The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1896-04-11
DRINKS OF MANKIND.

MANY Of Ths0. 1ncludine DseG, Arc vesy
In the beginning men drank water
and then came to use the milk of cows.
asses and cammels. Then in some spirit
of investigation they drew the milk of
mares and perhaps the supply more
than equalcd the demand, for some of
it was left over to stand and ferment,
and as result they had koumyss, from
which they FIRST learned the delights of
intoxication
Next in barmlessness to milk are
those drinks which are prepared from
the products of the soil without the aid
of fermentat ton. Such are tea, coffee,
cocoa. chocolate. Among these the use
of cocoa is probably the most an
cient in Europe, as it reached there be.
fore either tea and coffee. Emperor
Montezuma must have been very fond
of it. as he had 2.Ooc jars prepared daily
for the use of his Household and SO for
his own consumption.
Columbus, who did many good things,
carried the knowledge of cocoa to Eu-
rope and it soon became common in
Spain. It was introduced to England
in 1867 and about the beginning Of the
18th century chocolate, which is prep
aration from the same plant, became
fashionable there.
Coffee. the drink more highly re
garded to-day than any other, was first
used in Abyssinia in SIS. Thence it was
brought to Arabia. A Greek first intro
duced it to England and made himself
famous by the act.
Tea, which rivals coffee IN favor, is q
native of China, where it has been
grown for over 1,Oc0 years Pepys men
tions having drank it in 1660, showing
that it was then novelty.
1t will surprise those who like teer
to hear that it is not n modern inven-
ton. It was made by the Egyptians
many hundreds of years before the
Christian era, as well as by the Greeks
and Romans. We have received it from
the ancient Gauls, who were great
drinkers as well as feeders. Cndoubt
edly the use of beer was common as
early as the use of wine.
Among the Egyptians, Greeks. Ro-
mans and Athen;ans beer was made
from barley, while in Spain and Britain
wheat was used for mailing. Tacitus
in the first century said that beer was
the usual drink of the Romans and the
soldiers Of Caesar introduced it into
Britain.
So-called beer was made in England a
long time ago by tapping spruce, fir.
birch, maple and ash trees and using
their juices. This process is still kept
up in England and in this country.
where homemade beers from roots are
much used.
, Ale, which is more used in England
than in America, is a heavier matted
liquor. than beer, and contains small
proportion of hops. 1t was a favorite
drink of the Anglo-Saxons and Danes.
A more aristocratic drink is wine, the
use of which is as old as civilization.
It's origin is ascribed to the gods. Thn
culture of the vine began in Armenia
and Pontus and speedily spread. The
most famous of Asiatic wines was that
of Chalyb, which furnished the tables
of the Persian kings. Wine. was not
used by the most ancient Romans.
Whisky, which is more democratic
than wine, is distilled from various
grains, from potatoes and from matted
barley. It was named by the Celts in
Ireland and Scotland. Brandy, a drink
not 50 universally used, is distilled from
wine.-Chicago News.