338 / 1060
Royal Commentaries.
BooK
VI
CH A ·F.
XII.
Of the Tree
Mulli,
and
of
their Red Pepper.
,,
.
A
MongH:
the
other
Frulcs
of
th~s
Cmmttey,.
we
ma~ re~kon tha~
which
is
pro–
duced by
the
Mulli
Tree ;
1t
grows of it felf wild m
the
Fields ;
it
bears
its Fruit within long and flender bunches,
with.
~eds
as
~mall
as Coriander, die
leaf
is
fmall, ancl always green: the Seeds bemg taken
m
therr due feafon, are·
fweet, and
welhafied at
the top, but within
are
very bitter.
Of thefe
Seeds~they
make a fort of ligdour, which preffing
gently
in their hands
in
warm water,
they
f
queeze out the
f
weet juice, which is at the top of the Seed ; but are carefull
not
to.
prefs
it
over
hard,
left they iliould come
to
the bitternefs of the Seed,
and
fo
fpoil
the brewing.
This
water being
flrained, and
kept
three
or
four
days, untill
it
llatft
done working,
is
very
w
holfome and pleafant Beverage : it
is
very diuretick,
an
cleanfing of the Kidnies and Reins; and being mixed with the
dtink
which
is
made ofMayz,
is
much frronger,
and
more pleafant. The fame water
beirlg.boi·
led up,
grows
hick, amt
becomes fweet liJie ffoney; and the fame
water
being–
fet in the Sun,
with
a certain Ingredient which they put inco
it,
turns to very
{harp
and
firoag
Vinegar. The milky
joke
and
rafine
which fweats from
this
Mum.
Tree, as we have
faid
in another place,
is
an
excellent Ba-lfam for green
ounds'.
The lea
es
of
it
being
boiled
in
water,
is a
r~re
Elixivimn,
and wholfome
to
ba:tHe
the body and legs in,
for
it
fcours off the fcmf, and cures old boils and
wounds ;
aod little fiicks being cut from the tender bows, are excellent Dentifrices for.
t
e
Teeth. I have known the Valley of
Coz.co,
in
my
time,
over~fpreacf
with
inmnne·
rable
Trees
of this fort, which wete very beneficial,
and
of
gr
a ufe; and
in
a
fow
years afterwards mey were
all
cut
down,
and defiroyed
:
the
reafon was, be..
caufe they felled them
to
make Charcole-;
for
th~mgh
there
w
a
great
trouble
to
kindle them , yet being once lighted,
they
keep their fire, untiJl
they
are
qui
e
burnt out.
Amongfr thefe Fruits, the chief and principal of them alI, becaufe
ic
agrees belf
with the palate of the
lndian.r,
and which they put into all their Difhes and Sauces,
whether boiled or roafied
1
is that which they call Vchu,and we Red Peppe ; and the
Spaniard.r
Axi,
which is the Language of
Jlarlovento,
though in
Spain
they give it
the name of
Pimiento.
The people of my Countrey are
fo
fond of the
Vchu,
that
they
can eat nothing, thougli but crude Herbs without
it;
being efteemed fo rich,
and
high
in the tafie, that they prohibit the ufe of it, at their times of Fafiings
and
Mortification, as we have formerly mentioned. This Red Pepper is of three or
four feveral forts ; the moll common is thick and long, without any point, called
Rocot
V ehH,
to dHHnguHh
it
from Gthers; they eat:
it
in
its
feafon, when
it:
is
green, and before
it
hath taken
its
perfeet: colour : There are other forts which are
yellowifh, and murry colour, though in
Spa;n
there is none but the red. There
are other forts of
this
Pepper, flender and long, as the middle finger, which being
o(
the heft kind, is ufed
in
the Families of the
Jnca.r.
Another fort
is
finall and
round, about the bignefs of a Cherry, the fialk not unlike
it,
called
Chinchi Vchn,
but
is
hotter than any of the others
7
and being rare, and in nogreat quantity, is more
efteemed ; and all thefe forts of Red Pepper have this quality, that all venemons
Infe&
fly
from them, being a great enemy
to
chem. I have heard a
Spaniard
fay,
that came from
Mexico,
thacit
is
excellent good for the Eyes; and for that reafon
they
always eat
t"
o Cods of this Pepper after Meals ; generally all the
SpaniArd11
that come from the
Jndie.r,
make
it
their common auce in al l their Dillies, and
which favours better
with
them than all the pices which ome from the
Elljf-
ndie.r.