Part 3

However, quite a number of bloody battles took place there, between Indians and whites, as the latter, having had some experience with hostile Apaches when crossing the desert, misunderstood the signals of the Ca-we Indians. Instead of waiting to see what they wanted, the leading scouts of the caravan ordered every man to stand by and, as the Indians came near, they opened fire on them. This didn’t prove of benefit to the pioneers and only resulted in disaster, thus putting an end to their journey.

Even to this day many of their belongings are kept well secured in the bosom of Borrego Valley. Sand dunes uncovered now and then by desert winds prove there is a possibility of their all being recovered in time and preserved as historical relics of days gone by.

At the northwest end of the valley are the historical camp grounds of De Anza, the Spanish explorer, who was the only one ever known to have put up camp in the valley in those days.

And this marked the beginning of darker days for the Indians. First came the Spaniards, then the Mexicans and last the American gringos. They all passed there, but none had the least suspicion of what was to take place in the future. De Anza, while resting up for a short period, explored among the surrounding mountains in search of a pass which would lead westward. In this the Indians helped him by pointing toward the Pacific coast. De Anza reported to his superiors the finding of emeralds, but in this he was mistaken as the precious stones found in those mountains are mostly tourmalines in a great variety of tints, including green. This probably accounts for De Anza’s naming them emeralds. They also occur in red, pink, yellow, white and black, with spodumene crystals in violet and purple.

The floor of the valley also yields carnelian milky quartz, bloodstones, as well as fossilized wood and jasper. These beautiful precious stones have found a place among the gems of the world and are well-known among mineralogists. In the traditional history of the Indians, De Anza is still remembered for the discipline and control he kept over his men, a fact which greatly facilitated his progress. And his goodwill and kindness toward the Indians were of the purest humaneness, standing out brightly as attributes of genuine manhood. Very few Spaniards could boast of such qualities—they ordinarily were brutal, and their history was written in blood in those days.

The Mexican soldiers who arrived later, by way of this valley, committed frightful excesses among the Indians, even assaulting and outraging the fair daughters of Ca-we. A horrible tragedy marked the sequel to those days of terror and bloodshed.

Then, in the rising dust on the northeastern horizon appeared a newcomer, General Kearny, in command of his gallant dragoons, following the course De Anza had taken. He had no trouble making the pass as his men were under strict military discipline and the blue uniforms worn by officers and troopers caused much admiration among the Indians. Little did they know, however, that behind this army was a power and authority which could be exercised without cause or provocation in the name of the government of the United States—and that was exactly General Kearny’s mission: to retake the lands held by the Mexicans as their own at San Pasqual. He became engaged in a heated battle with Mexican soldiers and civilians and his casualties were so heavy that he faced defeat. As a last resort, he appealed to the Indians chiefs for help, and the Ca-we Indians, remembering only too well the atrocities and brutalities committed upon their women by the soldiers of Mexico, granted the General’s request and dispatched five hundred warriors to aid General Kearny.

Arriving at the battlefield, the Indian braves attacked the Mexicans from all sides, thus saving the day for General Kearny who had but a few of his men left.

As to the kind of report he made to the War Department, and whether he took all the credit for having won this bloody battle whereas, by rights, the Indians alone were responsible for the victory, is not known to us. But we have every reason to believe that the report was in his favor in order to shield the command from embarrassment were it to become known that Indian aid and tactics had been the deciding factor. At any rate, up to the present time, Indian records don’t show any letter of acknowledgment ever having been received from the United States Government for the service rendered General Kearny.

Instead of receiving at least a “Thank you,” they were from that time on looked upon as “easy,” believing anything that was told them—and this was proved to their own satisfaction in 1851-52. No doubt some of our fellow citizens do not know what this means. Therefore, to elucidate a little, let me say that this was the time when a benevolent government sent a very able regiment of politicians out here in command of a few army engineers.

These engineers executed their commission in a first-rate manner and negotiated and signed 18 treaties with the signatures also of 400 Indian chiefs. And the Indians turned over more than one hundred million acres of fertile lands to the government, leaving a reserve of ten million acres to the Indians. The larger acreage was to be paid for, as per duly signed agreement, at the rate of $1.25 per acre, and to this day the Indian is still waiting for it. The politicians, however, lost no time but took over as much as they could of these rich Indian lands and eventually the entire open country was known as the Ranch of Senator “This,” or Senator, Congressman, or Colonel “That.”

That the longest road has a turning was proved by the battle of San Pasqual: it opened the Indians’ eyes to many things—such as, that had they but stayed out of it or used our forces otherwise, a different story would be told. The Indians were expelled from the Borrego Valley. We need no explanation here that they were good strategists and fighters and their holdings there were needed for the purpose mentioned. The valley has been donated by these patriotic and liberal politicians to the State of California and, by law, has become its property, and a state park.

And from high on its mountain top, the men of Ca-we may look down into the valley and think of its past history with an ache in their hearts. Only a few make a yearly trip there, for the purpose of gathering a goodly supply of medicinal plants and the _Ocotillo_ or Indian Poinsettia Candlewood.

Blood tonic.

SALIX WASHINGTONIA (_Ind. Ke-cham-ka_)

American Willow Tree. This is a common inhabitant of most of our swamps and rivers and is occasionally met with far inland. Like the elm tree, it is very fond of water, and both species may be found growing together in the desert or dry mountain gorges. We should, therefore, always look for such places when in want of water—for it is sure to be close to the surface and can be had by digging a few feet underground.

The Indians, when traveling across country, always stopped at such places where these trees were growing, and water was obtainable very quickly in sufficient quantities for domestic use. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t find water seepages on the surface. You must remember that the elm and the willow growing around that ancient fountain consume most of the water coming upward to the surface.

These sources of liquid supply were once the watering places for migratory birds flying east or northward, and by means of their droppings these trees became habitants of these wild regions.

Concerning the medicinal value of the willow tree, the Indians would take the leaves and pound them in the stone mortar, after which the pulp was put into water where it was allowed to remain a few hours. The liquid was then taken like any other beverage, the patient first having taken a bath to prevent a cold, and to keep the blood at the proper temperature.

The tea has a decidedly bitter taste. During the dormant season of the trees when the leaves were not available, the bark was stripped from the tree and served the purpose just as well.

TABARDILLO (_Ind. Pees-wel_)

This strawberry-leaved plant grew in our time in abundance throughout the lower coastal ranges and valleys; but when the white pioneers in the early days began clearing the land for agricultural purposes, it marked the destruction of this and other valuable plants also.

Therefore, this plant is now totally extinct in the lower coastal plains, but still available in a few remote places in the higher ranges, where it is gathered by the Indians for home use.

Tea is made from the plant, and all the members of the family partake of it for at least one full month each year.

The infusion made from the root is of a clear, wine-red color, and is extremely beneficial as a blood tonic.

HOSACKIA GLABRA (_Ind. Su-cot_)

American Deer Grass. Inhabiting the high coastal ranges, this beautiful little flowering grass when in bloom, during the month of May, appears to be almost a massive bouquet of carnations among the greenery of the mountain slopes.

Deer are frequently found foraging in places where the _Hosackia glabra_ grows, as they are very fond of the grass, and the Indians, as a rule, pick such localities to hunt in.

The infusion made from the plant is rather aromatic and, if taken regularly, it will help to build up the blood.

Antidote.

PIPERACEA (_Ind. Chu-co-pat_)

Habitat, rich northern mountain slopes. It grows mostly in underbrush, but is sometimes found on cleared land. It was gathered, dried and then ground in the rock mortar to a very fine powder, for use when our people exchanged poisoned arrows for bullets on the field of battle. Our poisoned arrows were more effective than bullets, as a scratch would send an enemy to eternal rest. Today we still use this plant in the treatment of trachoma, and rattlesnake, black-widow and scorpion bites. (American Pepper Plant)

Poison.

ESCHSCHOLTZIA CALIFORNICA (_Ind. Tee-snnat_)

American Golden Poppy. The true native flower of our western domain—the flower of the beautiful, rich golden color. However, being a poisonous plant, the poppy fields were of no use to the good morals and medical practice of the Indian doctors in the days gone by. But the notorious witch-doctor, having more of the devil in him than of anything else, made general use of this plant to compound some of his poisonous medicines in his irregular and evil practice. This may be strange to learn, but we had its counterpart among other races—the white race included—where witchcraft with its incantations, love potions and straight poisoning of humans played quite a role. And so it was here among the Indians. For instance, if a woman became enamoured of a certain man and the object of her affections paid no attention to her advances, whether his regards were already placed in some other quarter, or for other reasons, this was sufficient for the woman who, having had her immoral desires thwarted, resorted to the witch-doctor. He would compound a preparation with the poppy as one of its main ingredients. This was then given to the innocent victim with the help of a second or third party, either in a solid or liquid form, and in less than twenty-four hours after partaking of it the poor fellow’s mentality became befogged and powerless, and was thus easily controlled by the evil woman.

When such a case was brought to the attention of the chief of the tribe, orders were given to bring the malefactors in to be tried before the rest of the chiefs.

The leaders of this evil practice, if found guilty, were condemned to exile, and, under a guard of warriors, taken far out into the desolate desert with the death penalty hanging over them, should they ever return.

The poisoned victim was placed in the hands of the tribal doctor who gave him an antidote which counteracted the poison given by the witch—something which no white doctor has been able to do in spite of his knowledge of medical science and chemistry. Cases of such nature have happened among Indians and yet the patient’s normal state of mind and health was restored.

ASTRAGALUS MOLLISSIMUS (_Ind. Po-gat_)

American Locoweed. A good many years ago this poisonous plant was powdered and used to dope race horses, as the Spaniards were very fond of this sport of kings. And since they were the great landowners when the Americans began to come in, this sport became more popular than ever. Money was wagered against large tracts of the Mexican-Spanish lands in behalf of their favorite horses, and at times amounted to many hundreds of acres of the richest and most fertile land. It was this very poisonous _Astragalus mollissimus_ that was responsible for the transference of large Spanish and Mexican grants into the hands of Americans.

The Indians, being well-informed and cognizant of the fraud being perpetrated at the expense of their good friends, revealed to them the tactics employed and, for a small compensation, offered to recover for them some of their losses. This offer was gladly accepted and, in consequence, the Mexican landowner would again challenge the former American winner, whereupon a date was set for the race.

Under cover of night the Indian would watch over the horse that was to run until the day of the race, when he would appear in order to redeem his promise. Although this may cause surprise, it was only a little Indian trick, playing its part of revenge on deceiving, dishonest persons.

It was clean, honest revenge, not requiring the poisoning of one of our most highly valued domestic animals, and this is how it was done.

The Indian rider concealed under the bosom of his buckskin shirt two pieces of skin, one from a fresh bearskin and the other from that of a mountain lion. When both riders were lined up for the race and right at the moment of taking off, the Indian, with a quick jerk, would pull both skins—which were hanging on a string—from under his shirt and his opponent’s horse, quickly scenting them, would stop and balk, throw up his head and look fearfully around in all directions.

The Indian made the wire easily and thus the other horse’s deceiving owner lost the race and also his ill-gotten gains, proving again that crime, in any form, doesn’t pay in the long run.

Hair tonic, hair and scalp diseases.

LARREA MEXICANA (_Ind. Ato-col_)

American Creosote Bush. I have mentioned the use of this shrubby bush in the beginning for another disease. It was used by the Indians for various maladies which I shall describe toward the end of the book.

The plant was one of the principal herbs used to eradicate dandruff and the infusion, when used as a hair-wash once a week for a period of about two months, will be found enough to rid a person of dandruff thoroughly. Its one drawback, if any, is that it will make the hair coarse, although on the other hand, very strong. It was also used as a disinfectant and deodorizer of bodily odors by sponging the body with the full-strength infusion.

LOPHOPHORA WILLIAMSII (_Ind. Am-mool_)

American Desert Agave or Button Root. Indigenous to the Mojave Desert, San Bernardino County, East Riverside County and the Borrego Valley situated at the northern end of San Diego County, and thence southeastward to the Mexican border. The Indians made special trips to places where this plant grew, and spent several weeks at a time in harvesting it. The root is very important and yields the proper ingredients to compound one of the finest hair tonics known—greatly superior to the best on the American market of today.

After gathering the plants, the Indians roasted the leaves in covered underground rock pits. After this was done they underwent a sun-drying process, following which they were cut into small square pieces and stored away for winter use in hermetically sealed earthen _ay-as_.

The plant was put to many other uses which I shall not divulge at this time, as it would probably invite total extermination of the desert agave, as occurred in the case of the bison and the messenger dove.

Ringworms and scalp germs of the hair roots.

MICRAPELIS MICRACARPA (_Ind. Yal_)

American Thorny Cucumber. This beautiful vine is very common through the lower and upper coastal ranges. Wherever you may go you will see the thorny cucumber. It is very bitter to the taste and the seeds are very pretty, running into the various shades of white, yellow, gray, black, olive-green, brown, and red.

In the ’90s the white people discovered that they could be worked into portieres, hanging ornaments, etc., as they looked so beautiful and the fad became so strong that young and old would search for these seeds all over the country with the result that the plant became almost extinct, the usual net result when the white man took a fancy to certain plants or animals. However, in this instance, kind Mother Nature hid a few seeds away among and under the carpet of autumn leaves which in time replaced the destruction wrought by the white man.

One should know that we, the so-called savages, never destroyed wantonly, and when we gathered the flowers, seeds, leaves and bark of plants, we did so for a useful purpose, not to strew them along the highways as the custom is among certain humans of today.

_Micrapelis micracarpa_ was used in the treatment of ringworm in the epidermis. Juices extracted from the rind of the thorny cucumber were rubbed into afflicted parts—a sure and effective remedy.

For the treatment of diseased scalps and hair roots the oil extracted from the seeds is massaged into the scalp and thus prevents the falling out of the hair.

The juice of _Micrapelis micracarpa_ will remove human bloodstains, one of the most difficult stains to remove. The Indian made quite frequent use of it—when returning from the battlefield or a hunting trip—to remove such stains from his buckskin clothes.

The soap of the Indian.

CUCURBITA FOETIDISSIMA (_Ind. Meh-hish_)

American Wild Gourd. This plant, inhabiting the arid soils of the coastal plains, is very hardy and at its best in worthless ground unsuitable for agricultural purposes. Thanks to Mother Nature, by thriving in otherwise dead soils, it was assured of continuous preservation.

The Indians regarded it highly as being useful in what washing they had to do toward keeping their buckskin clothes and blankets clean. Very soon after the vandals from Spain invaded our country, they adopted this plant in place of their greasy soaps. When the gourds were fully matured they were gathered and put away in the shade to dry for winter use. For the day’s washing, one gourd was put in about ten gallons of water to help bleach the clothes, while large, square pieces were cut from the roots (which grow to an immense size) and were used as root soap bars for rubbing the clothes laid on a smooth log or a flat rock. Another plant similarly used was the fibrous bulb of the

CHLOROGALUM POMERIDIANUM (_Ind. Mo-cee_)

A member of the Lily family, known as Soap Plant.

SAPONARIA OFFICIANALIS (_Ind. Yu-look-ut-hish_)

American Soapwort. Inhabits the woodlands of the lower coast regions. The juice extracted from the roots of this plant makes an excellent hair tonic and cleanser, giving the hair a beautiful, brilliant gloss and, as a shampoo, it exceeds most of the modern hair tonics which, in my opinion, are more or less injurious to the hair roots due to an excess of alcohol in the preparations. Blooming season: May to June.

Its leaves were also of much use in cases of pains of the spleen. They were ground into a pulp and applied as a poultice-plaster directly where the pain was, and kept there for from three to four hours.

BRODIAEA (_Ind. Meh-wahot_)

Is an inhabitant of the lower coastal regions, and is one of the other plants serviceable for making an excellent shampoo for the hair, the bulb and flowers being used for the purpose. Blooms from March to May.

Protection against lightning.

CEANOTHUS DIVARICATUS and PINUS SABINIANA (_Ind. O-Oot_) (_Ind. Wa-at_)

The California Lilac—Spanish _Chaparral_—an inhabitant of the mountain ranges, blooms like the common lilac and is very beautiful.

Attracting every nature lover, this gigantic shrub is possessed of a strange power, which up to the present has escaped attention, due to its having been kept secret among the Indians for centuries.

As I am writing Indian legends through botany, I, for the first time, shall reveal the virtues of this shrub and it should prove of the greatest interest to those engaged in scientific research, especially in geology and botanical chemistry. And if the shrub is used as the Indians used it—and still do—it will help to safeguard life when thunder and lightning are at their worst at timber line of high mountainsides and peaks.

These monumental cones were at one time, in the early Archean period, surcharged with volcanic activity, which was responsible for the enormous iron deposits stored in the bowels of the earth. Electrical storms, being attracted by the iron, burst at times there with terrific violence, causing a truly phenomenal disturbance; while lightning bolts strike the iron bodies, completely magnetizing them, turning them gradually into the mineral, magnetic iron.

Now, let us bear in mind that cone-bearing pines and the _Chaparral_ grow side by side on and over these magnetic iron deposits. Of the two, the pine seldom escapes destruction whereas the _Chaparral_ deflects lightning. At the harvest season of the pine nuts, when these storms were very frequent, precaution had to be taken against the danger of being struck by lightning, and the _Chaparral_ was the tree chosen in the pine forest by the Indians as furnishing both safety and shelter.

Now, some of our Red fellow men, through ignorance and a belief in miracles, were superstitious and quite sincere in their belief in the efficiency possessed by the magnetic iron mineral, and in its inherent supernatural powers to guard their homes against prowlers and thieves. So, much of it was gathered after its discovery and placed inside the homes to protect them from such intruders. Therefore, whenever a man was known to be in the possession of this mineral he became the object of much reverence and respect by wrongdoers, the belief being that the magnetic iron attracts and draws to it all other particles of nonmagnetic iron. By the same token, if they entered strange premises, the same thing would happen to them and they would be held until the rightful owner appeared.

The author of _Chi-nich-nich_, Dr. John P. Harrington, of the Department of Ethnology of the Smithsonian Institution, found himself against a wall when he wrote something about this “wizard” mineral under its Indian name without a sample from his Indian informant, Mr. Albanes. Dr. Harrington was unable to give a firsthand description and had no definite idea of what the mineral actually was until he requested me to revise his work, a thing I did gladly at the printing office in Santa Ana, Calif.

Later on, when my opinion was asked regarding the book I, of course, drew my own conclusions and withheld any criticism. This I did, not deeming it wise to make any remarks about parts of the work which did not represent the true phases of Indian life, for, as I held the key that would correct those parts, any criticism from me would only have led to my being questioned as to my knowledge of things which I didn’t feel at liberty to divulge.