1Y2 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1900

ments were securod and examined l\y

Mr.

F. A. Lucas, of the U. S.

National

Museum, who

found

them

tobelong to a giganticsloth, one of the TertiaryMylodons.

Mr. Mercer

saysthatabout2miles

beyond

the cavern there is a ])urial pit

from

which he previously obtained

human

bonesandobsidian implements.

On

the partially

wooded

ridge overlooking Murph3^s on the north andwithin half a mile of the cav^e,

we came upon

an Indian village, comprisingiialf a dozendwelling housesandthe usual

accompaniment

ofsunnncrshelters and millingplaces.

Two

of the houses are

shown

inPlate ^S.

They

are round and

upward

of 25 feetin diameter.

The

walls are

formed

of planks and the roof iscovered with clapboards radiating

from

a conical, shingled chimney.

The framework

is of polesand the construction does not differ essentially

from

that ofthe aboriginal round-house of

many

tribes.

The men

and

women

all

appeared to bebusy with domestic affairs, the

work

beingconducted

in a large roofed structure, open at the sides; and in a Jttle conical shelter

made

of sticks and brush, on the slope below the village,

we

found

two

old

women pounding

acorns.

In one of the houses

was

quite a store of basketry,

some

of the pieces evidently

homemade,

but others the

work

of the Paiute and other neighboringtribes.

Within

the

group

of houses

was

an inter- esting granary

—

^atallwattle

work

receptacle resting

upon

a stem of

wood

and further supported

by

fourmarginal poles. Its purpose

was

no doubt to place the crop of acorns, corn, or other '^ood material

beyond

the reach of rats and pigs.

A

^singlefamily, the

remnant

of a larger

community,

is located on the

Adams

place, a little to the eastward of the village of Murphj^s, anda small village

was

encountered on the road

from

Vallecito to Angels,a

few

milessouth of

Murphy

^s.

Here

Iprocured

some

photo- graphsof a rathercomely Indian

woman

engaged in th^ arduous task of grinding acorns, herinteresting family of three children entering prominentlyintothe pictures(Plates 12and13). Plates10and11serve toillustrate

two

of thefirst steps in the acorn industry, the carrying

and

hulling of the acorns, andthe useofthemealingplateingrinding.

The

upper viewin Plate 12

shows

the miller asshesitsoyer thecrater- like cone ofpulverized acorns with the heavypestle raised in front of her face.

As

thepestledescends into the center of the heap, spread- ing it out over the margin of the mortar, one hand or theother is

freed anddeftly rakes the meal toward the center of the stone again andjoins theother

hand

to raise the stone,thewhole

movement

being so rapid that there is no pause in the operation of pounding.

The

shallowmortar,

formed

of a flattish stone, is planted in the

ground

even withthe surface,

and

the mealspreadsoutonthe firmly -impacted

soil.

The

basket receptacle for the meal, covered with the fanning baskettray, is at her right hand, and the children, engaged in play,

ReportofU.5.NationalMuseum, 1900.—Holmes. Plate 10.

Carrying and hulling Acorns.

ReportofU.S.NationalMuseum 1900,—Holmes. Plate 11.

ReportofU.S.NationalMuseum, 1900.— Holmes. Plate 12.

.1. Pounding Acorns in Mortar.

B. Sifting the Meal separating the coarse Particles by shaking.

ReportofU.S. NationalMuseum. 1900.—Holmes. Plate 13.

A. Removingcoarse Particles from Edge of Basket.

ReportofU,S. NaiionalMuseum, 1900.—Holmes Plate 14.

.1. Cleaning the Meal by shaking and blowing.

I

T.

I

,V^u^^t ^G(\LL

n. Pouring Meal intoSand Bed for leaching.

ReportofU.S.NationalMuseum, 1900.—Holmes. Plate 15.

.1. Lifting hot Stones into Basket of Water.

i;. Remj.im, Si'jnes from Basket of Water.

I

ANTHROPOLOGICAL

STUDIES IN CALIFORNIA.

l78

areon her left.

Two

mealingstones areseenintheforeground, which combine thefunctions and shapeof both

muUer

andpestle.

The

ends are usedas a pestle forpulverizing(Plate12</),

and

theslightly Hattish sidesare fashioned forrubbing(Plate 11). In thelower picture(Plate 12^h), the

woman

^is engagedin tossingthe meal in thefanningbasket, se])arating thehusks and brushing

them

offatoneside.

The

partially tilled ))asketof meal ^is seenon her right. In the

upper

picture (Plate 13) the meal has been nearly all c^leaned

up

and the basket receptacle

is well tilled with the line flour. In the lower picture (Plate 13) a curious change has

come

over thescene. B}'

some

misadventure the

woman became

conscious of the factthat the visitors were taking her pictureand ceased to work, appearing frightened, for the}'all

seem

to

know what

the littleblack

kodak box means

and seriouslyobjectto being photographed.

As

a rule it

was

unsafe to

show

the camera

among

these people, forin a

moment

there

would

be a general disap- pearance and a necessarv cessation of friendly conununication and trade. Behind the miller inthe last picture

two

stone mortars

may

))e seen setin the ground.

Formerly

there

was

a considerable

group

of milling stoneshere, butatthetime of ourvisittheshelter had been

removed

and the mill hadapparently been for

some

time neglected.

I introduce here four other pictures, illustrating successive stepsin the

work

ofpreparingtheacornsfor food.

The

upperview, PlateIttrt,

showstheprocess of clearing the mealof chaffb}-tossingandblowing.

Plate ^1-i/v is intended toillustrate the processof leaching the meal in a bed ofsand.

The

boilinginbaskets is

shown

in Plate 15,a and h.

The

houses in this rancheria, three or four in number, are built, as usual, of slab walls and clapboard roofs.

The

lower view, Plate _8, shows oneof the brush sheltersor

summer

houses underwhich the family sitsand

most

of thedomestic

work

iscarriedon. Here,aselse- where, there isadistressingadmixtureof tinware,ovens,etc.,withthe native utensils.

The

^on!}'

man

seen in the place

was

astrong,swarthy individual,

who

tooknonoticewhatever ofthevisitors,beingabsorbed

in the task offilinga crosscut saw.