That grain, which the Spaniards call _mayz_, is the principal provisions
of the Americans. It bears grains of divers colours. The Guaranies sow
various kinds of it. Those best known to me are the abati hatâ, composed
of very hard grains, the abati morotî, which consists of very soft and
white ones, the abati mir̂i, which ripens in one month, but has very
small dwarfish grains, and bisingallo, the most famous of all, the
grains of which are angular and pointed: when pounded in a wooden
mortar, they yield a sweet and very wholesome flour, and drunk with
water, either alone, or mixed with honey or sugar, quickly allay hunger
and the most burning thirst. This flour is the delicious food of the
soldiers of St. Iago, when they pursue the fugitive savages, and by its
aid they often accomplish long and arduous excursions in a few days,
without ever being obliged to light a fire to cook their victuals. This
flour was likewise a great relief to myself in calamitous journeys under
a burning sun. Of the grains of each kind of maize, either whole, or
pounded in a mortar, the Indian women make various sorts of food, and
even a thin bread, dressed on the hot coals, which, however, hunger
alone would render palatable to a European. The Spanish ladies, of maize
flour, carefully strained through a sieve, make a white bread, which,
while new, has an agreeable flavour, and is to my taste preferable to
wheaten bread. The grains of maize, when pounded in a mortar, and
sprinkled with water, ferment in a few hours, and frequently afford the
lower orders of Spaniards, and still oftener certain Indians, a
fermented liquor called _chicha_ or _aloja_. The Abipones, who abound in
honey and the alfaroba, though very fond of maize, never use it in that
manner. Many and great are the advantages of maize, for it does not
require a very rich soil. One grain often yields the cultivator more
than a thousand-fold. The ears, when young and milky, are much relished
both by Europeans and Americans, either roasted or boiled with meat. The
Indians find this grain, however prepared, highly useful in
strengthening the body, increasing the blood, and lengthening life.
Neither could we discover any thing better for fattening hens and other
animals.