This vibrant hand-tinted lithograph, from William H. Emory’s Report on the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey (1857–1859), depicts two Tohono O'odham women, historically referred to as members of the Papago Tribe, engaging in the traditional harvest of fruit from the Organ Pipe Cactus (Stenocereus thurberi). Rendered by the artist Arthur Schott, the image captures a scene emblematic of the region's Indigenous lifeways, framed by the distinctive flora and arid landscapes of the Sonoran Desert.
The women, dressed in traditional white garments with wide-brimmed straw hats, are depicted mid-activity, each holding a long wooden pole used to knock down the ripe cactus fruits, known as pitahaya.
This lithograph was published by Sarony, Major & Knapp, a renowned New York firm known for their precise and richly detailed prints. As part of the boundary survey’s ethnographic documentation, this image serves as a cultural artifact, illustrating the intimate relationship between the Tohono O'odham people and their environment. The scene underscores the utilitarian and ceremonial significance of cactus fruit in their diet and traditions.