Proceedings, fyc. xliii 



from above, was secured, and from this happy day in the history 

 of man, the lizard was roasted and the manioc-root was baked. 

 Certainly, the day when the igneous element became known to the 

 sons of the wilderness, was one of the most eventful in the history 

 of the wide-spread children of Adam ! 



The root of the manioc, the jatropa manihot, grows in all hot and 

 temperate parts within the tropics of South America, being of a 

 conical shape and often of large size, several feet in length and several 

 inches in diameter. This natural production of superior bread-food 

 was viewed as a providential aid. It is, therefore, much sought 

 after and used by the aboriginal dwellers of the Andes.* By the 

 means of fire a wooden implement had been produced, and by 

 this access to the larger manioc-root had been much facilitated. 

 One day, on the lower portion of the mountain slope, the extraction 

 of a large manioc occupied the aboriginal family ; the vegetable 

 soil had been worked through, next to which a deep layer of sandy 

 earth had to be dug out, the much coveted manioc still penetrated, 

 and so the excavation had to be continued. The growth passed now 

 through an entirely strange soil, of a color resembling the sky on a 

 clear summer day ; it was not at all like the black soil frequently 

 met with, because it was tough to dig, and it was pliable. The 

 manioc being extracted, was, with some of the curious earth, brought 

 home. A substance, somewhat similar to the new earth had been 

 known for some time ; this was the wild bees' wax. Of this some 

 playthings had been made for the young ones, and now the mother 

 shaped a few little objects out of the new matter. As a good fire was 

 kept up, some of these little trinkets were placed near the hot ashes, 

 because it had been observed that they had become harder in the 

 sun, thus not being at all like the beeswax, the honey of which, 

 by the way, provided the only sweet substance known at that time. 

 On the following morning a new and unexpected curiosity was met 

 with. Whoever would have imagined that some of the basin-like 

 playthings (imitating, it may be, the shells of some fruits) having 

 fallen into the fire, were now found entirely different and changed in 

 their appearance, when compared with those that had not been ex- 

 posed to the strong heat ; the color was changed, they had become 

 totally altered from a soft earth to a hard substance ! — How pleased 

 was now the mother with her discovery, and the idea of taking some 

 water, to try the new vessel, soon presented itself to the mind. One 

 of these little cups, being left with some water close to the fire, after 

 a short while the water began to boil. Great must have been the 

 astonishment with which these two phenomena were observed for the 

 first time ; and still greater would it have been had the discoverer 

 then comprehended the vastness of the discovery ! — Singular it 



* The manioc, or " yuca," so termed by the Spaniards, is extensively cul- 

 tivated throughout South America. 



