Chicha

“ Chicha, the favorite drink of all the Andean Indians, is here brewed from yuca, not from corn and barley as in the Quito Valley. So true is it, as Humboldt remarks, that almost every where man finds means of preparing some kind of beverage from the vegetable kingdom. The Chilotans, Darwin informs us, make chicha from a species of Bromelia. In every zone, too, we find nations in a low degree of civilization living almost exclusively upon a single animal or plant. ”

“ To my mind, the Bolivians will never be a people that merit respect until they do away with the numerous chicha mascada shops that are to be found in every town and village, and on every road, throughout the republic. The very idea of the horrid thing is [156] enough to demoralize any people, and how a custom derived from savages can have taken such firm hold upon a people of Spanish descent, is hard to imagine. I must, however, at the same time say that there are numerous Bolivian families amongst the higher classes in which the chicha mascada is never allowed to be seen or used. ”

“ Among the lower classes the use of chicha made of maize is very common, and its intoxicating qualities are but too visible among the indians, who are passionately fond of it: for the purpose of stimulating a species of thirst or forcing the appetite, they eat very large quantities of capsicum, aji: it is not uncommon, indeed, for an indian to make a meal of twenty or thirty pods of capsicum, a little salt, a piece of bread, and two or three quarts of chicha.
Quito is famous for the delicate ices and iced beverages which are made by the inhabitants ”

“ During this time of fasting the ladies of his lineage have to work very hard to make a great quantity of chicha with their own hands, making it from maize, and they must be richly dressed. After the time of fasting is passed, he who was to be lord came forth, carrying a halberd of gold and silver in his hands, and he proceeded to the house of some venerable relative, where his hair had to be shorn. Then, clothed in one of these dresses, he left Cuzco, where this festival was held, and went to the hill of Guanacaure, and performed certain ceremonies and sacrifices. ”

“ Underneath this immense roof all the business of the day goes on, from the cutting up of the bullock to the cooking of the [122] “chupe,” or soup, for breakfast or dinner, or the preparation of the national beverage of Bolivia, the “chicha,” without which few Bolivians, be they Indians or of Spanish extraction, can exist: but of this chicha we shall have more hereafter. The sugar-mill was of primitive construction, but seemed to work well, and turned out sugar of an excellent quality. ”

“ When in this state, it is considered fit for sale; and as it can be prepared at so cheap a rate as to come within the reach of the poorest Indian, immense quantities are disposed of, under the name of chicha, and these wretched creatures may be seen rolling about the streets and suburbs, in a state sometimes approaching to madness, and sometimes to insensibility, under its overpowering influence. In this way they spend the little money they acquire by their labour, and never rise higher in the scale of civilization than the low grade in which their progenitors have lived and died. ”

“ The proprietor of the sugar plantation in the Lurin valley told me that he himself, about ten years previous, had seen mummies disinterred in the neighbourhood of Pachacamác, in the mouths of which were gold ornaments, while various objects were buried with them, such as small idols of gold and silver, staffs with golden buttons, earthen jars and vessels filled with Chicha (the well-known favourite intoxicating drink of the Indians) , and fruits, the Chicha and fruits having remained in a wonderful state of preservation. ”

“ At numerous points Quechua women had put up small shacks of stones and reeds; they squatted within the makeshift shelters all day long. A white rag floating above from a tall278 bamboo announced to the weary wayfarer that chicha was for sale within, and all the travellers we saw religiously stopped at each of these road-houses to slake their thirst. At one point a wall of rock rises from the stream to a height of three thousand feet; two condors were perched upon the very tip, their black forms clearly outlined against the sky, while two others circled swiftly above. ”

“ In the evening, the men filled our house, bringing with them some jars of a liquor they called chicha, made of barley-meal, and not very unlike our oat-ale in taste, which will intoxicate those who drink a sufficient quantity of it; for a little has no effect. As soon as the drink was out, a fresh supply of victuals was brought in; and in this manner we passed the whole time we remained with these hospitable [148] Indians. They are a strong well-made people, extremely well featured, both men and women, and vastly neat in their persons. ”

“ But if the vice of excessive drinking be occasionally indulged in among the better class of people of the Sierra, it is much more frequent among the Indian inhabitants. Every one of their often-recurring festivals is celebrated by a drinking bout, at which enormous quantities of brandy and chicha are consumed. In some districts of the Sierra the chicha is prepared in a peculiar and very disgusting manner by the Indians. ”

“ Chicha-drinking is a part of the worship of these simple aborigines. They seem to think that the more happy they make themselves while paying their devotions to the Creator, the better he is satisfied. ”

“ In the fertile vale of Chinchao, famous for its coca plantations, a few proprietors of Huanuco cultivate frijoles, or beans, for the use [60] of the coca-gatherers: rice is also grown by the humid banks of the great rivers, and maize is everywhere sown as a necessary of life.
In the Montaña, chicha is made from maize, as in other parts of Peru; but the natives here make a drink called masata, not known in more civilized parts of the country, produced by chewing the yuca or maize, &c. ”

“ They do not owe the introduction of intemperance to the Spaniards, though they can now obtain stronger liquor than in the old times, as the ancient Indians do not appear to have known how to distil, but they made several kinds of fermented liquors. In Mexico the chief drink was "pulque," the fermented juice of the agave or maguey plant. In Nicaragua "chicha," a kind of light beer, made from maize, is still the favourite Indian beverage. On the warmer plains, the wine-palm (Cocos butyracea) is grown. ”

“ The vine is cultivated all the way from Atacama and Coquimbo, where excellent raisins are produced, south to Concepción, where some of the best wines of Chile are manufactured. In 1904 there were 93,370 acres devoted to grape production in this region, the product for that year being 30,184,704 gallons of wine and 212,366 gallons of brandy. The universal beverage of the people—chicha—is made from Indian corn. Although wheat is produced in the northern part of this region, it is grown with greater success in the south, where the rainfall is heavier and the average temperature is lower. ”

“ With wealth untold and accomplishments unattained before by any woman in the world, Chiquita returns to her forest home for peace and contentment. 'In my Father's house are many mansions.' Yes, Jack, and the tepees of the great Indian nation stretch beyond the sky to welcome Chiquita. See, Jack, father, mother, the braves in all their glorious array are waiting for Chiquita! 'Our Father,' the Great Spirit of both the red and white man, welcomes. It is in the peace of the Happy Hunting Ground that we find rest. Adios, Jack. ”

“ In a grove of tall fir trees, close to the placid waters of the Grand River, Yamanatz erected his tepee, where in the soft, balmy air, fragrant with balsam and cedar, Chiquita could rest and watch the clouds as they made great shadow pictures on the mountain and stream. Like a sentinel, a lone peak stood beyond the cleft in the great divide, whose precipitous sides rose in towering splendor all clad in verdure green. ”

“ Si, Señorita Chiquita, the Indian maiden has said it. The pale-faced sisters of Jack would save their white brothers—even their red brothers and their black brothers. The fair sisters of the white man brave death in many ways for their white brothers. See, Chiquita, the medicine tepee of the white man is great as the high rock. It has many beds, more than the number of all Yamanatz's ponies. The young man who makes the gun, the maiden who makes the pretty cap mebbe so breaks the leg. Mebbe so the big steam cars come together all in big smash—kill many, heap hurt all. ”

“ It is but one moon since Chiquita's pony did paw the deep snow and carry Chiquita on the big divide to meet the Ute braves coming from the Grand River. One sleep, and the white man Jack must get his ponies, and two sleeps before the sun shall show on top of the high mountain. Chiquita will be ready at the tepee of Yamanatz to lead the white man over big divide, where make 'em one camp for Chiquita and one camp for white man Jack. One sleep and Chiquita say adios to white man, then come back Indian village on same day. ”

“ Her well molded face was set in its frame of straight, black hair, braided in two long strands into which were interwoven pieces of lion skin, beaver fur and other bits of "medicine" charms to drive away evil spirits. A string of elk teeth adorned her neck and bands of heavy silver ornaments bedecked her arms.
Indians are similar to other folks in many respects. A proper introduction generally puts them on a gracious footing. It did not take long for Jack and Chiquita to strike up a fast friendship, and the old adage of "feed the brute" held good with both Indian buck and maiden. ”

“ Even white and long bearded men had made her presents and offered her their tributes and homage. He had raised the fame of their beautiful capital far above that of any other cities in Mayapan and Xibalba. He had opened the country to the commerce of the whole world, and merchants of Asia and Africa would bring their wares and receive in exchange the produce of their factories and of their lands. In a word, he had made Chichen a great metropolis in whose temples pilgrims from all parts came to worship and even offer their own persons as a sacrifice to the Almighty. ”

“ Chiquita was of Don Pedro’s life the sun. He worshipped her even as worships the good Catholic the Madonna. Never was maiden so beautiful or so graceful. Ah! like the deer was she graceful. And she was no plant of the hot house. There was none among all the herders who could throw the riata as could Chiquita. Of all the caballeros of Sonora there was not one who in riding could match her. There was no mustang so wild that she could not tame him. And shoot! Not in all California was there a better shot with rifle or pistol than Chiquita. ”

“ A Ute does not fear the death that awaits him, even for a crime," proudly asserted Chiquita. "The Great Manitou will send him back. Has he not danced to Wakantanka with a buffalo skull hung to a thong that passed through the flesh of his back? Will one who has danced to the Sun be afraid to return to the Kiowa dogs? Polar Bear knows that the Utes would drive him back from the Happy Hunting Ground and be killed by them if he did not keep his promise to return. Polar Bear knows there is no escape." ”

“ Nearly every Indian had some cast-off garment which had served its mission for a white man. Hunters, freighters, army men, etc., contributed old socks, trousers, coats, gloves, hats, caps, and even women helped bedeck these children of the forest in the glory clothes, but the "medicine" each and every one possessed was of the same general character—otter, beaver and mountain lion skins woven into the hair, constituting a charm to scare away evil spirits.
Yamanatz was by the camp fire of his tepee as Chiquita threw herself from the back of "Bonito." ”

“ The thought of Chiquita brought her to herself in a measure, and as she slowly began to pace the floor, Don Felipe's words came back to her. If she did not possess Jack, no other woman should. Besides, she knew what he did not know—that even if he wished to, he could not marry Chiquita. A grim smile flitted across her countenance as the knowledge of this fact flashed through her mind, the only ray of light in the chaos into which she had been plunged by that misguided, luckless decision on her part—her refusal to follow the Captain while he was still hers. ”

“ Chiquita gave a little laugh, then said: "Señorita, you love Captain Forest and so do I. Let it, therefore, be a fair fight between us, and in order that you may know you can trust me, I give you this," and drawing a small silver-mounted dagger from out her hair, she handed it to Blanch who took it wonderingly.
"It is often safer," she added, "for a man to go unarmed in this land than for a woman. But as I said, I shall henceforth be to you what I am—an Indian. ”

“ Was her lineage superior to Chiquita's, the descendant of a long line of rulers whose ancestry stretched back into the dim, remote past as ancient as the hills, the record of whose lives and deeds stood inscribed on the ruined temples and palaces scattered throughout the land where they once dwelt at a time when her European ancestors roamed the wilderness half naked and clad in the skins of wild beasts?
White men of eminence had married Indians and their descendants were proud of their lineage. True, Chiquita was an exception just as she towered above most women of her race. ”

“ The paleface has spread out as the wings of an eagle until the lands are gone. The smoke rises from the tall stacks and long ago have we been forgotten by the old Ute warriors who have passed into the great Happy Hunting Ground, there to live on pots of savory flesh while we slave in the sage brush or eat army rations and wear army blankets, which are brought to us on the cars. This is civilization and it is so that Chiquita is to learn what her white sister does in civilization, and Antelope is asked to be patient and wait for Chiquita while she may see the fair sister unto the end. ”