Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VIII.djvu/291

 GUAIACUM since extirpated. The present inhabitants, de- scendants of Mexicans and Philippine islanders, are peaceable, and are skilful mechanics. The principal place is San Ignazio de Agana, a fortified village of bamboo huts, having a good harbor enclosed by coral reefs. The island was discovered by Magalhaens in 1521. GUAIACUM, a name applied to both the wood and a resinous substance from the guaiacum officinale, of the natural order zygophyllacece. The tree grows in the West Indies and on the mainland opposite. The trunk is sometimes 6 ft. in circumference. The wood, commonly known as lignum vitoe, is remarkably heavy id hard, and is much used for the sheaves of 3kle blocks, for nine-pin balls, and other irposes requiring strength and resistance to It possesses medicinal properties, as also the concrete juice or resin. Both kept by druggists, the wood in the form 1 chips or shavings, and the resin in lumps or jwder under the name of gum guaiacum. GUALEYGUAY 277 Guaiacum officinale. ie wood contains about 26 per cent, of resin, 0'8 of a bitter pungent extractive. The j which is the more active medicine, is Gained either by spontaneous exudations )m incisions made into the tree, or by heat- blocks of the wood, in which auger holes ive been bored in the centre in the direction the grain, and collecting the juice as it )ws out through the holes; also by boiling ie chips and sawdust of the wood in salt rater, and skimming off the matter which rises to the surface. This is the form in which it is usually met with. More rarely it is found in rounded or oval masses, about the size of a wal- nut, called " guaiac in tears ; " this is said to be produced by G. sanctum, another "West In- dian^ species, which is also found in southern Florida. The irregular-shaped pieces brought to the United States are of a dark olive color without and reddish brown within, diversified with various shades ; they have a slight fra- grant odor, and a pungent acrid taste after being held in the mouth a short time. The pure substance is entirely soluble in alcohol, ether, alkaline solutions, and sulphuric acid. It is adulterated with common rosin, from which it maybe distinguished by the solubility of the latter in turpentine. The powder and the tincture become green on exposure to light. The Cincture affords blue, green, and brown precipitates with the mineral acids, and a blue color with oxidizing agents. If tincture of guaiacum is applied to the freshly cut surfaces of many vegetables, or added to infusions of the green plants, it gives a bright blue color, which is due to the presence of oxygen in the nascent form or of ozone, for the presence of which guaiacum is a useful test. The color is most marked at those portions of the plant where growth is taking place most rapidly. Similar reactions afforded by guaiacum with blood, pus and mucus, have been made avail- able for physiological and medico-legal pur- poses. Guaiacum is administered in many complaints, especially chronic rheumatism. It promotes various secretions, especially those of the skin and kidneys, but diminishes ex- cessive secretion of mucous surfaces. In large doses it purges. Febrile affections and irri- tated conditions of the gastro-intestinal mem- brane contraindicate its use. When a rheu- matic diathesis underlies bronchitis, leucor- rhoea, dysmenorrhcea, amenorrhoea, or syphilis, guaiacum often yields an unequivocal benefit. It is much less used now than formerly. It may be given in the form of decoction of the wood, tincture of the resin, or of the resin in substance. The dose of the latter is from 10 to 30 grs. ; of the tincture, about a teaspoonful. GFAICURf S, a nation of Brazilian Indians, in that portion of the region watered by the Paraguay between lat. 18 and 22 S. They are of medium height and strong, and their skin is of copper color. Their hair is long and straight. Formerly they tattooed their bodies. The only garment of the men was a sort of short drawers; on feast days they or- namented their heads with crowns of feathers, while in the under lips they inserted a cylin- drical piece of wood about three inches long. The women are ill shaped and always painted. They accompany the men in all their excursions on horseback and in canoes, and the men aid them in cooking. Their chief occupations are spinning cotton, weaving, making utensils of earthenware, and manufacturing cords and mats. The riches of the Guaicurus consist in the number of their horses, which they mark just as they mark their women. They live mostly on venison, fish, and fruit, and hate agri- culture. Their language is harmonious, though somewhat guttural. They count the years by the return of the fruit season. A few of these Indians were converted by the early mission- aries, but the mass are still pagans. The pop- ulation is distinguished into the classes of the nobles, warriors, and slaves. GUALEYGUAY. I. A river of the Argentine Republic, which rises in the mountains in the j