Show CHEWING COCO LEAVES I Mysterious Powers Ascribed to the Plat By the Indians Sucre Bolivia Letter to the Chicago Record The Indians regard the coca with extreme reverence Yon Tschudl the AustrIan scientist who made a most 1 thorough study or the ancient customs ot the Inc says During dIvIne worship the priests chewed coca leaves f eCrew and unless they were supplied with the it was believed that the favor oC i the gods could not be gained I was also deemed necessary that thE suppl cator for divIne grace should approach the prIest with an aulco In his 4f mouth I was believed that any business busi-ness undertaken 1thout the benediction ton of coca leaves could not r rand r-and to the shrub itself worship was rendered DurIng an Interval ot more than 300 years Chritianiy has not been able to subdue this deeproote 1 f idolatry for everywhere we find traces of belief in the mysterious power or thIs plant The excavators in the i mine or Cero del Pasco throw chewed coca upon the hard veIns of metal in t the belief that it softens the are and renders it more easy to work The Indians In-dians even at the present time put coca leaves In the mouths or dead p i sans In order to secure tle a favor j able reception on theIr entrance into J I another world and then a PeruvIan J on a journey falls In with a mummy h2 With timid reverence presents to it some coca leaves as his pious offering ring r-ing ingOne One or the scientific explorers whoa who-a been working up ire this region told roe of his exoerience with a coca chewer 1 chew-er A man was employed by me he Said in very laborIous digging During i Dur-Ing the five days and night he was In i lily service he never tasted food and tool only two hours taste nigh 1 but at intervals of two hours and a halt or three hours he repeatedly chewed about haIr an ounce or coca leave and kept an aculco continual h In his mouth I was contanty beside be-side hIm and therefore had the opportunity oppor-tunity of closely observing him The I work for which I had engaged hIm be = log finished he accompanied me on a two days journey across the level I ground Though on fQot he kept the I I pace of mJ mule and halted only for the chaecar chewIng On leaving me he declared that he would willingly engage en-gage himself agaIn for the sae amount or work and that he would g through it without food ir I would but alp hIm a sufficient supply or coca iThe village priest a5uree that this man was 62 years ot age and that he had never known hint to be ill In hIs life |