New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1896-05-06
CRUDE INTOXICANTS.
THE manufactured or. STiMULANTS
BY ABoRIGINES.
Fermented snd Distilled Liquors with
Which tho Uncivilixed Natives of DifHer-
ont Parts Of the World Produce .eDrunk."
Learning From the White Man.

Which tho Uncivilixed Natives of Diner
emit Parts Of the World Produce 'Drunl."
Learning From the White Man.
It is a remarkable fact that up to the
time Of the coming Of the whites the
North American Indians generally had
no knowledge Of intoxicants. As for to-
bacco, they did not smoke it as we do
apparently, but merely for ceremonial
purposes. Going southwark into Mexico
in those days, however, the traveller
might have found alcoholic stimulants
! in common use. Even at the present
time the natives in that part of the
world make an odd sort of beer out of
corn. They wet a wooden blanket, lay it
! in the sun and spread whole grains of
maize upon it. The grains terminate,
sprouting and sending out rootlets
| through the texture of the blanket,
which is kept moist. They are then
parched and ground to coarse meal.
To this meal little yeast, made by
chewing some corn and allowing it to
ferment, is added. Then the stuff is
mixed with water and put away in jars
Fermentation follows, and as it dimin-
ishes the liquor becomes as clear as yel-
low amber, in which condition it is
drunk. 1t is quite Intoxicating.
Several varieties of grasses, herbs and
flowers, the roots of sundry plants; the
juices Of the sugar cane and aloe, and
even beets, are used by various tribes
and peoples as basis Of drinks. In
earlier times spruce trees, fir trees,
birch trees and ash trees were tapped for
their sap, which was fermented to make
stimulating beverages. The willow,
poplar, sycamore and walnut are said to
yield palatable drinks. The Japanese OBJ
tain Intoxicating beverages from plums
and from the flowers of the motherwort
and peach. The Chinese actually pro-
duce an alcoholic drink from mutton.
The Abnaki Indians of New England
used to manufacture a kind of liquor
from the tops Of fir trees, which they
boiled and put into casks with molasses
The contents Of the casks were allowed
to ferment for three days.
The Eskimos were entirely unacquaint-
they came into contact with the whites.
Travellers have observed that they drink
extraordinary quantities Of water when
they can procure it. That is not always
so easy in latitude where the normal
condition of water is that of a solid. In
winter one of the most important occu-
pations of the women is the thawing of
snow to get water. The snow is cut in
to very thin slices as a preparation for
the thawing process, and it is fetched to
the hut from considerable distance in
order that it may be perfectly clean.
The Eskimo greatly dislikes water that
is many degrees above the freezing
point.
The Chilcat Indians Of southern Alas
ka distill fearful beverage called
"hootchenoo.' The process adopted was
probably suggested to them by United
States soldiers originally. Molasses or
vegetables Of any sort, made into a
"mash," are employed as raw MA
terial. The mash is put into large tin
can, which is connected with another
tin can by tube Of the hollow stem Of
the giant kelp. This tube is buried in
snow. A fire is built under the can that
contains the mash, and the alcohol passes
over into the other vessel. The liquor
thus distilled is drunk fresh and pro-
duces temporary insanity.
The aborigines of Mexico and farther
to the south were acquainted only with
fermented intoxicants up to the time
when they learned from the whites the
principle Of the still. At present, how
ever, this contrivance Of civilization is
in general use among savages on this
continent. The Apaches of southern
Arizona make whisky from the sap Of a
small species Of cactus. They cut out
the hearts Of the plants, resembling lit
tie cabbages, and in the cup shaped re-
ceptacles left behind the sap accumu-
lates. From this sap they distill the
famous "mescal,'' which drives those
who drink it to sheer madness. Many
spirituous drinks are made from the
banana. Banana wine is obtained by
pressing the fruit through sieve, after
which it is made into cakes, dried in
the sun and dissolved in water when
wanted for use.
On the west coast of Africa it is q
common thing to see bare legged wom-
an climbing up gigantic palm tree,
with calabash Of immense size hung
round her neck. When she has reached
the top branch, she taps the tree, and the
sap begins to flow. Then she hangs the
calabash beneath the stream Of sap and
descends. Twelve hours later she climbs
the tree again and takes down the GALA
bash, which by that time is full Of palm
beer. Itresembles mead somewhat, but a
small quantity of it stupefes the drink
or. African natives universally know
how to prepare drunk producing liquors
from such simple materials as the tops
Of broom corn, sugar cane juice and CO.
coanut milk.
All over eastern Asia is consumed
drink known as ''arrack." The best Of
it is distilled from the unexpanded
flowers of certain varieties Of palm. A
vile kind of arrack is made from impure
molasses that is left over as refuse in
the manufacture of raw sugar. It makes
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