INDIAN RUBBER TREE. 97 



century, " which is held by the Indians in great 

 estimation. It does not grow high, hut the leaves 

 are broad, and of an ashy hue. This tree yields a 

 white milky substance, thick and gummy, and 

 abundant. The natives wound the tree with an 

 axe or cutlass, and from these incisions the liquor 

 drops. They catch it into round vessels, small and 

 large, which they call xicalli, but the Spaniards 

 calabashes; in these they allow it to settle in round 

 balls, and when set they boil them in water. Those 

 who cannot obtain vessels for the purpose, smear 

 their bodies with the juice, for nature is never 

 without a resource; they wait patiently beneath this 

 curious covering, and when dry, remove it with 

 little trouble, as it comes off in the form of a smooth 

 membrane, its thickness depending upon the will of 

 him who gathers it. They then make it into balls, 

 which are boiled as just noted. Anciently the 

 Indians used to play with these balls, striking them 

 against the ground, and causing them to rebound 

 to a great height; but in the game of the Pelota 

 they were not struck against the ground, but caught 

 upon the hip or shoulder. 



" But this was not their only use, nor were they 

 given merely to be sported with. An oil was ex- 

 tracted from them, of great value in various applica- 

 tions. It was much used by the natives; nor have 

 they forgotten its properties now, for it is soft and 

 insinuating, and of especial use in removing any 

 tightness of the chest. This oil is extracted from 

 the balls by heat; it starts forth in a manner to 

 create admiration, leaving me nought to compare it 

 unto. The oil, too, is drunk mixed with cocoa and 



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