by Mayne Reid
CHAPTER FOUR.
THE SUPPER OF GUAPO.
I have said all ate of the supper. This is not strictly true. One ofthe party did not touch it, and that was old Guapo. Why? Was he nothungry like the rest? Yes; as hungry as any of them. Why then did henot eat of the _charqui_ and ocas? Simply because Guapo had a supper ofa very different kind, which he carried in his pouch, and which he likedmuch better than the charqui stew. What was it? It was "coca."
"Chocolate," you will say, or, as some call it, "cocoa," which should becalled, to name it properly, "cacao." No, I answer--it was notchocolate, nor cocoa, nor cacao neither.
"It must have been cocoa-nuts, then?" No; nor yet cocoa-nuts. The"coca," upon which Guapo made his supper, and which contented hisstomach perfectly for the night, was an article very different fromeither the cacao which makes chocolate, or the nut of the cocoa-palm.You are now impatient to hear what sort of thing it was, and I shalltell you at once.
The coca is a small tree or shrub about six feet in height, which growsin the warmer valleys among the Andes mountains. Its botanical name is_Erythroxylon coca_. Its leaves are small and of a bright green colour,and its blossoms white. Its fruits are very small scarlet berries. Itis a native plant, and, therefore, found in a wild state; but it iscultivated by the planters of these countries in fields regularly laidout, and hence called "cocales." This plant is raised from the seed,and when the young shoots have attained the height of about eighteeninches, they are transplanted and put down again at the distance ofabout a foot apart from each other. Now as these little bushes requirea humid atmosphere, maize-plants are sown between the rows to protectthem from the sun. In other places arbours of palm-leaves areconstructed over the coca-plants. When no rain falls, they are wateredevery five or six days. After about two and a half years of thisnursing, the coca-bush is ready for use, and it is the leaves alone thatare valuable. These are gathered with great care, just as the Chinesegather the leaves of the tea-plant; and, as in China, women areprincipally employed in this labour. The leaves are said to be ripe,not when they have withered and turned brown, but at a period when theyare full-grown and become brittle. When this period arrives, they arepicked from the tree, and laid out on coarse woollen cloths to dry inthe sun. When dried, they remain of a pale green colour; but shouldthey get damp during the process, they become darker, and are then ofinferior quality, and sell for a less price. When fully dried, they arecarefully packed in bags and covered up with dry sand, and are thusready for the market. Their price, on the spot where the crop isproduced, is about one shilling English per pound. They are, therefore,full as costly to produce as tea itself, although the coca-bush willyield three crops of leaves in one year--that is, a crop every fourmonths; and one hundred plants will produce about an arroba (25 pounds)at a crop. The coca-plant will continue to give fresh leaves for a longperiod of years, unless attacked and destroyed by ants, which is notunfrequently the case.
Now, why have I so minutely described the coca-bush? Because, that, inthe economy of the life of those Indians who inhabit the countries ofthe Andes mountains, this curious plant plays a most important part.Scarcely one of these people is to be met with who is not an eater ofcoca--a "coquero." With them it is what the tea-tree is to the Chinese.Indeed, it is a curious fact, that in all parts of the world somestimulating vegetable is used by the human race. Tea in China; thebetel-leaf, and the nut of the areca palm, among the Southern Asiatics;the poppy in the East; with tobacco, and many like things, in othercountries.
But the coca not only supplies the Indian with a solace to his cares, itforms the chief article of his food. With a supply of coca, an Indianwill support himself five or six days without eating anything else. Thepoor miners, in the Peruvian mines, are all "coqueros;" and it isalleged that, without coca, they would be unable to undergo the painfultoil to which their calling subjects them. When used to excess, thecoca produces deleterious effects on the human system; but, ifmoderately taken, it is far more innocent in its results than eitheropium or tobacco.
The coca-leaf is not eaten alone. A certain preparation is necessary,and another substance is mixed with it before it produces the propereffect. But let us watch the movements of Guapo, and we shall see howhe does it, for Guapo is a confirmed coquero.
Guapo, true to his promise, does not sleep under the molle trees. Heleaves the party, and, with a melancholy air, has climbed up and seatedhimself upon a projecting rock, where he intends to pass the night. Hislast glance at Don Pablo and his family was one of foreboding. He hadagain remonstrated with his master, but to no purpose. The latter onlylaughed at the earnestness of the old Indian, and told him to go to hisperch and leave the party to themselves.
It was still grey light when Guapo climbed up to the rock. Against thesky his tall, lank form could be traced in all its outlines. For somemoments he sat in a serious and reflective mood--evidently busy withthoughts about the "poison-trees." His appetite, however, soon got thebetter of him; and he set to work to prepare his coca supper. It was asimple operation.
Around Guapo's neck there hung a small pouch made of the skin of thechinchilla, which beautiful little animal is a native of these parts.This pouch contained a quantity of the dry leaves of the coca. Havingtaken out some half-dozen of these leaves, he put them into his mouthand commenced chewing them. In a short while, by the aid of tongue,teeth, and lips, they were formed into a little ball of pulp, thatrolled about in his mouth. Another step in the process now becamenecessary. A small gourd, that hung around Guapo's neck by a thong, waslaid hold of. This was corked with a wooden stopper, in which stopper awire pin was fixed, long enough to reach down to the bottom of thegourd. After taking out the stopper, Guapo applied the lower part ofthe pin to his lips, and then, plunging it once more into the gourd,drew it out again. This time the pin came out, with a fine whitishpowder adhering to the part that had been wetted. Now what was thispowder? It was nothing else than lime that had been burned, and thenpulverised. Perhaps it was the ashes of the molle tree, of which wehave already spoken, and which, as we have said, possess a highlyalkaline property. The ashes of the musa, or plantain, are sometimesused; but, after all, it is most likely that it was the molle asheswhich Guapo carried, for these are most highly esteemed by the Indiansof Southern Peru; and Guapo was a connoisseur in coca-eating. Whicheverof the three it was--lime, molle, or musa--Guapo carried the pin to hismouth, and, without touching his lips (it would have burnt him if hehad), he inserted it, so as to penetrate the ball of chewed coca-leavesthat rested upon the tip of his tongue. This was stabbed repeatedly andadroitly by the pin, until all the powder remained in the coca-ball; andthen the pin was withdrawn, wiped, and restored to its place, along withthe stopper of the gourd.
Guapo now remained quietly "ruminating" for a period of about fortyminutes--for this is about the time required for chewing a mess ofcoca-leaves. Indeed, so exactly is this time observed, that theIndians, when travelling, measure distances by it; and one "coceada" isabout equal to the time occupied in walking a couple of English miles.
The coceada of our old Indian being finished, he drew his llama-woolponcho around him; and, leaning back against the rock, was soon buriedin a profound slumber.