PRODUCTIONS OF CHIQUITOS. 



167 



God for the blessings they received at His hands. The Jesuits found 

 that the Indian had adopted this means of praise, and the effects pro- 

 duced were so agreeable, that it was not an easy matter to persuade the 

 old Indian to give up his liquor. Jf force were applied he undoubtedly 

 would fight for it, so that a mild manner had to be pursued until time 

 worked its wonders. The Jesuits were obliged to keep back an expres- 

 sion of disapprobation of this custom for the purpose of converting the 

 savage in any way, and persuaded him to attend church in the morning, 

 and to postpone drinking until after the service. The Indian entered 

 willingly into this compromise, and after being fastened up in church 

 under new forms, which he did not understand, he found it rather dry, 

 compared to what he had been accustomed to. So the moment he got 

 out he returned to his mode of worship, and in the afternoon became 

 generally intoxicated. The women dance to music all the way home 

 on the road ; the frolic is kept up the greater part of the night. On 

 Monday morning the congregation were generally complaining from the 

 effects of dissipation. This was the time at which the influence of the 

 priest was brought to bear upon them. They were taught the art of 

 cultivation ; there minds were diverted by novel undertakings. The 

 women were encouraged to spin, attend to the cotton plant, and to make 

 use of chocolate. There was little or no difficulty m keeping them from 

 chicha during the week, as they seldom made improper use of it except 

 at the time devoted to religious worship, and that had now become a 

 fixed one by the Jesuits, namely — after six days of labor. 



Among the forests are found gums, which are used at the altar ; the 

 Indians gather and sell them to the church for incense. They also 

 collect the sponge plant from which they extract oil. They seek trans- 

 parent copal with the copaiba balsam, the gum of the storax tree, and 

 roots of the jalapa, ipecacuanha, and sarsaparilla. 



" Mate," the tea of Paraguay, is grown in Chiquitos, with a number of 

 species of the palm tree. There are ornamental and dye woods, many 

 of which are only known to the Indian ; few of them have been brought 

 fairly to the notice of the mechanic. 



Chiquitos is within the tropic of Capricorn. The natives enjoy the 

 fruits of the banana, the plantain, and oranges, both sweet and sour. 

 The grape yields wine, and from the wild apricot a pure vinegar is made. 

 The much esteemed chirimoya is found there by the side of the pome- 

 granate and gi^nadilla, the pine-apple and water-melon, the mandioca, 

 the sweet and other potatoe, guavas, pea-nuts, maize, and wheat. This 

 is the agricultural district of Bolivia. Chiquitos will rob Cochabamba 

 of its name "Granary," and prove a finer garden than Yungas. The 



