339 / 1060
BooK
VIII.
Koyal. Commentaries.
C- HAP.
XIII. ·
~=
.
Of the Tree
Maguey,
and the Virtues of
it.
A.
Mongfl: the Frmts of this Countrey, we may account that
wh~h
the
Spani
0
ards
call
Maguey,
and the
Indians
Chuchan,
which ferves for
~n~
ufes
to ,
them as we have elfewhere mentioned.
Blas Valera
reckons up many Virtues
of
this
Chuchan
on which we
{hall
touch in brie£
,, He fays, that it is not pleafant
'
c,
to
fight
~he
Timber being of a pale-coloured Wood, with a bark: upon
it;
" that they are commonly about twenry foot long, and not bigger in con\pafs than
'c
a
Man's arme or
leg
7
the Pith within
is
light anp fpungy,
an~
fuch as Pain-
·
" ters and Carvers ufe
in
their Sculptures. The leaves are thick, and half a Yard
cc
long, and
grow all
towards the bottom of the Tree, like Garden-Carducy ;
'' and for that reafon the
Spaniards
give it the name of
Cardamum,
and may pro..;
" perly
be
fo
called, becaufe
it
bears prickles on its leaf
7
the .juice of them
is
" very bitter, and ferves to take fpots out of
Cl
oaths, it cures Cancers,
~ffuages
'' and
cools Ioflammations, and cleanfes
foars
of
al~
W
o~ms.
The fame
fap.7
or
·
~
" juice, being boiled with the Roots of that Tree
m
Ram-water, rakes away
all
" wearinefs from them, who waili themfelves with it, and is a moft Medicinal
cc;
and
wholfome Bath. Of thefe leaves, when they are taken in their feafon,
" and
dried
at
the foot of the Tree, they make Cords as {hong
as
thofe made
" with Hemp ; hereof likewife they make Soals for their Shoes, Ropes, Halrers
" and Head-fialls
for
their Horfes,
and
other
forts
of fuong Work: Thofe that
" they
cut, before they expofe them to be dried
in
the Sun, they moifien and
'' fieep them firll:
in water, that fo the vifcous humour, which makes them
britdei
" may be wafhed away. From this leaf
alfo
they fpin
a
finer
fort
of thread
" than the fonner, with which they make the Binders for their Heads, which
«
f
erves
them for Linen , where they have neither Wool nor Cotton, and fome-
cc
thing refembles the courfe cloth which
is
brought out of
Fla1lAers:
And from
'' this they fpin likewife a
finer
thread than
all
this, wherewith they make their
'' Nets to take fmall Birds
7
for thefe being laid in certain open places between
" two Hills, and fafined to Trees on both fides, they drive and frighten
the
«
Birds
into the Nets; which being dyed green, are not eafily difcerned
by
" them. Thefe·Nets are made very long, of fix, eight, twelve, fifteen and
cc
twenty
Yards
long. The leaves of this
Maguey
Tree are hollow, and capable
'' to receive great quantities of Rain-water, which is wholfome
for
divers dif-
,, eafes. The
Indians
fave it, and brewing it with Mayz) or
~imia,
or with
<'
the Seed of the
M11/li
Tree make a very fuong liquour
7
likewife they make
" both Vinegar and Honey of
it.
The leaves of the
Chnchan
they grind
l
and
'' make
little cakes of Soap of
it,
with which the
Indian
Women wafhing their
" heads when they
ach,
it takes away all their pain ; it cleanfes Spots and
Free-
" kles from the
skin ;
it makes the Hair to grow, and Dyes them very black.
•Thus far
a~e
the
W
o~ds
of
BlM
Valer_a,
ondy
I
have added
fo~ething
of the large–
nefs of their Nees which he had omitted. Now we !hall tell you fomething more
of the Virtue of this
Maguey,
how it makes the
Hair
grow,
and
turns
it
black,
being done in an unufual and firange manner.
The
Indian
Women of
Peru
do
all
wear long and defhevelled Hair; which
when
it
is very much and thick, they tye it
up
in breads about
the
thicknefs of
a
Ma?'s_thumb; onely the
CoDas
living in
a
cold Cocintrey, cover theit heads.
The
Indian
W
?men do naturally love long and black
Hair,
which they wear without
~ny
covering or drefs; and when they would dye
it
of Chefnut-colour, or when
it
tangles,
or
falls,
in combing, they boil
it
in a
Pan of water
with
certain Herbs;
one of which
fort
of Herbs, as
BL1t1
Valera
faith,
w~
ChuchaH
,
and I think
it
was
fa,
to my
~ea
remembrance;
for
when
I
was a Boy,
I
often
faw
them ufe
it.,
though
I
did not much obferve or enquire concerning it. What
I
remember
is,
that
I
faw
the Women put
their
Hair into
a
Pan
of
hot water, which
boiled
with
T
t •
fuef
-
I