148 
ON  THE  LEAVES  OF  THE  COCA. 
not  contain  it,  and  therefore  simply  deceives  hunger  while  acting 
on  the  system  as  an  excitement. 
As  to  the  existence  of  a  nutritive  principle  in  coca,  I  am  far 
from  wishing  to  deny  it ;  analysis,  indeed,  shows  the  existence 
in  the  leaf,  and  especially  in  its  active  principle,*  of  a  notable 
quantity  of  nitrogen,  together  with  assimilable  carbonized  pro- 
ducts ;  but  the  proportion  of  these  substances  is  so  small,  com- 
pared with  the  total  mass  of  the  leaf,  and  especially  with  the 
quantity  of  it,  that  the  Indian  consumes  in  a  given  time,  that 
they  can  hardly  be  taken  into  consideration.  Moreover,  I  can 
affirm  very  positively  that  coca,  as  it  is  taken  habitually,  does 
not  satiate  hunger.  This  is  a  fact  of  which  I  have  convinced 
myself  by  daily  experience.  The  Indians  who  accompanied  me 
on  my  journey  chewed  coca  during  the  whole  day ;  but  evening 
arrived,  they  filled  their  stomachs  like  fasting  men,  and  I  am 
certain  I  have  seen  one  devour  as  much  food  at  a  single  meal  as 
I  should  have  consumed  during  two  days.  The  Indian  of  the 
Cordillera  is  like  the  vulture  of  his  mountains :  when  provisions 
abound  he  gorges  himself  greedily  ;  when  they  are  scarce,  his 
robust  nature  enables  him  to  content  himself  with  very  little. 
The  use  of  coca  assists,  it  may  be,  to  support  the  abstinence  ; 
but  we  must  have  cases  far  more  conclusive  than  those  which  I 
have  witnessed,  to  convince  me  that  it  plays  a  part  more  impor- 
tant than  that  which  I  attribute  to  it.  I  will,  however,  add  to 
what  I  have  before  said  of  the  llipta,  that  this  alkaline  substance 
may  also  contribute  by  its  direct  influence  on  the  secretions  of 
the  stomach,  to  allay  the  requirements  of  that  organ. 
The  action  of  coca  is  then,  in  my  opinion,  confined  to  an  ex- 
citement, but  an  excitement  of  a  peculiar  kind,  which  I  consider 
as  very  different  from  that  resulting  from  the  use  of  most  of  the 
ordinary  excitants,  and  especially  of  alcohol.    Brandy  gives 
*  From  the  sleeplessness  induced  by  an  infusion  of  coca,  Ijit  first  thought 
it  might  contain  theine,  but  the  examination  which  I  have  made  in  follow- 
ing the  processes  recommended  by  M.  Peligot,  have  negatived  this  supposi- 
tion, and  the  same  result  has  followed  the  more  exact  analyses  which  Pro- 
fessor Fremy  has  kindly  made  at  my  request.  There  nevertheless  exists 
in  coca  a  peculiar  active  principle,  soluble  in  alcohol,  insoluble  in  ether, 
very  bitter,  but  which  it  has  not  hitherto  been  possible  to  obtain  in  crystals. 
