Into These Pits Dry Wood, Roots,
Pine Cones, Etc., Are Thrown And Set On Fire, Until The Whole Oven Is
Thoroughly Heated.
On the hot rocks are then laid the pulpy stalks of the
agave; over these is placed a layer of wet grass; then more agave or mescal
leaves, more grass, and so on, until the pit is full.
Then the oven and its
contents are banked over with earth, and allowed to steam and cook for
three or four days. The woman in charge is an expert in determining when
her "bread is baked." She thrusts stalks of the agave into the heart of the
pit before it is finally closed up, and when she deems "time up," she pulls
forth one of these stalks. If it is not done to her liking, she allows the
process to continue; otherwise the banked up earth is removed, and the
contents of the pit withdrawn and placed upon adjacent rocks to dry. It now
looks like large cakes of brownish fibres, thoroughly saturated in
molasses. In taste it is sweet and fairly palatable, though the fibres
render it a food that requires a large amount of mastication. It has great
staying qualities, contains much nutrition, and will keep for months, even
years. I have eaten pieces of it that were sweet and good over three years
after it was made.
Unlimited Fragments of Pottery. In my own wanderings of nearly twenty years
in the Grand and Havasu Canyons and their smaller tributary gorges, I have
discovered scores of these cliff-dwellings.
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