do not seem to sink so quickly as under 
the use of ardent spirits, still the effects 
tend finally to equal degradation. It is 
fortunate that a thinly peopled region is 
the only theatre for the coqueros; the 
bustle of a town would ill suit this propen- 
sity; besides, public opinion is even more 
strong against it than gambling or drink- 
ing. The stigma of vulgarity attaches so 
much to a coquero, that every white p 
son shuns any intercourse with him, though 
he always pleads the weakness of his sto- 
mach as an excuse for chewing the herb. 
The Indian alone is considered as privi- 
leged to continue this custom, for even the 
Negro, though fond of strong excitement, 
does not love Coca: still females of every 
class are said to be partial to it, and to en- 
joy it, both in the mofitana and the towns, 
though in the greatest secrecy. It is a 
[7] 
4 
rare thing for strangers to addict them- . 
selves to it, though it is said that the Chi- 
. . nns do so, when coming to reside in the 
Coca districts, and become even more in- 
themselves. You may frequently hear the 
ignorant people, in Peru, speak of this 
herb as a blessing sent from heaven, and a 
miraculous plant, to which the greatest 
virtues are ascribed. Undoubtedly many 
individuals may use it, without suffering 
materially, but as its effects of increasing 
the powers arise solely from exciting the 
nerves, the result must finally be injurious; 
and, even those instances of endurance 
Which arise from its use, have been greatl 
exaggerated. The miner will perform, for 
twelve long hours, the formidably heavy 
work of the mine, and, sometimes, even 
doubles that period, without taking any 
her sustenance than a handful of parched 
Maize, but every three hours he makes a 
pause for the purpose of chewing Coca 
-(coquear). He would work ill and reluc- 
tantly, if the proprietor let him want his 
favourite herb, and he exerts himself four- 
fold, if he is allowed to take brandy along 
with it, thus heightening, as he says, its 
pleasing taste. But after quitting such la- 
bour as no European could have performed, 
he requires (provided the Coca has not 
AND PROPERTIES OF THE COCA. 165 | 
engendered any disease) as much food as 
others, and such a quantity of it as might 
surprize any one, when its miserable na- 
ture is considered. The same holds good 
with the Indian, who, as a porter, messen- 
ger, or vender of his own productions, tra- 
verses the Andes on foot. Merely chew- . 
ing Coca from time to time, he travels with 
a load, weighing 1 cwt., on his back, over 
indescribably rough roads, and accom- 
plishes frequently ten leagues in eight 
hours. During the revolutionary war, the 
undisciplined Patriot troops, chiefly con- 
sisting of Indians from the Sierra, by dint 
of ample supplies of Coca and brandy, tra- 
versed long distances in a very short time, 
and thus became very dangerous to the 
Spaniards. Where Europeans would have 
halted and bivouacked, the ill-clad, bare- 
footed Indians merely paused, for a short 
interval, to chew their Coca. But with all 
this, the Coca only possesses a stimulating 
property which is highly dangerous and so 
fascinating, that, for one who becomes pas- 
sionately attached to it, there is no escape. 
Short, too, is the alleviation of misery 
which it yields to the thousands, whose 
destruction it procures, so that we may 
well adopt the opinion of the old Spanish 
Chronicler, who affirms that “the use of 
Coca is solely a depraved taste, and wor- 
thy only of such. beings, as the unhappy 
Indians now are." ; 
ON THE CULTURE AND CONSUMPTION 
OF THE COCA 
The native country of the Coca appears 
to be as little known as that of many other 
plants which attend on the footsteps of 
man; I think, indeed, that I have met with 
it in the environs of Cuchero, on the stony 
top of Cerro de San Christobal ; but though 
LER 1 $m Vid x x ly fr 
the cultivated plant, it is by no means im- 
probable that the seeds may have been . 
dropped by birds. The climate, in gene- 
ral, suits the genus Erythrozylon, of which 
six species occur in its Flora, one of them, 
namely, the Wild Mamucuca of the Ine 
dians (i. e. Coca-mother—Erythrozyit, n. — 
sp.) is perfectly similar to the true C 
Vili 
