An inglorious Columbus; . te what issaid by other writers regarding the plant which, if Mexico isidentified with Fu-sang, must have been the fu-sang tree ofHwui Shan. Prescott says : ^^^^ The miracle of nature was the maguey,whose clustering pyramid of flowers, towering above their darkcoronals of leaves, were seen sprinkled over many a broad acreof the table-land. Its bruised leaves afforded a paste from whichpaper was manufactured ; its juice was fermented into an in-toxicating beverage, ^ndciue, of which the natives to this dayare excessively fond ; its leaves further supplied an impenetrab
An inglorious Columbus; . te what issaid by other writers regarding the plant which, if Mexico isidentified with Fu-sang, must have been the fu-sang tree ofHwui Shan. Prescott says : ^^^^ The miracle of nature was the maguey,whose clustering pyramid of flowers, towering above their darkcoronals of leaves, were seen sprinkled over many a broad acreof the table-land. Its bruised leaves afforded a paste from whichpaper was manufactured ; its juice was fermented into an in-toxicating beverage, ^ndciue, of which the natives to this dayare excessively fond ; its leaves further supplied an impenetrablethatch for the more humble dwellings ; thread, of which coarsestuffs were made, and strong cords, weie drawn from its toughand twisted fibers ; pins and needles were made of the thorns atthe extremity of its leaves ; and the root, when i:)roperly cooked,was converted into a palatable and nutritious food. The agave,in short, was meat, drink, clothing, and writing-materials, for the THE FU-SANG TREE AND THE RED PEARS. 385. Fig. 11.—A centuiy-plant in bloRSom. 25 386 AN INGLORIOUS COLUMBUS. Aztec ! Surely, never did nature inclose in so compact a formso many of the elements of human comfort and civilization I Clavigero, in his History of Mexico, has epitomized theuses of the various kinds of agaves of that country in the fol-lowing language : °^™ Some species furnish protecting inclosures, and afford im-passable hedges to other objects of cultivation. • From the juiceof others are extracted honey, sugar, vinegar, indque, and ardentspirits. From the trunk and the thickest part of the leaves,roasted in the earth, an agreeable food is obtained. The flower-ing-stalks serve as beams, and the leaves as roofs for houses. Thethorns answer for lancets, awls, needles, arrowheads, and othercutting and penetrating instruments. But the fibrous substanceof the leaves is the most important gift of the agaves of to the species, the fiber varies in quality from thecoars
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