The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1946-03-07
My Whot q Day
Hardwood Knott

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The other day I was reading an
item about woman who was held
up at the point of a gun and rob-
bed - think of it, quarter pound
of butter. Anyway that was the
motive the officers gave.
/ have heard tell of bandits hold
ing up woman and robbing her
OF money, and other things, but but
ter, ughl
It seems to me that there was one
robber who was letting his taste
for butter get the better of him.
Or it could be that he was Just a
common mortal whose wife was
taking off a batch of hot cakes and
he simply couldn't eat 'em without
butter.
At any rate the incident reminds
me of the following:
1 wonder how many of us know
the history and origin of many of
the things we use every day. Like |
for instance pepper, yes, just or
binary black pepper. Manyl of us
use 1t every day and neYdr give |
a thought to its Importance or the |
part it played in the world of yes
terday. When we want pepper we
just dash down to the corner groc-
cry and there it is OF course in
the past two or three years, some
times it wasn't
The western hemisphere practic-
ally owes its discovery to pepper,
and other spices, but mostly pep
per. OF course North America would
eventually have been discovered,
but probably hundred years later. :
Just think of it, that would have
set us back hundred years and ,
all the women would still be wear r
ing seven or eight petticoats. For j
pepper l am grateful, and l imagine
the ladies are too. :
Back in the fourth century B. c. 9
pepper wasn't nearly so plentiful q
as it is to-day. They say the Greeks /
used 1t for seasoning as well as a +
sneeze producer. Whether or not :,
they had another name for it n
don't know, maybe they just called +,
it "the hots a stuff" !.
1t was used in India as medicine. a
and at one time was on a par with 6
precious metals. Away back in 408 o.
when Alaric king of the Goths,
pounded on the gates of Rome, he a,
demanded the City's ransom, 5000
pounds of gold, 10000 pounds of
liver, and 5000 pounds of pepper y
my, what a taste they had for d
'epper n those days
In the middle ages it was used
or money, people payed for ser
ices and rent with pepper And
lhen grandfather died all the rela- nc
ives crowded around to find out q
ow much pepper they had Imagine ne
woman poisoning her husband pr
Or his pepper, or tough guy steps di!
ut of an alley and snarls, This Be
stick-up bud, hand over your Ii
epper." Yes, the method is still pr
lie same, only the commodity has inC
hanged thu
In Sumatra, the Rajahs compelled DO
lelr dependents to raise pepper. in
ach family was forced to plant 3,
100 vines, but a bachelor was only an
'quired to plant 500 vines. / sup
'se the children hadn't gotten Co
'ound to organizing their union to
It. And in the Dutch East Indian Ma
lonies this forceful practice was IN
led on the natives until recent col
,ars. anC
Black pepper claims lot of pet
latives throughout the tropics but
ey do not include sweet peppers, I'M
dpepperS, and chillies, which be- l94
ng to an entirely different family. Coz
lie peppers grow on vines which Coz
metimes attain a length of 80 Coz
ct, but are usually pruned down salc
about IL feet The leaves are a
rk green and about 10 inches sale
~. VIII,
Well, that's about all the time we owl
We for pepper to-day and perhaps pos
ne of you don't even like the lstll
if. of
Pass the salt, please. crib
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