East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1919-06-18
TWELVE PAGES
S.AMERICA MATE A SOLACE AFTER JULY MAYBE

Mate fs the iParaguan variety Of ordinary
holly. The leaves are dried by q certain process
and reduced to finer powder than Oriental
tea. The mate may be brewed exactly a. tsa.
But properly Il is prepared and drunk in the
following mAnner;-The powder Is placed In
the bottom OF metal cup In the powder is
thrust n bombilla. a tube OF tin or silver At
the end of the tubs is q bulb perforated with
fine holes. Rolling water Is poured over the
leaves and after moment the drink In sucked
through the bombilia. Just as Americans drink
their soda water. Tho natives drink Il scaid-
Ing hot and In great quantities. usually before
meal. The effect Is mildly stimulating; to n
mate drnker. soothing and altogether enjoy.
able. nearer the effect OF tea than coffee, but
different from either. The stimuiant in mate,
as In coffee or ten. is caffeine. but in less guam.
titles and without the astringent properties
which make tea and coffee frequently objec-
tionabie.
The gauoho, cowboy of the South Americas
pampas. and the wealthy classes of the cities
OF South America drink mate with equal relish
and constancy. There is mate and mate. as
many grades as Of tea. Relatively little is ex-
ported. for the outside world never has learned
the habit permanently. Mate when first drunk
Ia not pleasing. but neither Is tea or coffee for
that matter. 1t has bitter taste and always
Is sweetened with sugar and often drunk with
lemon.
Drank by Indians.
Mate has an extraordinary history. It was
tho drink OF the Paraguan Indians when the
Spaniards found them. The first TO cultivate
the plant were the Jesuit missionaries. and q
century ago the drink was known as Jesuit
tea. Its cultivation. first confined to Pa
raguay. has been extended into Southern Brazil.
until Brazil produces the bulk OF mate. Mate
was known In England a century ago. In fact,
nearly ran tea out OF the market 1t was Inn
ported In great quantities. and was beginning
10 win over the Engiish--the greatest OF Eu-
ropean tea drinking peoples A libel circulated
to the effect that mate was more DANA gng 20
the health than tea soon caused its defeat on
the market Since then mate drinking has
been confined to South America.
Napoleon was Interested in mate. His an.
tention was called TO the reports OF French eu-
plorers in South America OF the SUSTAINING
power of the drink on the native laborers and
cowboys. The Emperor Is said to have begus
experiments with his troops TO see whe,hes
mate would not produce the same effect on tho
French grenadier as II did on the Argentine
gaucho. when Waterloo ended the tests
The literature of England frequently me,
tons mate. although it is unknown to the prei
ent day Britisher or American. Carlisle in hi
essay on Dr. Francia. the extraordinary Pa
ragunn Dictator OF a century ago speaks of
mate without explanation = 10 every reader
would know what 1t was. Dr. Francia re-
yived by modern American writer. In his
book "Ei Supreme" 10 character whose ro-
m-atic and highly eooratura career is 60
blended with mate as TO make the name Of
one suggest the other. Dr. Francia still peeps
out from the obscurity of South American
development with a mate cup in his hand After
ALL mate Is the most purely American of
drinks. and although neglected and half for
gotten has much OF n claim American
literature as the other American Indian herb.
tobacco.