Part 22

The Paraguayrian trees, though they offer their fruits spontaneously to the natives, do not yield the oil, with which they are impregnated, without being cut. Amongst these is the cupaỹ, a large, tall tree, remarkable for its leaves, which are half a foot long, with red nerves and veins. Besides the wood, which is of a dark red colour, hard, and fit for carpenter's work, it affords a fruit which is dusky on the surface, but has a kernel resembling a walnut in size and form, and which is reckoned eatable by the Indians, and a dainty by the apes. But this tree owes its celebrity and value to the excellent oil with which it teems. To extract this most useful juice both arms, and arts are requisite. The trunk of the tree, which should neither be very old, nor too young, is cut to the pith with a knife. Soon after the incision is made, you will hear a slight crackling, caused by the oil flowing from the top and from the boughs: for the warm air, insinuating itself more freely into the pores of the wounded tree, seems to rarefy and liquidate the oil, which is naturally resinous and thick. To effect this sooner and with more certainty apply dry burning boughs to the opposite side of the tree into which the incision has been made; by their heat, the oil is more dispersed amongst the fibres of the tree, and more liquefied, which causes it to flow freely into the vessel placed beneath the trunk. Within a few hours you will find a jug full of oil. If you wish to fill many jugs cut many of these trees, which are most abundant in the northern woods of Paraguay; there are none, or very few, elsewhere. This operation must be performed in spring, in the month of September, when the moon is at full; if you undertake it in the absence of the moon, in winter, or summer, you will lose your labour. This oil, in colour, could not be distinguished from water; it has a bitter taste, exhales an odour neither sweet nor the contrary, and is useful both to painters and physicians. I will now make you acquainted with its virtues, which I learnt from others, but never tried myself. When warmed and applied to a wound, it is said to stop the flowing of the blood, and to heal the wounded person very speedily. It will cure the bites of serpents, and remove scars. Placed by way of plaster on the breast, it eases languor in the stomach; when applied to the belly, it assuages colic, and pains arising from cold. Two or three drops, swallowed with a boiled egg, will remove dysentery, and other hurtful fluxions, restore the tone to the bowels, and impart strength. Sometimes it is used as an injection with sugar from plaintain water, or oil of roses. From the oil of the cupaỹ the Brazilians make the balsam cupaỹba, of such high repute in Europe, especially the inhabitants of the province of Maranham, which abounds in those trees. But other rosins, chiefly that from the tree ybir̂apayè, of which we shall speak hereafter, are mixed with this balsam, as the singular fragrance of the smell discovers. American as well as European painters derive much benefit from the oil of the cupaỹ, for when mixed with garlick, it brightens pictures better than any varnish, and will never be obscured by time, if mixed with the colours instead of linseed oil. In wooden images, particularly, nothing is better for painting the face, hands, and every thing of flesh, of a natural colour. I can scarce persuade myself that the oil of the cupaỹ is brought quite pure from America to our shops; and that merchants do not adulterate it to increase the weight. There are three trees in Paraguay, all materially different, but much alike in name; I mean the _cupaỹ_, _the curupaỹ_, and the _curupicaỹ_. The curupaỹ affords bark like that of the çevil, which the Indians use to dress ox-hides with. To give them a red colour they mix the bark of the curupaỹ with that of another tree, (the caatigua, which the Abipones call achitè). The curupicaỹ, a tree not larger nor harder than the elder, has a spungy kind of wood, unfit for any purpose, that I know of, which at the slightest touch, sheds a milky juice commonly thought to be poisonous.

PIÑON DEL PARAGUAY, OR THE CATHARTIC NUT.

This is a shrub resembling the fig tree of our country, in its leaves, its form, and the softness of its wood. The trunk and leaves, when pressed with the hand distil a milky juice abounding in serum. It bears fruit like dark walnuts, beneath the hard black rind of which lie three white kernels, covered with a white membrane and divided into as many separate compartments; in sweetness, and in shape they resemble almonds. These kernels, _piñones del Paraguay_, or piny nuts of Paraguay, are called by physicians, cathartic nuts, _ricini Americani_, or purging beans; for two or three kernels, which many say ought to be first stripped of their white skin, then bruised in wine, and roasted a little on the fire, to mitigate their purging qualities, when eaten, will cause vomiting, purge the bowels, and expel noxious humours. Whether these nuts are sold in the druggists' shops in Europe, and whether physicians prescribe the use of them, I do not know. This is certain, that they must be taken cautiously, and with regard to the strength of the sick person. A branch of this tree, when cut and committed to the earth, soon takes root, and grows up very quickly.

THE VAYNILLA.

The vaynilla, a sweet name to those who love chocolate, is a creeping plant which grows in moist places, and entwines itself with certain palm trees, which serve it for a prop. It bears large leaves about a hand long, and small white flowers. Like pulse, for fruit it bears little hulls, or sheaths, a quarter of an ell long, triangular, and when ripe dark on the surface, and of a bright colour; they have a most delicious odour, and are full of very small seeds, like figs. Of these seeds the Indian women make rosaries to adorn their necks with: the savages formerly knew no other use of the vaynilla, which however birds and apes eagerly devour. The little bag or sheath, in which the fruit is inclosed, occasioned the Spaniards to give it the name of vaynilla. The description of this plant, which became extremely profitable to the Americans after the discovery of the use of chocolate, I owe to Father Joseph Sanchez, who had travelled over the land of the Chiquitos, where that fruit grows, as well as in Peru and elsewhere. For this plant grows in no other part of Paraguay that I am acquainted with, which must be attributed to the inhabitants, not to the climate, as it doubtless would grow in the northern parts of Paraguay, were it cultivated there.

THE CACAÒ.

With the vaynilla we must speak of the cacaò, which is produced by a tree resembling an orange tree in its leaves, but larger, and having a kind of crown on the top. It bears a fruit like large melons, containing oily kernels, as big as almonds, and separated from one another by a white and very sweet skin, as by a kind of fence. The Peruvian Indians, throwing away the kernels which they did not then know how to use in preparing chocolate, were accustomed to chew and suck the little skin only, which is sweeter than honey. These trees in their native woods grow to a great size, and cover the melons which they bear so entirely with their immense leaves, that you cannot see them without standing close by. They never grow so large when planted in any other soil. In Peru, amongst the Mojos Indians, in Mexico, and other countries of America, the woods abound in this most profitable fruit: both the tree and the kernel, however, vary in different countries.

THE TAMARIND.

Tamarinds, which are very well known in European druggists' shops, are a species of plum, with a dark rind, rather acid, of an agreeable taste, and full of a number of beautiful kernels. Taken inwardly, after being steeped for some time in cold water, they conduce much to allay the most burning thirst, and gently to purge the bowels. They grow upon trees which resemble palms, and have boughs and leaves long enough to cover a number of men, and with their dark shade protect them from the heat of the sun. Tamarinds, which botanists call _dactyli acidi_, grow in the territories of the Chiquitos, and elsewhere, but are unknown to the other parts of Paraguay.

THE ROSIN ỸÇICA.

This Paraguayrian rosin is found at the roots of trees under ground, where it flows very copiously from them in the heat of the sun. The Guaranies use it not only for medicinal purposes, but also to tar ships with, when pitch is not to be had.

THE TREE ABATI TIMBABỸ.

The huge tree abati timbabỹ, in the heat of the sun, sheds a quantity of gum of a golden colour, and clear as the purest crystal, of which the lower orders of Spaniards and the wood Indians make crosses, ear-rings, and beads to hang round the neck, by the following method: they apply hollow moulds, made in the same form, of wood or reeds, to the trunk of the tree, and the gum flowing down into them is hardened by the air, and quickly assumes the shape of crosses, ear-rings, or beads, with admirable exactness; you would swear they were made of crystal. Although as fragile as glass, they can be melted by no moisture. Were European artisans in possession of this gum, they would make knots, buckles, and little images beautifully with it. Might it not possibly contain medicinal properties? No one has hitherto made trial of its virtues.

THE CEDAR.

The more northerly woods of Tucuman and Paraguay boast of innumerable lofty cedars, which, having exceedingly tall, straight, and large trunks, afford excellent materials for ships, and all sorts of building, as they never feel decay, and last for ever, even under water. No tree which Paraguay produces makes longer or wider beams, which, as they are laboriously hewn, not by a water-machine, but by human hands with a saw, and conveyed in waggons from Tucuman full three hundred leagues, sell very high in the city of Buenos-Ayres, where no woods are to be seen, and whither they are brought from the distant forests of Asumpcion, after a two months' navigation on the river. In Tucuman, indeed, a German lay-brother of our order constructed a machine, by which the saw was moved to the cedars by water underneath the wheel, with a great saving of time and labour; but it was soon after removed and destroyed by the natives, who hate all innovation. Sometimes out of one cedar a very large boat is made, to pull which thirty rowers are hardly sufficient. I do not deny that the tree timboỹ is made into shorter and slenderer planks and boats in Paraguay; but cedars hold the first place, as they excel in the width, height, and straightness of their trunk, in the docility of the materials, and their durability under water. There are two kinds of cedars in Paraguay; the wood of the one is beautifully red, that of the other rather palish; both, however, have a very sweet smell, and in the heat of the sun shed great quantities of gum, which is sometimes white, sometimes red, but always transparent. We used it in the same manner as gum Arabic, to glue things together, and also for polishing; might it not be fit for various medicinal purposes? Water boiled with bits of cedar wood and drunk, is a remedy for extravasation in those that have been bruised by a violent blow, by a sudden fall from a horse or a tree; though in such cases, to accelerate the cure, an infusion of quinoa, a kind of pulse with a very small grain, should also be drunk. Others make plasters of the quinoa, after it has been pounded in a mortar, and boiled in water, and when applied to the wounded or bruised part, they dissipate noxious humours so soon as to exceed the expectation both of the physician and the patient. This pulse is also a very wholesome food.

THE AMERICAN PINE, CURIỸ.

The curiỹ resembles the European pine in its leaves and in its height, but exceeds it in the hardness of its wood, which is pale, with red veins. The knots and swellings particularly which grow on the Paraguayrian pine are almost as hard as a stone. Of these large knots the Guaranies turn rosaries and images of the saints very neatly. When placed by the fire, the red rosin lurking in the veins of the wood is melted, so that they seem as if varnished with a beautiful red colour, and shine surprizingly.

THE ALFAROBA.

We are now come to a tree on many accounts worthy of particular note; the fruit of which is called by the Spaniards _alfaroba_. The American alfaroba differs in size, form, and colour from that which is commonly put to sale in Germany, and is called by the Spaniards _alfaroba de la Berberia_; for from Barbary it was brought by the Moors to Spain and Portugal, where, at this day, it grows in such abundance in the woods, without culture, that in those countries, during the winter season, it is given to oxen and mules for their daily fodder. The sheath of the Spanish alfaroba is rather wide, full of seeds, or large pebbles, and of a dusky colour, although its pulp is sweet and whitish. The sheaths or hulls of the Paraguayrian alfaroba, which are almost a span long, and the breadth of a man's thumb, are covered with a soft yellow skin; moreover the seed is smaller and softer, and they have a pleasanter taste. Of the many kinds of alfaroba which Paraguay produces, the most remarkable are those two which are distinguished by the names of the white and the black. It is chewed white and dry, as it falls from the tree, and when pounded in a mortar, is either eaten, or drunk mixed with water, and fermented, by the Abipones and other savages. It is the employment of the women to gather it in the woods, carry it home on a horse, pound it in a mortar, and pour it, mixed with cold water, on a hide, which serves both for tub and drinking vessel, where, without addition of any thing else, in about twelve hours, it effervesces so much with its own natural heat, as to become at last, a sharp, sweet, and wholesome beverage. Immoderate use of it disorders both the head and feet, and still more the tongue; yet, when taken in moderation, it is a means of strengthening the constitution, and inducing uncommon longevity. Moreover horses, mules, and oxen are never fatter, or more robust than after feeding on the alfaroba, woods of which abound particularly in Chaco, and the territories of St. Iago, though not even the shadow of such a tree is to be seen in any other part of the immense tracts of Paraguay. The Guaranies, who, being distributed into thirty-two colonies, inhabit a vast extent of country, are destitute of this most wholesome fruit; neither did we ever think fit to plant the alfaroba, which grows so quickly, lest the Abipones, like the other Indians, should turn it to a bad use, and that it should cause drinking-parties and intoxication. Moreover the seeds of the alfaroba, if carelessly scattered in any soil, will certainly, and quickly grow up into trees. The white alfaroba affords not only meat, drink, and medicine, but also excellent materials for building waggons, houses and ships: for its violet-coloured wood is docile, and extremely firm, even under water. The leaves of this tree are small; and from its little pale flowers grow seeds, inclosed in a pod. They ripen in the month of November, and last in the woods till March, or are gradually collected and preserved at home by provident persons.

The other species of alfaroba, which the Spaniards call the black, resembles the former in all respects, except that it is smaller and sweeter. Its dusky bark is covered with red spots. The pods, though agreeable to the palate from being extremely sweet, create a roughness in the tongue, if eaten raw too freely, and a difficulty in speaking. I write this on my own experience; for once in a long journey, happening to pluck some of that fruit as I rode along, I was suddenly deprived of the power of speech. Some hours' silence was both the disease and the remedy; the Spaniards who accompanied me being greatly amused at my taciturnity. This kind of alfaroba is more commonly used for food than for drink. Its hulls, when pounded in a mortar, are reduced to a flour, which, after being strained through a sieve, is thrown into a round wooden box, pressed with both hands, and, as it is naturally resinous, forms into bread of itself, and becomes as hard as a stone; for as it abounds in thick rosin, its own dust glues it together. These loaves, which are called _patay_, and are chiefly made in the colonies of St. Iago, and sent to other cities, are taken, not only as food, but as medicine, especially by Europeans labouring under stone or strangury. No one ever doubted that both the black and the white alfaroba, as they have a diuretic property, are of much use, whether taken in a solid or liquid state, to persons in a consumption, or labouring under diseases of the bladder. Some say that spirits of much efficacy in diseases of the kidneys, and in hectic fevers, might, by chemic art, be extracted from both the alfarobas. We must not pass by a third species of alfaroba, which appears little different from the acacia. It has very hard, dark, red wood, is clothed with the same sort of leaves as the other alfarobas, and bears small yellow flowers, growing in clusters, and exhaling an aromatic smell. The rind of the pods is thick and black. The seeds, inclosed in the pods, are like pulse, but harder. The pods, with their pulp, are resinous, of a sharp, bitter taste, and fit neither to be eaten nor drunk. The fruit is used by the people of Cordoba, and St. Iago, to dye wood, and cotton of a black colour, with the addition of alum, and copperas. This tree exudes rosin like gum Arabic. To it you may add a fourth species of alfaroba, a small tree, the pods of which are of a dark red colour, and taste neither sweet nor bitter. Of this the natives make a potion which is remarkably sudorific, and which, according to Thomas Falconer, will cure many persons who, in Europe, could not be restored to health without the aid of salivation.

VARIOUS KINDS OF PALMS.

Palms alone would afford subject for a bulky volume, if the names, forms, properties, and uses of all the different species were to be described. Palms supply the Americans with meat, drink, medicine, arms, lodging, and clothing. Out of the numbers that I have seen in Paraguay, I will describe a few.

THE CARANDAỸ.

The tall palm, carandaỹ, expands its leaves like an open fan, and bears sweet dates, which are not disliked by Europeans even. The bark of the trunk, which is very hard, when cut with an axe, and deprived of the pith, which consists of sharp thorns, is used to roof the houses in some cities, and even to build cottages with. If the palms be cut when the moon is in the wane, their bark will bear age. This also is certain, that the carandaỹ palms create the richest and most wholesome pasture for cattle; for the rain-water, flowing to the ground from their leaves, contracts a kind of saltness, which generates saliva, and is the best and most agreeable seasoning of the grass for beasts.

THE PINDÒ.

The pindò is a very lofty and common palm, with a rough, white bark. By way of wood it has a pulp as porous as a fungus, very light, and composed of threads extremely liable to catch fire. It produces dates which, after being pounded in a mortar, are either drunk with water, or eaten. The dates, falling from the trees, fill the woods, and, by their hardness, severely hurt the naked feet of the Indians. But though these palms are, in some respects, very annoying to travellers, yet in others they are equally convenient to them: for the Guaranies, when they pass the nights in the woods, are furnished by them, on an impending storm, with a protection against the rain. Some hew down any palms of this sort that they can find, and with the soft spungy materials afforded by their trunks, quickly build a little hut, and cover it well with boughs and leaves of palms, bent partly one way, partly another: should the rain fall with the utmost violence, not a drop will penetrate this hasty fabric. Of the leaves of the pindò palms, cords, panniers, and baskets are sometimes woven, as of osiers in other places. These palms, not only by their great height, but also by the length of their boughs, which they gracefully extend, afford a pleasing spectacle to the eye, and a great ornament to gardens.

THE YATAỸ.

The yataỹ, a smaller palm, besides dates, yields a very tender germ, leafy at the top, as soft as butter, and of a yellowish white, which is eaten raw, as it is plucked from the tree, and is very pleasant to the taste. Crowds of parrots daily fly to feed upon the nuts of this palm.

THE YATAỸ GUAZÙ.

The yataỹ guazù, which has very large bright green leaves, and a rugged trunk, and is at least five ells high, produces oval shaped nuts, which the Spaniards call _coccos_. The pulp is very small in quantity, but, if boiled, eatable. In each nut there are three large kernels, as agreeable to the taste as almonds, but more oily.

THE MBOCAYAỸ.

The mbocayaỹ, a tree very abundant on hills, has its trunk and leaves armed with long and strong thorns. It bears bunches of smooth dates, as sweet as almonds, which are eaten either raw or roasted. Oil, almost like that of olives, may be expressed from these nuts. This palm puts out threads stronger than hemp, of which the savage nations make cords for bows, and lines for fishing with. In the territory of Cordoba you see palms, the leaves of which make such strong and commodious besoms, that they are brought to the more distant cities. The Spaniards of St. Iago, who go to the woods to seek wax and honey, cut certain palms to the pith. At the end of some weeks they return to the place, and in those palms they had wounded find very large fat worms, which they fry, and eat with much satisfaction.

FRUIT-BEARING TREES.

Many fruits which European trees produce are unknown to Paraguay: in all my travels through that country I never, or very rarely, saw any apples, pears, plums, cherries, filberts, chesnuts, &c. These trees seem not to suit the climate and soil of Paraguay; for they are either entirely barren, or produce such ridiculous fruit as rather deserve the appellation of abortions of nature, than delicacies of the palate. The want of the fruits above-mentioned is amply compensated by an incredible abundance of very large peaches, quinces, pomegranates, citrons, both sweet and sour, and oranges which Europe might envy. In the neighbouring kingdoms of Chili, where, on account of the vicinity of the mountains, the air is much sharper, almost all European fruits, and many other native ones, succeed amazingly, and are dried and carried into other countries with great profit. But though Paraguay is destitute of various European fruits, she boasts of many native ones, unknown in Europe even by name. I shall cursorily describe trees and shrubs as they enter my head, without regard to order.

THE MISTOL.

The mistol, a very large tree, affords hard and heavy wood, of a red colour, fit for making pestles of mortars and spears; it also produces a red fruit, about the size of a chesnut, resembling in appearance the tree which the Spaniards call _azofaifa_, and druggists _jujubes_, and which was formerly brought from Africa to Spain and Italy. The skin is tender, the kernel rather large and hard, and the pulp fit for food; a sweet drink, and even a kind of bread, being made of it, which is much liked by the Indians, but to my taste extremely insipid. The jujub is used by European physicians for allaying pains in the breast, cough, hoarseness and pleurisy: whether the Paraguayrian mistol possess the same virtues or no, I cannot tell.

THE CHAÑAR.

The tree chañar has a yellowish and very hard wood: the fruit supplies both meat and drink, and is dried and preserved by some.

THE YACANÈ.