Nuts and seeds abound. There is a large oval seed in a fleshy envelope that birds feed on freely, and another fruit with a large stone is the wild alligator pear. The stone of this is more than one-half the size of the whole fruit. It is delicious in taste, and is looked upon by both whites and natives as a great delicacy. In shape it resembles a pear, and in colour it varies from green to yellow or russet.
CHAPTER X
Drinks, drugs, and poisons: their use and preparation—Unfermented drinks—Caapi—Fermented drinks—Cahuana—Coca: its preparation, use, and abuse—Parica—Tobacco—Poison and poison-makers.
If the Indian eats but little during the day, he drinks to excess whenever opportunity offers. In the early morning a beverage somewhat akin to tea, but colourless, made from an infusion of bitter herbs, is taken. It has some tonic properties, and when I drank it seemed always to have a slight taste of peppermint. This herb infusion is the first meal of the day. It is drunk out of half-gourds, after the morning bath, before the members of the household disperse to their varied avocations. I am under the impression that this decoction is made from a species of grass, and not the Ilex paraguayensis from which mate, or Paraguay tea, is made. It is probably the lemon grass mentioned by Simson.[192] The Indians also scrape the seeds of the capana, mix in some cassava flour, and wrap up the mass in plantain leaves. This is left to ferment in water, till it is the colour of saffron; then it is dried in the sun. This is drunk as a bitter tea in the morning when diluted in water.
The Indian drinks enormous quantities of water, or unfermented liquor, at times, and afterwards can abstain like a camel for a considerable period. He never drinks when eating, but afterwards. At a feast or a dance when he is unable to drink more he simply pokes his fingers down his throat, with the result that room is made for renewed doses of his non-alcoholic beverage.
PLATE XXXVI.
ONE OF THE INGREDIENTS OF THE FAMOUS CURARE POISON