:110). The meal was sometimes formed into round balls, but usually it was molded into cakes from 2-10 inches diameter and 1-3 inches thick (Barrows 1967:56, Bean and Saubel 1972:110).

A large clay basin containing half-crushed pods in every Cahuilla house was kept filled with water, and the beverage was drunk regularly (Barrows 1967:56,73, Bean and Saubel 1972:109).

The Cahuilla also used mesquite mortars and stone pestles in the same way as the Yuma (Barrows 1967:48). It takes 3 or more weeks for full-sized green pods to become fully dry and mature (Bean and Saubel 1972:109). Green pods were prepared for eating after being picked or were dried in the sun (Bean and Saubel 1972:109). The bean pods were pounded or crushed in mortars to produce a pulpy juice (Bean and Saubel 1972:109). Such mortars were made of mesquite or cottonwood (Populus deltoides) stumps measuring 2-3 feet high (Bean and Saubel 1972:109). The mortar was prepared by burning the center and then cutting a depression out with a stone axe (Bean and Saubel 1972:109). The typical mortar was about 30 inches high, with a hole 15 inches deep (Bean and Saubel 1972:113). A wooden or stone pestle 2-3 feet long was used in a standing position (Bean and Saubel 1972:109).

The Cahuilla managed mesquite stands horticulturally by pruning, breaking, and cutting branches regularly to increase access to beans (Bean and Saubel 1972:108). Groves were owned by families, and the use of mesquite may have been the main factor allowing them to be sedentary (Bean and Saubel 1972:22,108,115-116).

Mesquite was a regular trade item of the Cahuilla, and surplus mesquite beans or cakes were traded for acorns or other valued food resources from neighboring tribes such as the Serrano, Luiseño, and Diegueño (Bean and Saubel 1972:117,130). Mesquite bean cakes were often traded to the Kawaiisu in exchange for pinyon pine seeds and acorns (Zigmond 1981:54).

The Cahuilla named 5 out of 8 seasons in their calendric system based upon the development stages of the mesquite bean: Taspa – “budding of trees,” Sevwa – “blossoming of trees,” Heva-wiva – “commencing to form beans,” Menukis-kwasva – “ripening time of beans,” and Merukis-chaveva – “falling of beans” (followed by Talpa – “midsummer,” Uche-wiva – “cool days,” and Tamiva – “cold days”) (Bean and Saubel 1972:116).

Cocopa – Care was taken to find the mesquite trees with the sweetest and fullest pods by breaking and tasting the pods (Kelly 1977:33). A long, hooked pole was used to pull down higher mesquite branches (Kelly 1977:33). This pole had a short crosspiece lashed with mesquite bark at an acute angle for a hook (Gifford 1933:267). Rats’ (probably the packrat, Neotoma spp.) nests were raided for mesquite beans and screwbeans (Kelly 1977:33). The Cocopa never used the beans / seeds (endocarp) of mesquite (Kelly 1977:33).

Dried pods were pounded in a mortar, with some of the beans and heavy fibers being removed while grinding, and the remainder being removed by shaking the ground meal in a basket to separate the larger pieces (Gifford 1933:267, Kelly 1977:33). The resulting meal of pod skins was made into a drink by mixing it with water, or it was eaten in the meal form and was washed down with water (Kelly 1977:33). The meal could also be soaked in water, the wet meal chewed, the juice sucked out, and the solid waste spat out (Gifford 1933:267).

To make cakes for storage, clean cloth was laid atop baskets, upon which a layer of meal was laid, then sprinkled with water, then another layer of meal, then the process repeated until a cake is built up, whereupon the cloth was tied over the top, and the bundle set out to dry overnight (Kelly 1977:33). A mesquite cake measured 20 centimeters in diameter, 10 centimeters in thickness, and 3 pounds in dried weight (Kelly 1977:33). Four or five cakes were made at a time, or if preparing for an extended trip, as many as ten were made (Kelly 1977:34).

Mesquite meal was never cooked, though sometimes a few mesquite pods were put into a pot of cooking squash to add flavor (Kelly 1977:33). Corn meal was cooked in mesquite-sweetened water by the Maricopa and some Cocopa (Kelly 1977:33).

Comanche – Pods were eaten by the Comanche (Carlson and Jones 1939:523, Kavanagh 2008:139). The pods were crushed with long green mesquite wood pestles in a mortar formed of a bison hide-lined hole (Carlson and Jones 1939:530, Kavanagh 2008:139). The beans were removed, and the pods were pounded into a fine meal, which was eaten alone or mixed with cornmeal to sweeten it (Carlson and Jones 1939:530, Kavanagh 2008:139). Mesquite pod meal was mixed with marrow to make a mush (Carlson and Jones 1939:530, Kavanagh 2008:397), or the meal was mixed with pounded lean meat to make pemmican (Kavanagh 2008:373). Mesquite pod meal and cornmeal were mixed in water for a drink (Carlson and Jones 1939:530, Kavanagh 2008:264). The meal was mixed with ground meat, made into soup, or used as a sweetener (Kavanagh 2008:84,139,264). The pods were fed to horses to fatten them (Kavanagh 2008:139). Ripe pods were sometimes boiled, and the beans were removed (Kavanagh 2008:336). Then, the seedless pods were crushed, and the juice was strained off (Kavanagh 2008:336). Sugar and sometimes cornmeal was added to this juice, which was drunk or boiled to make a jelly (Kavanagh 2008:336,397).

Isleta – The Isleta Pueblo roasted the bean pods and ate them as a confection (Jones 1931:39). The pods were ground up into a meal used for making bread (Jones 1931:40).

Kamia – The Kamia shook trees and used hooked sticks to bend the branches to gather the bean pods (Gifford 1931:23). They used a cottonwood mortar with long stone pestle to pound up the pods (Gifford 1931:23).

Kawaiisu – The Kawaiisu differed in reports on how the mesquite pods were used by them as far as whether the beans, pods (mesocarp), or both were eaten, but the preparation and storage methods described were similar to other tribes (Zigmond 1981:54).

Kiowa – The beans and pods were pounded up and eaten by the Kiowa (Vestal and Schultes 1939:34). The Kiowa pounded mesquite pods into a course meal, added sugar, mixed it with water, allowed it to slightly ferment, then dried into small cakes (Battey 1875:283). These cakes were sometimes broken down and boiled with meat (Battey 1875:283).

Mexican Kickapoo – pounded mesquite beans into a meal (Latorre and Latorre 1977:345).

Paiute – Mesquite pods were a primary wild plant food of the Southern Paiute (Fowler 1995:108). Fully grown, but still green pods were pounded into a pulp in stone mortars with stone pestles by the Southern Paiuteand this pulp was mixed with water for a beverage (Fowler 1995:102).

Dry mesquite meal was made from fully ripened pods (Fowler 1995:102). They were laid out to dry to remove remaining moisture, then they were ground whole into a fine powder (Fowler 1995:102). The meal was sifted in an open-twined tray basket to remove the endocarp and seeds that were not ground up (Fowler 1995:102). The meal was formed into cakes for storage (Fowler 1995:102). The Moapa Southern Paiute made these cakes either in conical burden baskets or in small holes that were lined with mesquite pod pulp (Fowler 1995:103). The burden baskets (or holes) were filled with the meal, then after sitting for several days, were inverted (or dug out) and the cones (or masses) of meal were left to dry further (Fowler 1995:103). These cakes were stored in grass- or bark-lined pits in rockshelters or caves, or in underground pits on bluffs and ridges (Fowler 1995:103), being areas where very little or no moisture could penetrate. Chunks of the meal were broken off and eaten without further preparation, or they were added to water for a beverage (Fowler 1995:103). The Moapa mixed dried mesquite meal with cooked agave and formed this mix into small cakes (Fowler 1995:103).

Dried pods were often stored and processed later, but long storage periods significantly increased rates of insect damage (Fowler 1995:104).

Pima – To prepare the bean pods, the Pima crushed them in a mortar and passed them through a sieve (Hrdlička 1908:261). The Pima made a paste of mesquite beans, molded it into round cakes, and cooked into a sort of bread (Hrdlička 1908:261). The Pima of the Gila River in 1775 made the mesquite pod meal into piñole, combining it with tornillo pods, grass seeds, and “other coarse things” (Bolton 1930:44).

Pueblo – Mesquite bean cakes were stored in quantities year-round by Puebloans of the Sonoran Desert in 1540 (Winship 1904:89).

Seri – The Seri had specific names for eight different stages of growth of the mesquite pods, and different stages may have been prepared differently (Felger and Moser 1985:338). The most used stage was the ripe pods that dried on the tree and fell (Felger and Moser 1985:339).

Dry ripe pods were gathered from the ground beneath the tree (Felger and Moser 1985:338). They were usually toasted before pounding them into meal (Felger and Moser 1985:339). They were toasted by clearing a section of ground, burning a fire there, removing the coals, then placing the pods on the heated ground (Felger and Moser 1985:339). At the same time, hot sand (from sandpiles heated by a fire atop them) was sprinkled over the pods to toast them evenly (Felger and Moser 1985:339). The month in which the pods were processed was called icóozlajc iizax – “to-sprinkle moon,” the name being derived from sprinkling hot sand over mesquite pods (Felger and Moser 1985:339).

The toasted pods were pounded in a mortar of bedrock or hard earth (Felger and Moser 1985:338). A mesquite wood pestle, measuring about 1 m long with a 8 cm diameter was used (Felger and Moser 1985:338). The pounded pods were then winnowed to separate out pieces of the beans, fiber, and skin (Felger and Moser 1985:339). The remainder was further ground into meal and the process was repeated as necessary to remove all bean, fiber, and skin remains (Felger and Moser 1985:339). This meal was cooked as a gruel or thin porridge (Felger and Moser 1985:339). To store it, the meal was mixed with water, formed into cakes or rolls (20 cm. long and 5 cm. thick), dried, and kept in pottery jars (Felger and Moser 1985:339).

The fibrous remains that were winnowed out in the first pounding were chewed to suck out their sweet juice, with the pulp being discarded (Felger and Moser 1985:339). The discarded pulp cuds were even sometimes mixed with water to make a beverage (Felger and Moser 1985:339).

Sometimes, the coarse meal of the dried whole pods was placed in a pot with water, weighted down with a stone, and left to steep until the infusion was sweet (Felger and Moser 1985:340).

Dried whole pods were also cooked in water, then were chewed with the fiber and beans being spat out, and the decoction was drunk (Felger and Moser 1985:340). If the beans were accidentally eaten, they produced a kind of indigestion (Felger and Moser 1985:340).

The full-size green pods or the ripe pods were mashed, then cooked in water (Felger and Moser 1985:338). The young, unripe pods were tied into small bundles and cooked with meat (Felger and Moser 1985:338).

Shoshone – The Shoshone pulverized the pods in a stone, mesquite, or cottonwood trunk mortar with a stone pestle and separated out the inedible beans from the pulp (Irwin 1980:12-14). The coarser meal was sifted out, and the finer meal was kept to eat without cooking (Irwin 1980:12).

Timbasha – The Timbasha Shoshone considered mesquite pods to be as important as pinyon pine nuts in their food system (Fowler 1995:108), both of which were their most-eaten wild food product. They pounded the mature, dry pods in a wooden mortar, sifted out the meal, and formed it into small cakes (Coville 1892:355).

At the early stage of growth, when the pods were still green and flat, the pods were cooked in earth ovens, but this did not produce the best-tasting product (Fowler 1995:102). At later stages, but while they were still green, the pods were eaten raw as snacks (Fowler 1995:102). Different trees were sampled to find those with the sweetest pods (Fowler 1995:102).

The ripe pods, at the stage where they were yellow and dropping from the tree but still moist, were pounded in tree stump mortars by the using stone mortars and mixed the pulp with water and squeezed out the remaining pulp for a beverage (Fowler 1995:102).

Dry mesquite meal was made from fully ripened pods (Fowler 1995:102). They were laid out to dry to remove remaining moisture, then they were ground whole into a fine powder (Fowler 1995:102). The meal was sifted in an open-twined tray basket to remove the endocarp and seeds that were not ground up (Fowler 1995:102). The meal was formed into cakes for storage (Fowler 1995:102). The cakes were made by the first lining a winnowing tray with fibers left over from pounding, the layering the meal on top of these, with intermittent sprinkling of water to cause adhesion of the meal (Fowler 1995:102). These cakes could be a foot or more in height, and were covered with more left over fibers that were moistened to form a hard crust (Fowler 1995:102). These cakes were then sun-dried for storage (Fowler 1995:102). Chunks of the meal were broken off and eaten without further preparation, or they were added to water for a beverage (Fowler 1995:102).

They strongly believed that one should not use both a stone mortar and stone pestle, but one or the other may be of stone (Fowler 1995:114).

Yaqui – The Yaqui used a wooden mortar to grind the pods into a meal and mixed it with water to make atole (Beals 1943:20). The meal was mixed with water for a sweet and tasty beverage (Perez de Ribas 1645:284).

Yavapai – The Yavapai pounded up the bean pods in a bedrock mortar using a stone pestle (Gifford 1932:208,211). One method of consumption was to put wet meal into the mouth, suck out the sweet juice, and spit out the solid matter (Gifford 1932:211). The meal was placed in a watertight basket, moistened, and the juice was pressed by hand into another container and drunk (Gifford 1932:211).

Yuma – The bean pods were made into a mush or bread by the Yuma (Hrdlička 1908:24). The Yuma pounded the pods in wooden mortars, mixed the meal with water, kneaded it into a mass, and sun-dried it (Garcés 1900:174). Using a mortar made from mesquite wood with a hole burned into it and secured into the ground with a stone pestle that was 16-18 inches long and weighed about 20 pounds, the bean pods were pounded very fine, the beans were separated out, and the remaining pulp was made into large, sweet cakes (Heintzelman 1853:91, Whittemore 1893:54). Mesquite bean meal was dampened, formed into cakes, and dried by the Yuma (Heintzelman 1853:116). Such cakes could be stored indefinitely in the house (Heintzelman 1853:116). Sometimes, a basketry mortar was placed in a hole in the ground, into which the Yuma pounded the mesquite beans with a stone or wooden pestle (Heintzelman 1853:99). The meal was “pressed into an earthen vessel and set aside to dry,” keeping until the next season (Heintzelman 1853:99). The Yuma soaked the mesquite beans in water and buried them in the ground for 2 or 3 days (Forde 1931:118). When almost solidified, the sticky mass was removed and stacked into piles in the shade (Forde 1931:118). This processing lasted several days while the harvest continued, and at the end, the Yuma all feasted upon the food (Forde 1931:118).

Unspecified tribes – In the 1530s, mesquite pod meal was eaten by Texas Natives (Augenbraum and Cabeza De Vaca 2013:121). It was eaten with “earth” to make it sweeter than the natural bitter state on the tree (Augenbraum and Cabeza De Vaca 2013:121). The Natives dug a hole in the ground, put the bean pods in the hole, pounded them into a meal with a pestle as thick as a leg and 9 feet long (Augenbraum and Cabeza De Vaca 2013:121). Several handfuls of “earth” were mixed with the meal and the pounding continued (Augenbraum and Cabeza De Vaca 2013:121). The resulting meal was put in a small round vessel and enough water was added in to cover the top of the meal (Augenbraum and Cabeza De Vaca 2013:121). The beverage was tasted, and if it was not sweet enough, more earth was added until it was (Augenbraum and Cabeza De Vaca 2013:121-122). Thereupon, everyone drank out of the vessel, using their hands as cups (Augenbraum and Cabeza De Vaca 2013:122). The plant matter was set aside and subjected to 3-4 washes of water, being squeezed out each time (Augenbraum and Cabeza De Vaca 2013:122). This was considered a great banquet (Augenbraum and Cabeza De Vaca 2013:122).

Many Texas tribes formed mesquite meal into cakes, or mezquitamales,which were sweet and nutritious (Ohlendorf et al. 1980:610). After drying the mature pods, they pounded them thoroughly to remove the beans and reduced the remainder to a meal with which they formed the cakes (Ohlendorf et al. 1980:610).

Mesquite bean and pod fragments were found to be common in coprolites of Paleo-Indians of southwest Texas from 5,000 years ago (Williams-Dean 1978:163,178).

Indigenous people of northwest Mexico in the 1500’s made a “bread” of mesquite that preserved for a year (Castañeda 1904:89).

Mesquite meal was mixed with water to drink as a regular tasty beverage by the Natives of the Santa Fe, NM mission (Perez de Ribas 1645:6).

Southwest Natives bruised the fresh, ripe pods in a wood or stone mortar, then put them in a pottery container with water, and allowed to stand for a few hours to produce a mush that was eaten by hand (Palmer 1871:410). The pods were dried and stored in basketry granaries (Palmer 1871:410). The dry pods were powdered and mixed with a little water to press into large, thick cakes that were sun-dried for storage (Palmer 1871:410). The bruchid beetles in the pods were disregarded and allowed to become part of the mesquite meal (Palmer 1871:410). The meal was mixed with water for a drink or was made into a gruel (Palmer 1871:410).

Bean pods (fermentation) –

Mesquite pod drinks were never fermented by the Kamia (Gifford 1931:28).

A large clay basin containing half-crushed pods in every Cahuilla house was kept filled with water, and the beverage drank regularly (Barrows 1967:56,73, Bean and Saubel 1972:109). A light fermentation probably improved the taste, but it was not used even as a mild intoxicant (Barrows 1967:56, Bean and Saubel 1972:109).

Mesquite pods were used to ferment alcoholic drinks by the Mayo (Bandelier 1890:49). The pods were pounded in large wooden mortars, mixed with water, and some other ingredients were added (Bandelier 1890:49).

The pods were made into a sweet or fermented beverage by the Kiowa (Vestal and Schultes 1939:34).

Some Pima, Opata, Tohono O’odham, and others made a kind of effervescent “beer” from the beans (Bourke 1895:50).

Mesquite beans were fermented into an alcoholic drink by the Cáhita (Beals 1943:20), Yuma (Heintzelman 1853:91,95), and the Natives of the Santa Fe, NM mission (Perez de Ribas 1645:9). The Yuma boiled the mesquite meal before fermenting it (Heintzelman 1853:91,95).

Sometimes, the coarse meal of the dried whole pod was placed in a pot with water, weighted down with a stone, and was left to ferment for several days by the Seri before it was drunk (Felger and Moser 1985:340).

Mesquite was sometimes used for fermenting a “beer” by Natives in the Southwest and folk in Mexico (Havard 1895:121). The pod meal was boiled and let to ferment to make a beverage (Palmer 1871:410).

Bean pods (storage) –

The Cocopa stored mesquite beans for use in winter and spring in large bird’s-nest baskets, usually on a specially built platform five or six feet above the ground (Kelly 1977:33). The pods were packed tightly as possible therein by trammeling them down by foot and were broken into pieces as a result (Kelly 1977:33). This tight packing was thought to reduce insect infestation (Kelly 1977:33).

Whole dried beans were stored in basketry granaries by the Cahuilla (Barrows 1967:56). Mesquite beans were stored by the Cahuilla for a year or possibly longer (Bean and Saubel 1972:111). Mesquite meal was stored by the Cahuilla in clay or basketry vessels, granaries, and dry caves (Bean and Saubel 1972:111). Dried cakes were stored by hanging them in rafters or in cloth bags (Bean and Saubel 1972:111). The Cahuilla in the Coachella Valley made granaries almost exclusively out of wormwood (Artemesia ludoviciana Nutt.) (Bean and Saubel 1972:111). Willow (Salix spp.) shoots or arrowweeds (Pluchea sericea) or wormwood (Artemesia ludoviciana Nutt.) were twisted into long ropes that were coiled upward, much as coiled basketry work (Bean and Saubel 1972:111). Then they were plastered on the inside to make the granary airtight (Bean and Saubel 1972:111). After filling them with mesquite beans, the granaries were sealed with wormwood shoots and mud daub (Bean and Saubel 1972:111). This prevented the infestation of insects (Bean and Saubel 1972:111). The granaries were set upon platforms of poles or on the tops of high boulders to be out of reach of small rodents (Bean and Saubel 1972:111). Kamia mesquite pod granaries were made in the same way (Gifford 1931:40). Cahuilla granaries were large enough to hold 300-500 pounds of beans, sufficient to feed a family of 6-10 people for a year (Bean and Saubel 1972:111).

Mesquite beans were stored by the Yuma in large granaries on platforms of cottonwood poles (Heintzelman 1853:116). The basketry granaries measured 3 to 5 feet in diameter and 2 to 4 feet deep (Heintzelman 1853:116). The mesquite beans were broken up to pack them more tightly (Heintzelman 1853:116). When filled, the top was covered with arrowweed and mud daub (Heintzelman 1853:116).

The Lipan Apache stored provisions of mesquite meal in sacks for the winter (Ohlendorf et al. 1980:610). The Lipan called this food piñole de mesquite (Ohlendorf et al. 1980:610).

Mesquite pods were stored by the Cocopa in bird’s nest weave circular granaries (Gifford 1933:267).

The Timbasha Shoshone stored mesquite meal cakes in earthen pits that were lined with grass (Fowler 1995:102).

Dried pods were often stored by the Paiute and Shoshone and processed later, but long storage periods significantly increased rates of insect damage (Fowler 1995:104). The Timbasha Shoshone preferred processing the pods before the bruchid beetle larvae emerged, being considered to increase the value of the food (Fowler 1995:104). These beetles are frequently present in the seeds and mesocarp, pupate within the pod, then emerge (Fowler 1995:104), leaving a small hole. The pods were cached by burying them in pits that were lined with arrowweed (Pluchea sericea) in the summer, then were dug up and processed in the fall when the tribe returned to the area (Fowler 1995:104).

Seeds – The endocarp is what we would call a “bean.” Inside this bean, there is a seed that can be separated out, and that was eaten by the Seri (Felger and Moser 1985:339). Many tribes ate only the bean pod (mesocarp/exocarp) with the actual beans / seeds (endocarp) being removed. Others appear to have ground up the pods with the beans inside to eat the entire thing. It is unclear in many accounts whether the beans were used. The Seri, in fact, separated the beans from the pods and ate just the mesocarp (the exocarp / skin was also largely removed) for their principal mesquite pod meal (Felger and Moser 1985:339). However, they also separated the inner seed from the seed coat and bean / endocarp, ground these seeds up, mixed the meal with water, and drank this (Felger and Moser 1985:339).

The difficulty in separating the seeds from the inedible outer endocarp was the reason they were not more commonly eaten by southwestern Natives (Felger and Moser 1985:340). Prehistoric Natives of Sonora appear to have used a special type of mortar that was excellent for crushing the endocarp to remove the seeds, as well as for grinding the pods (mesocarp) (Felger and Moser 1985:340). Such mortars were toroidal (donut-shaped), with a bulbous-tipped pestle being gyrated about the hole as an axis (see fig. 17.124 inFelger and Moser 1985:340).

The Timbasha and some Southern Paiute discarded the seeds, but the neighboring Chemehuevi and Moapa sometimes ate them (Fowler 1995:114). Considerable work was required to process them, and they were parched, pounded to remove the endocarp, and the seeds inside were ground into a meal using a metate (Fowler 1995:114).

Flowers – gathered in the early summer for eating by the Chiricahua Apache (Mails 1974), Cocopa (Kelly 1977:32,34), and Cahuilla (Bean and Saubel 1972:108). Flowers vary in their sweetness, and the better ones would be put in a pan or bowl of water and gently mashed, and the resulting liquid was consumed, leaving the flowers behind to repeat the process with two or three washes, after which the flowers were directly consumed (Kelly 1977:34). These blossoms were roasted in an earth oven, then “squeezed into balls ready for eating” (Bean and Saubel 1972:108). These balls, known as selkulat (i.e., “blossoms made of”), were stored in pottery vessels and cooked as needed in boiling water (Bean and Saubel 1972:108). Mesquite blossoms were also used by the Cahuilla to make a tea (Bean and Saubel 1972:108).

Sap – dissolved in sweetened water to make a drink in Sonora, Mexico (Bell and Castetter 1937:4). Mesquite sap / “juice” was drunk by the Pima (Hrdlička 1908:261). The gum was chewed, spat out, and followed by a drink of water which tasted sweet due to the gum (Felger and Moser 1985:340). The sap or gum from the tree is similar to gum arabic (Barrows 1967:48, Bell and Castetter 1937:4, Bourke 1895, Vestal and Schultes 1939:34). The sap was commonly eaten by Southwest Natives (Palmer 1871:410).

Roots – was used to flavor tiswin, a fermented drink of the Apache (Castetter and Opler 1936:51). As a flavorant for fermented agave, Berlandier refers to the use of a bitter root of a plant called “raicilla” that was a “mimosa” (Fabaceae), possibly called “mezquitito” (Ohlendorf et al. 1980:529). This is likely the mesquite root as it was recorded by Castetter and Opler (1936:51) as being used by the Apache for this same purpose.

GS – flowers for food: early spring / April and May (Kelly 1977:32,34) / early summer (Mails 1974) / April (Bean and Saubel 1972:108).

Bean pods: June (Forde 1931:118, Gifford 1933:267) / June and July (Bean and Saubel 1972:20) / mid-June to late July (for dry pods) (Felger and Moser 1985:338) / July (Gifford 1931:23, Gifford 1932:211, Kavanagh 2008:139) / July and August (Barrows 1967:56, Basso 1970:3, Kelly 1977:33) / fall (Coville 1892:355, Irwin 1980:12-14, Mails 1974), early June to August (depending on temperature and elevation) (Fowler 1995:114). Green mesquite pods were gathered by the Cahuilla in early to mid-summer, and mature, naturally dried pods were gathered in early fall (Bean and Saubel 1972:108-9). Dry pods were gathered later in the year from pack rat (Neotoma) nests (Felger and Moser 1985:338).

Notes – mesquite pods as a food resource featured heavily in two entire culture types of California Natives: agriculturalists and hunters and collectors (Heizer and Elsasser 1980:83).

Among some tribes in the Mojave Desert, particular mesquite groves were considered to be owned by families (Fowler 1995:104).

It’s estimated that in a good season, a tree may average 15-30 pounds of beans per year, a single Cahuilla worker could gather about 175 pounds of beans per day, and one acre of land well-covered with mesquite could produce about 3000 pounds of beans per year (Bean and Saubel 1972:112). However, these estimates disregard that the Cahuilla were selective about from which trees bean pods were gathered, since trees vary individually in bean pod palatability, ranging from very bitter to very sweet (Bean and Saubel 1972:112). Three Seri individuals could process about 40 kilograms of mesquite pod meal in a single day (Felger and Moser 1985:339).

The pods and beans are sweet and nutritious (Irwin 1980:12-14, Kelly 1977:33, Vestal and Schultes 1939:34), containing about 52% carbohydrates, 8% protein, and 2% fats (Bean and Saubel 1972:113).

Medicine

Leaves (eyewash) – The Aztecs mixed mesquite leaves with other substances for an eye lotion when the eyes were hot and painful from sickness (Vogel 1970:336). The Mescalero Apache ground mesquite leaves into powder, placed the powder in a thin cloth, added water, and squeezed the liquid out into the eyes to treat sore eyes (Hrdlička 1908:237). The Indians of Baja California, such as the Cochimí, in the late 1700’s crushed the shoots of mesquite and applied the medicine to the eyes to treat ophthalmia / inflammation of the eyes (Clavijero 1852:10). Leaves were crushed, steeped in water, strained with a cloth, and used to wash out eyes to treat pinkeye by the Mexican Kickapoo (Latorre and Latorre 1977:349).

Leaves – The Yuma used an infusion of mesquite leaves to relieve painful urination caused by gonorrhea (Forde 1931:204). Leaves were crushed and applied to dental cavities to relieve pain by Texas Indians (Berlandier 1969:89). Leaves were chewed and the juice swallowed to neutralize stomach acidity by the Comanche (Carlson and Jones 1939:523,533). A decoction, along with the leaves of Drummond’s false pennyroyal (Hedeoma drummondii), was drunk and applied externally to relieve itching from measles by the Mexican Kickapoo (Latorre and Latorre 1977:349). An infusion was drunk as an emetic by the Seri (Felger and Moser 1985:340).

Leaves & bark – used together to soothe stomach pain arising from a cold by the Indians of Mexico in the mid 1600’s (Hernando 1790:261).

Bark – Mesquite bark was “cooked” to diminish excessive menstrual flow (Ximinez 1888). Strips from green or young branches were soaked in water and the infusion was drunk by the Seri as a laxative (Felger and Moser 1985:340).

Sap (eyewash) – The Indians of Mexico used mesquite sap to treat an ailment of the eyes (Ximenez 1888:30). Diluted with water and used as a wash for open wounds, sores, and sore eyes (Bean and Saubel 1972:114). Mesquite sap was used by Texas Indians to treat eyes (Berlandier 1969:89). It was dissolved in water and the solution used as eye drops by the Seri (Felger and Moser 1985:340).

Sap – An infusion of mesquite sap was used to treat dysentery (Hernando 1790:262). Mesquite gum was applied as a paste to venereal ulcers caused by syphilis and was said to quickly heal them without pain (Berlandier 1969:88). The gum may have been applied in combination with the gum from the peach tree (Persica vulgaris), or the peach gum may have been used for the same purpose alone (Berlandier 1969:88).

Material

Thorns (piercing tools) – The Cahuilla tattooed themselves using a thorn of the mesquite tree as a needle (Bean and Saubel 1972:114), using the juice of the crushed mesquite leaves as ink (Shinn 1941:24). The coloration upon the skin thereby was described as blue or green or purplish (Shinn 1941:24). Mesquite thorns were also used by the Southeastern Yavapai to tattoo the skin (Gifford 1932:229). The needles were a bunch of mesquite thorns tied with sinew, which were pressed into the skin, and a green vegetable pigment was rubbed in, followed by charcoal, and neither was washed off (Gifford 1932:229). Mesquite charcoal was used for tattooing pigment by the Kamia (Gifford 1931:36). Mesquite thorns were used by the Cáhita as pins in fabric weaving (Beals 1943:29).

Sap (hair treatment) – the black (older) sap found on mesquite trees was used by the Cocopa to treat hair (Kelly 1977:32). Mud and mesquite sap was applied to the hair by the Pima, being left overnight and washed off in the morning (Whittemore 1893:62). This dyed the hair black and left it glossy (Whittemore 1893:62). The Yuma dressed their hair by dividing it into many small tresses, each of which was plastered with a mix of mud and mesquite gum into long, pencil-thick rolls which hung freely, or were coiled around the head, or were bunched together and folded atop the head and covered tightly with cloth, with the ends protruding over the forehead (Forde 1931:97). Mesquite sap was mixed with clay and applied to the hair by Indigenous people in New Spain (covering the native range of mesquite in the Southwest) in order to improve hair health and dye it (Hernando 1790:262). A decoction of both mud and the dark mesquite gum gathered from the bark of the tree was used by the Kamia to frequently wash their hair, which darkened it, killed lice, and was believed to stimulate growth (Gifford 1931:36). The Southeastern Yavapai used a decoction of both mud and the dark mesquite gum gathered from the ground to plaster their hair, which killed lice and blackened the hair (Gifford 1932:229). Natives in Arizona all used this treatment (Palmer 1871:410).

Sap (dye) – mesquite gum was used by the Kamia to dye mesquite inner bark fibers black by soaking them in water for 4 days with the gum (Gifford 1931:36). The dye was applied for 2 to 3 consecutive nights and was washed out each morning (Gifford 1931:36). Black mesquite sap was used by the Cocopa as a paint or dye for pottery and other articles (Kelly 1977:32).

The Seri took pieces of bark with the black gum on them and slowly cooked them in water with sugar added (Felger and Moser 1985:337). Once the decoction reached a thick consistency, it was dried for a day or two, then was formed into cakes that could be stored (Felger and Moser 1985:337). The cakes were rubbed on a stone with a bit of water to form a paste that was used as a black paint or pigment for facepaint, for basketry dye, and for decorative markings on objects (Felger and Moser 1985:337). Mesquite bark or “mesquite juice” was boiled by the Kamia to make a black pigment for pottery decorations (Gifford 1931:42,44). The Seri sometimes simply boiled basketry splints with these gummy bark pieces to dye them black or gray (Felger and Moser 1985:337).

Sap (adhesive) – mesquite sap was used by the Cahuilla as a general adhesive (Bean and Saubel 1972:114). Mesquite gum was also used by the Yuma as an adhesive (Forde 1931:130,171, Heintzelman 1853:99). It was used by the Comanche as an adhesive to haft arrowheads and glue arrows onto shafts (Kavanagh 2008:136). It was generally used by Southwest Natives as a glue to haft arrowheads to shafts (Mason 1894:662).

Sap (GS) – the gathering season for mesquite sap in Mexico was in May before the rains (Bell and Castetter 1937:4). The sap or gum was obtained by collecting around the natural extrusions around knotholes, or incisions were made for the purpose, yielding as much as a pound of gum per year per tree (Bean and Saubel 1972:114, Bell and Castetter 1937:4). Mesquite sap exudes mostly around knot holes and injuries of old trees with thick bark (Bell and Castetter 1937:4). Incisions could be used to gather sap in young or old trees (Bell and Castetter 1937:4).

Inner bark (fiber) – the inner bark was used by the Kamia as the source of their strongest fibers (Gifford 1931:32, Palmer 1871:411). To prepare mesquite inner bark for making cordage, it was immersed in a pool of water for a month, being placed between two layers of arrowweed (Pluchea) and weighted down with a log (Gifford 1931:32). Such fibers were spun on the bare thigh (Gifford 1931:32). Mesquite bark was processed into soft fiber by the Cahuilla by pounding, rubbing, and pulling, and such was used for weaving skirts and making diapers (Bean and Saubel 1972:113, Palmer 1871:411). Mesquite bark fiber was used by the Cahuilla to make a carrying net that held pottery like a sack (Bean and Saubel 1972:113). The Yuma used mesquite bark to make skirts (Bolton 1931:98, Palmer 1871:411). To make the prickly pear fruit container, mesquite bark was used to interweave cane splints, forming a cylinder with a bottom of interwoven mesquite bark (Beals 1943:13, Palmer 1871:411). This was carried upon the back (Beals 1943:13). Yaqui houses were sometimes made of cane and mesquite bark (Beals 1943:21). Canes were placed upright, braced by three pairs of horizontal canes, which were tied together with strips of mesquite bark (Beals 1943:21). These were then plastered with clay (Beals 1943:21). Mesquite bark was used by the Cocopa for lashings to tie poles together (Gifford 1933:267).

Bark & wood (tanning) – mesquite wood contains 6.2% tannin, and the bark contains 3.5% tannin, and both have been used for tanning hides (Bell and Castetter 1937:4).

Wood (weapons) – smaller mesquite limbs were considered by the Cahuilla to be excellent for making bows (Bean and Saubel 1972:113). Such bows were 3.5 to 4.5 feet long and 1.5 to 2.5 inches wide (Bean and Saubel 1972:113). The strings were made from sinew or agave (Agave spp.) fibers (Bean and Saubel 1972:113). Mesquite was considered by the Yuma to be the best bow wood, but as it was difficult to obtain a suitable straight length, willow was more commonly used (Forde 1931:170). Yuma bows measured about 5 feet long, were unbacked, and were recurved at the ends (Forde 1931:170). Mesquite wood was also used to make bows by the Kamia (Gifford 1931:26,28), Navajo (Elmore 1943:58), and Plains tribes (Dodge 1959).

Arrow foreshafts were carved from mesquite wood points about 6 inches long that were fire-hardened and affixed with mesquite sap adhesive into the main shafts of Phragmites australis reeds by the Cahuilla and Yuma (Barrows 1967:50, Bean and Saubel 1972:113, Forde 1931:171).

Fighting clubs of the Yuma were made of mesquite wood, measuring 2-3 feet long by 1.5-2.5 inches thick (Forde 1931:170, Heintzelman 1853:95). War clubs of the Kamia were made of mesquite (Gifford 1931:30).

Spears of the Yuma were made of mesquite wood, measuring 4 feet long and being sharpened at one end, with a fire-hardened point (Forde 1931:170).

Wood (construction) – mesquite wood, being very hard and durable, was used for the curved logs needed in construction of boats by the Spanish in Baja California in 1759 (Clavijero 1852:10,99). It was used for ribs of Seri boats (Felger and Moser 1985:335). Pima huts were made with mesquite posts (Whittemore 1893:56). Large mesquite limbs were used by the Cahuilla as posts and rafters in the construction of houses and granaries (Bean and Saubel 1972:113-4). Forked mesquite posts and mesquite beams were used by the Cáhita to make rectangular, mud-wattled houses with flat roofs of clay (Beals 1943:21). The wood was used for posts, rafters, and other frame elements of Cahuilla houses (Barrows 1967:38).

Wood (implements) – used by the Kamia to make digging sticks, measuring about 4 feet long and 2 inches in diameter, which were used to dig out mesquite roots (Gifford 1931:27,43). Mesquite wood shovels, carved with sharp stones, were used by the Kamia (Gifford 1931:9,19). Such shovels measured about 5 feet long, with a blade of about 4 to 6 inches (Gifford 1931:19).Mesquite wood was made into stools by the Cahuilla (Barrows 1967:48). The wood was used by the Cahuilla to make plows, hardening the point with fire (Bean and Saubel 1972:114). Harrows (a tilling implement) were also made with mesquite (Bean and Saubel 1972:114). Planting and weeding implements were made by the Shoshone of mesquite wood (Forde 1931:112).

A point of mesquite heartwood was attached to a long shaft of cane to spear prickly pear fruits without getting close to the cactus spines (Beals 1943:13). A small crosspiece was tied to the point to serve as a hook or to prevent the spear point from penetrating too deeply into the fruit (Beals 1943:13). Mesquite wood was used by the Cáhita to make hollow log drums (Beals 1943:32). Straight or pronged sticks were sharpened by the Seri to use as skewers for roasting meat (Felger and Moser 1985:340). The wood was used for clubs for killing fish and sea turtles, as well as the mainshaft and detachable foreshaft of turtle harpoons made by the Seri (Felger and Moser 1985:340). The wood was also used by the Seri for carrying yokes (Felger and Moser 1985:340). Mesquite wood was used by the Yuma as an awl in coiled basketry (Forde 1931:125).

Wood (mortar & pestle) – valued by the Cahuilla for wooden mortars that were used to pound mesquite beans with stone pestles (Barrows 1967:48). Such mortars were made of mesquite stumps and were 2-3 feet high (Bean and Saubel 1972:109). The mortar was prepared by burning the center out and then cutting a depression with a stone axe (Bean and Saubel 1972:109). The typical mortar was about 30 inches high, with a hole 15 inches deep (Bean and Saubel 1972:113). A wooden or stone pestle 2-3 feet long was used in a standing position (Bean and Saubel 1972:109). Mesquite wood was used by the Yuma for making mortars for grinding grass seeds (Heinzelman 1853:91). It was used for pestles by the Comanche (Carlson and Jones 1939:530), Kamia (Gifford 1931:41), and Seri (Felger and Moser 1985:340).

Wood (fire) – used by the Seri for both the spindle and hearth of the fire-drill (Felger and Moser 1985:337). The drill was compound, with only a tip of mesquite wood (Felger and Moser 1985:337). Root driftwood was considered the best for this purpose (Felger and Moser 1985:337). It was preferred the preferred cooking fuel of the Seri (Felger and Moser 1985:338).

Wood (fuel) – considered one of the best firewoods by the Cahuilla, comparable to oak, providing hot, long-lasting fire for cooking, firing pottery, and warmth (Bean and Saubel 1972:113). Mesquite wood was also used for firewood by the Kamia (Gifford 1931:20). Mesquite bark was preferred by the Cahuilla for kindling, cooking, and as sweathouse firewood (Bean and Saubel 1972:113).

Mesquite wood was used to fire pottery by the Cáhita (Beals 1943:31) and Cahuilla (Bean and Saubel 1972:113). A pit was formed, in which a slow-burning fire of mesquite wood or bark was made (Bean and Saubel 1972:113). Clay pottery was then baked for one day in the pit (Bean and Saubel 1972:113).

Roots (cordage & basketry) – mesquite roots were peeled and split in half and used by the Kamia in basketry (Gifford 1931:39). The Seri gathered roots about the thickness of a finger from young trees (Felger and Moser 1985:335). The bark was removed and the roots were chewed to break down the fibers (Felger and Moser 1985:335). These fibers were rolled on the thigh to spin twine (Felger and Moser 1985:337). Two or three of these twine strands were twisted or braided into each other to form a rope (Felger and Moser 1985:337). These rope or twine cords were used extensively for many and varied purposes (Felger and Moser 1985:335-337).

Ecology

Notes – Many mesquite beans were infested with Bruchid beetles, but these infestations were wholly disregarded by the Cahuilla, Pima, and other tribes; such pods gathered and processed regardless (Bean and Saubel 1972:110). The larvae would become part of the meal, so that the final product was actually a mix of insect and plant matter (Bean and Saubel 1972:110).

Mesquite groves served as an indicator of ground water to the Cahuilla, who often dug wells in such groves (Bean and Saubel 1972:114).

Mesquite groves attracted many game animals as deer, antelope, and mountain sheep, rabbits, wood rats, quail, ground squirrels, and reptiles, who were attracted by the food, shade, and water (Bean and Saubel 1972:114-5). Small game in mesquite groves was flushed from thickets by poking sticks into them and killing the fleeing animals with bow and arrow or a rabbit stick (Bean and Saubel 1972:115).

Sometimes, in the early morning, when wind was calm and animals were foraging, mesquite groves were encircled and set afire to flush out game to kill, or to kill game directly by burning (Bean and Saubel 1972:115). This practice also served to thin mesquite stands in order to improve later crop yields (Bean and Saubel 1972:115).

Mesquite groves harbored various insects relished by the Cahuilla, such as cicadas and grasshoppers (Bean and Saubel 1972:115).

A fungus that grows on mesquite was smoked in cigar-like rolls by the Opata (Bandelier 1890:240).

Until about 10,000 years ago, mesquite fruits were probably dispersed by the extinct elephant-like gomphotheres, and today, cattle and horses aid in its dispersal (Janzen and Martin 1982:23). The thorns and exceptionally hard wood of mesquite may be an adaptation to gomphothere browsing.