The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1922-01-28
The Story Of Pulque.

ing. as dispatches say, it has as
sumed task beside which enforce
ment of our own eighteenth
amendment would seem a minor
detail of administrations" accord
ing to a bulletin from the Wash
inGton ID. c.. headquarters of the
National Geographic Society.
"EdictS against pulque are moth
ming new in the Mexican's life.
As early as 1852. at least. a Spanish
viceroy thought it would be a good
thing to stop pulque drinking. and
precipitated a riot which ended in
the burning O: public buildings.
and as recently as 1911 an anti
pulole section was incorporated in
the new Mexican constitution. But
the Mexican has ,blissfully ignored
such prohibitions, as did the Aztec
before him. and as did the Toltec
Before the Aztec.
: An :Aristoc,at OF Beverages
Drunk only by the poorer class
t< pulque can lay one claim. that
Of age, TO be an artist ocrat of New
World beverages. The conquista-
dores found the Aztecs drinking
puluuc, ard the -AZtecs toi0 the
legendary tale of how a certain
Toltec saw mouse gnawing at
/ the heart Of a growing maguey.
! l>eering closer he discovered fluid
ooZing forth The obserrant sent
his daughter to convey sample
of he fluid TO his king. The mon
arch liked both the beverage and
the girl. To them were born a
child named MeconetZiD. meaning
Child of the MaSuey' From that
time forth. SO runs the story, the
Toltecs began TO decline in their
power and. their vitality sapped by
the wine of the nagueS-. they fell
easy prey TO the Aztec conquerors
, in the Valley of Anahuac.
''Pulque has long entered into
I; Mexican history. and is closely re-
lated TO social and labor conditions
there. because the geography Of
certain districts of the states of
4Iidalgo. TlaXac1a. Mexico and
Of the federal district itself. is eX-
tremely favorable to growing Ger
tain varieties of cactus. There are
33 kinds of cactus which thrive in
the Mexican plateau, all Of which
are grouped under the generic
name of 'maSuey. The greek
,Agave' noble) also is applied to
| this group, a characterization which
is defensible even if the maguey
is comparable to a Ga.Santuan
artichoke.
{ Shipped b5 Trainload
.'The visitor to Apam, tewn OF
southern Hidalgo. might mistake
/: the long line Of cars constantly
moving away from the sidings for
milk trains. Instead they arc
pulque cargoes, many of them
bound for Mexico City. where the
gluey, whitish fuid will find its way
into the exaggerated 'scfooHers,
Set out on the long counters of the
pulquerias. Often these receptclcles
are colored glass. giving the sug-
gestion of pink lemonade at a cir
Gus. The kick is only about s per
/! cent, but the quantity in which the
beverage is drunk. for it is very
cheap, produces effective intoXica-
! ton.
Likewise the uninitated traveller
might mistake one of these pull
uuerias either for barber shop or
a Greenwich village resort. Its eX-
terror usually is marked by vari-
colored paper hung across the en-
trance. suggestive Of the Old time
!! barber pole. while the proprietor is
apt to give it a faneiful name. IN
side. the only furnishings beside
the long counter. recalling the
American saloon Of other days. are
barrels. gaudily painted. and per-
haps some crude crocllery. Women
! of the half world are supposed to
add allurement 10 the establish
n1ent, but TO the American and TO
the higher class of Mexican, the
whole secene is sodden, :sordid, and
depressing.
Gathering Honey Water
The most picturesque thing
about puloue is the method of its
gathering If undisturbed mag
uey plant would develop a stalk
. from three to five times as tall as
4 man. and thousands Of yellow
flowers would bloom on this stalk.
When the flowers are about to
sprout this stalk is cut off short.
the heart Of the plant is ho2lowed
out. and into the receptacle thus
formed flows the sap Of the plant.
This sap the natives call aguamiel,
honey-water.
Along comes the harvester,
recognizes Il plant which is ready
for him by the fact that the heart
has been stuck on one OF the sharp
spincs of the cactus. and proceeds
10 empty the 'honeywater into a
pig-skin bag He does this with an
instrument that looks like Sourd.
and operates on the principle OF Il
pipettc. One end he places in has
mouth. the other in the heart OF
the maguey. and after sucking the
. liquid into the gourd. stops up
The mouth end with his finger
and allows the sap TO flow into
his bag.
\ Difference iu Viewpoint.
EXPERIMENTATION of the pulque is
fastened by the introduction INTO
the fresh liquid Of mother-pulque'
which has been kept for ten days