Manzanita (little apple), a native shrub that is one of the most striking objects in the California woods. Fremont says of it: “A new and singular shrub was very frequent to-day. It branched out near the ground, forming a clump eight to ten feet high, with pale green leaves of an oval form, and the body and branches had a naked appearance as if stripped of the bark, which is very smooth and thin, of a chocolate color, contrasting well with the pale green of the leaves.” Towns in Marin, San Diego, and Tehama Counties bear the name of Manzanita.
Powers, in his Tribes of California, describes the method of making manzanita cider practiced by the Indians, as follows: “After reducing the berries to flour by pounding, they carefully remove all the seeds and skins, then soak the flour in water for a considerable length of time. A squaw then heaps it up in a little mound, with a crater in the center, into which she pours a minute stream of water, allowing it to percolate through. In this way she gets about a gallon an hour of a really delicious beverage, clear, cool, clean and richer than most California apple cider. As the Indians always drink it up before it has time to ferment, it is never intoxicating.” Fremont also mentions this as a very delicious drink that he had tasted when among the Indians.
Manzanita Knob, in Tulare County, is near the summit of the Sierras.
Mapache Peak (raccoon peak).
Mar (the sea).
Del Mar (of the sea).
Mare Island. See page [206].
Maricopa is the name of an Arizona tribe. The word is said to mean “bean people,” which is probably the correct definition.—(A. L. Kroeber.)
Marin. See page [219].
Mariposa (butterfly). See page [317].