about the "poison-trees." His appetite, however, soon got the
better of him; and he set to work to prepare his coca supper. It was a
simple operation.

Around Guapo's neck there hung a small pouch made of the skin of the
chinchilla, which beautiful little animal is a native of these parts.
This pouch contained a quantity of the dry leaves of the coca. Having
taken out some half-dozen of these leaves, he put them into his mouth
and commenced chewing them. In a short while, by the aid of tongue,
teeth, and lips, they were formed into a little ball of pulp, that
rolled about in his mouth. Another step in the process now became
necessary. A small gourd, that hung around Guapo's neck by a thong, was
laid hold of. This was corked with a wooden stopper, in which stopper a
wire pin was fixed, long enough to reach down to the bottom of the
gourd.

After taking out the stopper, Guapo applied the lower part of the pin to
his lips, and then, plunging it once more into the gourd, drew it out
again. This time the pin came out, with a fine whitish powder adhering
to the part that had been wetted. Now what was this powder? It was
nothing else than lime that had been burned, and pulverised. Perhaps it
was the ashes of the molle tree, of which we have already spoken, and
which, as we have said, possess a highly alkaline property. The ashes of
the musa, or plaintain, are sometimes used; but, after all, it is most
likely that it was the molle ashes which Guapo carried, for these are
most highly esteemed by the Indians of Southern Peru; and Guapo was a
connoisseur in coca-eating.

Whichever of the three it was--lime, molle, or musa--Guapo carried the
pin to his mouth, and, without touching his lips (it would have burnt
him if he had), he inserted it, so as to penetrate the ball of chewed
cocoa-leaves that rested upon the tip of his tongue. This was stabbed
repeatedly and adroitly by the pin, until all the powder remained in the
coca-ball; and then the pin was withdrawn, wiped, and restored to its
place, along with the stopper of the gourd.

Guapo now remained quietly "ruminating" for a period of about forty
minutes--for this is about the time required for chewing a mess of
cocoa-leaves. Indeed, so exactly is this time observed, that the
Indians, when travelling, measure distances by it; and one "coceada" is
about equal to the time occupied in walking a couple of English miles.

The coceada of our old Indian being finished, he drew his