And so each day shooting and fishing were to be regularly indulged
in.
For beverages they had a good store of the best that country
produced; _"caysuma"_ or _"machachera,"_ from the Upper and Lower
Amazon, an agreeable liquor of slightly acidulated taste, which is
distilled from the boiled root of the sweet manioc; _"beiju,"_ from
Brazil, a sort of national brandy, the _"chica"_ of Peru; the
_"mazato"_ of the Ucayali, extracted from the boiled fruits of the
banana-tree, pressed and fermented; _"guarana,"_ a kind of paste made
from the double almond of the _"paulliniasorbilis,"_ a genuine tablet
of chocolate so far as its color goes, which is reduced to a fine
powder, and with the addition of water yields an excellent drink.
And this was not all. There is in these countries a species of dark
violet wine, which is got from the juice of the palm, and the
aromatic flavor of this _"assais"_ is greatly appreciated by the
Brazilans, and of it there were on board a respectable number of
frasques (each holding a little more than half a gallon), which would
probably be emptied before they arrived at Para.
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