Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1916-04-20
MEXICAN DRINKS BAD
MANY border OGtraScs Result from
Indulgence in Pulquc and NcscaI.

Although Francisco Villa himself is said
TO be a total abstainer from Intoxicating
liquors. many of the Mexican border out
RACES perpetrated by his men have fol-
lowed a too-free indulgence I'm the MeXi-
can national drinks. pulque and mcscal.
The National Geographic society Of
Washington, y. c., in a primer issued on
these two beverages peculiar to the south
ern republic says:
The colonists who settled the east
coast OF the United States have been
charged with introducing the American
Indian to 'fire-water in exchange for
the tobacco habit, but no similar accusa-
ton can rest against the Europeans who
conquered the pulque-drinkinG Aztecs Of
Mexico. The Intoxicating properties of
this unique beverage We're known long
before Cortez marched his army across
the causeways which Joined the ancient
Nenice-lilse capital of the Montezumas to
the lake shores.
Both pulque and mescal are products
Of the agave or century plant which was
of the same unitarian Importance to
the aborlgines as the date palm to the
Arab, the bamboo to the burmese, and the
banana to the Central American. In
this plant supplies from it's roots a starchy
food from its fibrous leaves cloth is WOW
en- and rope is made; from its pulp the
Aztecs obtained a sort of papyruS paper
on which have been preserved some of
their most valued writings; its huge leaves
when dried furnished roofing for adobe
huts; its stems still supply fuel, and
rows of the sharp-spined plans afforded
~, INN 90 lafo
tacks of wild animals as well as an ef-
fective barricade against hostile tribes,
''Mescal and pulque are not, as many
believe, different names for the same
drink. Mescal is distilled from the leaves
and roasted roots of the plant, and Is a
sort of brandy, containing from a third
to half as much alcohol as the average
American whiskey. Pulque. on the other
hand, Is the fermented sap Of the plant
and is obtained from the heart of the
maguey. or agave, when it has attained
Il growth Of six or eight years. The pulque
! harvester taps this heart. which
might be compared with the center of the
date palm. and with the aid of long
reed or gourd he sucks the sap from it
using his tongue as n stopper for the
reed. When the reed is full he blows II
into a pigskin container strapped to his
back. In the course of four or five
months the maquey will yield ten gallons
of sap. 1t then withers and dies. Wher
fresh pulque Is a sweet, innocuous liquid
and is called aqua MEL (honey water). l,
| soon begins to ferment, however, a pro.
cess often FASTENED by the addition OF
medre, or old. pulque.
Neither mescal nor pulque is expen
sive. one can get a drn., of the latter
for a cent, while "a H-gallon cassk of tn,
famous tequila brand of mescal may b'
had for 10 pesos $3.50
! THE MeXicans surround the discover!
0" these maguey beverages with legent
Of royal romance. Long before thu
Mont ezumas held sway over Tenochtltlan
so tho story goes, one of the early emper
ors took as his bride the beautiful dauGh
ter Of q ynnquished foe. The princes
brought with her to Tenchtitlan the secre
Of a remarkable drink of which her lor
and master grew Unfortunately fond. Afte
inbihing freely OF 1t he would becom
Gratifyingiy docile and torpid leaving tn
princess free to her own devices Othe
Aztec wives induced the princess to shar
with them the secret Of this strange sopo
rifle and thus the whole race came unde
the power Of pulque.
The Aztec cannot be charged with tn
invention of the nauseous milk pulque,
compound of pulque and milk with
dash o: rennct. The renne
part of n cows compound stom
ach, IL partially putrefied and tn
oder thus impaired Is intensified an
complicated by that of the pig skin
which the liquor Is contained. The all
which defenders Of the Aztec can offt
against the charge Of being party to thl
olfactory crime is that before the Spar
iards reached Mexico there were no ca
tie horses or donkeys in the countr!
hence no rennet.
"Pulque cannot pe shipped out of IL
country because no method of preservin
II has been discovered, SO the vast on
put Of the extensive plantaton--it is IL
most important industry of the States
Ilidalgo, Mexico, Puebla and Tlaxcala-
consumed at homo, Mexico consume