Evening star., 1940-09-21
OF Stars, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Field, Laboratory
And Study
By Thomas r. Henri.

The divine mushroom Of the Monte
zumas lost for nearly four centuries, has
just been rediscovered by an American
botanist.
1t is small, yellow fungus growing
in the mountains of Mexico, which, when
eaten, causes extreme intoxication, ac-
companied by allegedly prophetic visions
This mushroom was an important object
In the cruel religion Of the Aztecs at the
time of the conquest by Cortez. 1t was
known as "the flesh of the gods" Un-
der its influence, it Is said, the priests
of the Montezumas selected the human
sacrifices to be offered to the blood
hungry deities on their black stone altars.
The sacred mushrooms effects were
described by Spanish historians, but they
gave no hint as to its botanical identity.
With the fall of the Aztec empire its
use supposedly was discontinued. Bot
anists speculated that the powerful in
the well-known cactus button, peyote,
which is used widely among the Indians
of the Southwestern United States.
Last year. however, DR.. R. E. Schultes
of Harvard University found that a
mushroom was being used for divination
purposes by the Mazatecs of the Oaxaca
Province of Mexico, close relatives of the
Aztecs. 1t was difficult to obtain a Speci-
men because the Indians regarded 1t as
sacred, but when some of the fungi were
secured there was little difficulty in iden-
tifylng them with the flesh of the gods"
The botanical description has just been
published by the Harvard Botanical Mu-
scum which now has the specimens. At
almost the same time few of the mush-
rooms were obtained through a native
by DR.. Jean B. johnson of the University
of California. who describes the find in
letter in the current issue of the Jour-
nal of the American Anthropologcal AS
sociation.
The only other use of mushrooms as
intoxicants is among the Eskimolike peo-
pies Of Siberia.
Probably the earliest reference to the
sacred mushrooms was by the Spanish
scription Of the Spanish possessions In
the New World, published about the
middle of the 18th century.
The first thing which they ate at the
gathering" he wrote. was small, black
mushrooms which they called nanacatl.
These are intoxicating and cause visions
to be seen and even provoke sensuous-
ness. They ate these mushrooms before
dawn and they also drank chocolate be-
fore daylight. They ate these little
mushrooms with honey and when they
began to be excited by them they began
to dance, some singing, others weeping,
for they were already Intoxicated by the
mushrooms. Some did not want to sing,
but sat down in their quarters and re-
manned there as if in q meditative mood
Some saw themselves dying in a vision
and wept. Others saw themselves being
eaten by wild beast. Others imagined
that they were capturing prisoners in
battle, that they were rich, that they pos
sessed many slaves. that they had COM
mitted adultery and were to have their
heads crushed for the offense, that they
were guilty of theft for which they
were to be killed. When the intoxication
from the little mushrooms had passed
they talked over among themselves the
visions which they had seem
Shortly after another Spanish priest,
Jacinto de la Serna, told of the mush-
rooms: And it so happened that an In
dian had come bringing some of the COL
ored mushrooms, which are gathered in
the hills, and with these he had per-
formed great idolatry. These mush-
rooms were small and yellowish and to
collect them the priests and old men,
appointed as ministers for these impos-
lures, went to the hills and remained al
most the whole night in sermonizing and
superstitious praying. At dawn, when
certain little breeze which they know
began to blow, they would gather the
mushrooms, attributing to them deity.
When they are eaten or drunk they in
toxicate, depriving those who partake of
them OF their senses and making them
believe thousand absurdities."
1t was recorded that those who at
tended the coronation of Montezuma
were given wild mushrooms, which in
toxicated them and made them dance
After the sacrifice of human beings at
the coronation of Montezuma II, Span
ish historian relates, the multitude ate
raw mushrooms and these induced an
intoxication which was much stronger
than that Of alcohol. At the height of
the drunkenness many killed themselves.
Says Dr. Schultes: There are among
the MaZatecs professional diYinators Hhn