

TOBACCO ON THE AMAZON RIVER. 133 



and the hollow is filled with tobacco, the smoking of which 

 affords much enjoyment to the denizens of the swampy- 

 regions of Guiana. 



Mr. Cooke, in " The Seven Sisters of Sleep," states that a 

 tube much resembling the " Winna " of Guiana was some 

 years ago to be met with in the Tobacconists' Shops in 

 London. The Indian dwelling in the dense forests in the 

 region of Orinoco has found that tobacco is an excellent 

 solace to relieve the monotony of his life; he uses 

 it "not only to procure an afternoon nap, but also to 

 induce a state of quiescence which they call dreaming with 

 their eyes open." "We find from voyagers up the Amazon, 

 that smoking prevails not merely amongst the natives inhabit- 

 ing the regions which skirt that great river, but also amongst 

 the people on the banks of its numerous tributaries. Mr. 

 Bates the distinguished Naturalist, when making researches 

 far up one of the tributaries of the Amazon, found tobacco 

 extensively cultivated, and some distinguished makers of 

 cigarettes. One maker, Joan Trinidade, was noted for his 

 Tobacco and Tauri cigarettes. This cigar is so named from 

 the bark in which the tobacco is rolled. Some of the tribes 

 inhabiting the district of the lower Amazon indulge in snuff- 

 taking. This snuff is not made from tobacco, it is the produce 

 of a plant of the leguminous order, the seeds being carefully 

 collected and thoroughly dried in the sun before they are 

 pounded in a mortar, when the powder is ready for use. 

 The snuff-making season is quite an event in a Brazilian 

 village, the week or so during which it lasts forming a kind 

 of religious festival mingled with a good deal of indulgence 

 in fermented liquors, chiefly of native origin. 



Humboldt, when traveling in South America, found in use 

 among the Ottomac Indians a powder called Niopo, or " In- 

 dian snuff." Niopo is a powerful stimulant, a small portion 

 of it producing violent sneezing in persons unaccustomed to 

 its use. Father Gumilla says : " This diabolical powder of 

 the Ottomacs, furnished by an adolescent tobacco plant, 

 intoxicates them through the nostrils, deprives them of 



