The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-12-10
SMALL BERRIES OF LIQUID FIRE.
Wonderful Qualities of the Plant of
which TObascO Sauce is "a Mild Ex-

From the New York Sun.

tract.
From the New York Sun.
Beginning at a point 100 miles above
New Orleans and running west and south
west for more than 5000 miles, is a belt of
wild pepper known as the chilli path.
With its eastward end close to the Mis-
sissippi river, it's westward end rests on
the slopes of the mountains beyond the
city of Mexico. There are more than for
ty members of the pepper family, ana not
any other one of them can show so eX-
tended or exclusive a habitat. The chill
patin is found in its giant belt and nowhere
else, though there are limitations OF 1t else
where i'll the world. The investigator can
distinguish the genuine from the imitation
readily enough by putting sample OF
each in his mouth. The imitation will be
warm. There isn't anything in the Eng
fish language to describe what the other
will be. Most Northerners will have
reasonably clear idea of the Viruience OF
the chilli patin when they are told that
tabasco sauce is much-Weakened soiu-
ton of it. Tabasco sauce is made of chill
patin. vinegar and some alcohol, put in as
a preservative. The sauce is made at New
Iberia La which Is at the eastern END
of the chilli patin belt. The proportion OF
the strength of the pepper in its natural
state to the strength of the sauce is seven
to one 1t is nearly as hot as the inte-
rior hinges of the gates of the bad place
and much hotter than the outside hinges.
The chilli patin grows on a bush from
two TO three feet high and three feet
broad across the top The limbs of the
bush are gnarled and twisted and covered
with rough bark. In appearance the plant
is not unlike an Old and diminutiVe OAK
tree. The likeness is furthered by the
ar1 nd CrT~an
The pepper itself is nearly spherical ber-
nv about the size of small buckshot. A
stem puts off from limb and at the end
of the stem is a single berry. From TINS
stem other stems may put out, but each
stem will grow not more than one trult.
Often a leaf grows from the stem next 10
the berry, bends over it and SHADES IL as
if it were an umbrella. This is merely
one of the 10000 devices of nature to shleld
it's products from the fierceness of torrld
sun. The belt in which the pepper grows
varies in width from 20 to 800 miles. Inc
bushes stand thielxly enough for the most
part. 1t is impossible to estimate now
many thousands of tons of the pepper go
TO waste each fall. While it is something
of a favorite with the Mexicans and with
the Americans along the Rio Grande, LOT
the most part it is not used at all.
Even the MeXicans do not use IL IN all
of their dishes wherein pepper is employ
ed In the very common dish known as
chilli concarne, for instance, the pepper
used is the chilli colorado large bril-
liantlv red beI-shaped pod, much ike
the common red pepper of American gar
dens. but ten times warmer. They have,
too. a pepper of dark purple when cured,
which they call chill negro, about nan
wav in strength between the chill colorado
and the chill patin. Chill patin they use
only when they wish TO make some dtsh
particularly hot. Generally some OF ia
very little of it's spread upon their hue
vas con savollas, mixture 9ot eggs, on
ions and cheese, and occasionally II Is
found in enchiladas, which are tortillas
with grated cheese and chopped onions on
them the whole mostened with rich
gravy. Americans eat largely of enchlla-
das when they get the chance, mainly, IL
is believed, because when man IS de-
vouring one a quart bottle of ice-eold beer
discounts the nectar quaffed by any old
god
The chilli patin is a pepper made by ma
ture 70 offset the disease effects OF an ara
and excessively hot climate II Is not COM
prehensible how it came to spread so Iar
eastward i'm Louisiana, because that IS
low and damp climate. 1t Is true that the
Louisiana chill path, from which the Ia
basco sauce is made, is a bastard prod
ucf IL has not more than one-half the
holiness of the chilli patin grown where II
nroDerlv belongs, on the higher and dryer
lands further West Properly speaking,
the chilli patin is of that part Of the coun-
trv which is sandy. red-hot and Dracti-
callv rainless. For example, it grows no
where in greater strength or profusion
than in the neighborhood Of Durango.
Mex. and in Durango, when they had
rain not long ago. children six years old
were paralyzed with astonishment to see
water fall out of the sky. Broadly speak
inc. the chilli patin hourishes wherever the
cacrus dourishes, or 1t would flourish there
if transplanted.
II will be understood that climate in
which there is little moisture and much
sun is excellent for sick lungs and bad for
The liver In the chill patin parts of the
Southwest consumption Is unknown, save
among people from the North who come
down in the last stages of it, die and are
shfpoed home. There is no catarrh 10
sneak of. The various diseases Of the d.
gestive organs, however, are common
among Americans who do not know enough
10 eat chill paths. Mexlcans rarely have
Them because they keep themselves filed
with the native peppers, which make the
liver work Mexicans begin the consump-
ZION OF pepper at one year old, and they
keep ID % so long as they are able 10 swal-
low anything Now and then. when "A
Mexican band comes 10 this country. the
members Of Il get mopey and distressed