Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 5.djvu/254

Berberis Aquifolium (Bot. Reg. t. 1425), B. glumacea (Ejusd. t. 1426. De Cand. B. nervosa of Pursh), Acer macrophyllum (Hook, Fl. Bor. Am. v. 1. t. 38), and Scilla esculenta (Bot. Mag. t. 2774), the Quamash of the natives, who prepare its roots in the following manner. A round hole is scraped in the ground, in which are placed a number of stones and a fire is kept burning on them till they are red hot, when it is removed and replaced by some brushwood and straw, on which the roots are laid (covered with leaves, moss, or straw, with a layer of earth), and they remain there until they are baked or roasted, a process which occupies a few hours, after which they are taken out and hung up to dry. Sometimes the natives bruise these roots or pound them into cakes and round lumps, which they lay upon the shelves in their lodges for winter use. When cooked they have a sweetish and by no means unpleasant taste, and a very palatable beverage might probably be prepared from them. Lewis and Clark observe that they are apt to produce bowel complaint if eaten in large quantities, as they certainly do flatulence. The plant abounds in all alluvial plains, on the margins of woods and banks of rivers. Pyrola aphylla (Hook Fl. Bor. Am. t. 137), Caprifolium occidentale (B. Reg. t 1457), and a multitude of other plants, delighted me highly; nor can I pass over the beauty, I might say the grandeur, of Lupinus polyphyllus Bot. Reg. t. 1096, and var. albiforus, t. 1377), covering immense tracts of low land on the banks of streams, with here and there a white-flowered variety, and growing to a height of six or eight feet, wherever the ground was partially overflowed. The Gaultheria Shallon (Bot. Mag. t. 2843, Bot. Reg. t. 1372), is called by the natives Salal and not Shallon, as stated by Pursh, whose figure and description are, however, good; it grows abundantly in the cool pine forests, most luxuriantly in the shady places near the ocean. I have seen it as far as forty miles above the Grand Rapids of the Columbia River, but it is not so vigorous as when found nearer the sea. The fruit is abundant and very good, so that I hope it will ere