REVIEWS. 
37 
throw him into an ungovernable rage ; he has frequently assured me, in confidential 
moments, that he would rather, as he has done for months together, live alone in 
the midst of some coca shrubs, in the most solitary spot in the wilderness, depend- 
ing for support on his fishing-line and gun, than return home to his family at 
Huanuco. His descriptions of the lovely visions that appeared to him in the 
forest at night, and of his delicious sensations at such moments, had something in 
them truly awful. 
" When it rained, he used to cover his half-naked body with soddened leaves 
that had fallen from the trees : and he assured me, that when this wretched sub- 
stitute for raiment was brought to steam by the warmth of his person, that he could 
lie thus enveloped, for hours, without experiencing inconvenience or cold. The 
exciting principle of the coca appears to be of very volatile nature, and whether the 
elaborate chemistry of our country will ever be able to ascertain its mode of operation 
seems very dubious, as even in its native place, the leaves, where this quality 
principally resides, after being kept twelve months, become perfectly inert, and good 
for nothing. Apart from the effect undeniably produced on the nervous system by 
masticating the foliage, its exciting properties must be derived from subordinate 
causes. Large heaps of the freshly dried leaves, particularly while the warm rays of 
the sun are upon them, diffuse a very strong smell, resembling that of hay in which 
there is a quantity of melilot. The natives never permit strangers to sleep near 
them, as they would suffer violent headaches in consequence. When kept in small 
portions, and after a few months, the coca loses its scent, and becomes weak in 
proportion. The novice thinks that the grassy smell and fresh hue are as per- 
ceptible in the old state as when new, and this is to be expected with the Peruvian, 
who never uses it without the addition of burnt lime. Without this, which always 
excoriates the mouth of a stranger, the natives declare that coca has not its true 
taste, a flavour by the bye which can only be detected after a long use of it ; it 
then tinges green the carefully swallowed spittle, and yields an infusion of the same 
colour. Of the latter alone I made trial, and found that it had a flat grass-like 
taste, but I experienced the full power of its stimulating principle. 
" When taken in the evening, it is followed by great restlessness, loss of sleepj 
and generally uncomfortable sensations, while from its exhibition in the morning, 
a similar effect, though to a slighter degree, arose, accompanied with loss of appetite. 
The English physician. Dr. Archibald Smith, who has a sugar plantation near 
Huanuco, once, when unprovided with Chinese tea, made a trial of the coca as a 
substitute for it, but experienced such distressing sensations of nervous excitement, 
that he never ventured to use it again. The Peruvian increases its effects by large 
doses, utter retirement, and the addition of other stimulating substances. The 
inordinate use of the coca speedily occasions bodily disease, and detriment to the 
moral powers, but still the custom may be persevered in for many years, especially 
if frequently intermitted ; and the coquero sometimes attains the age of fifty, with 
comparatively few complaints. But the oftener these orgies are celebrated, espe- 
cially in a warm and moist climate, the sooner are their destructive effects made 
