 Other nineteenth century reports said chewing pituri made old men seers, induced valour in warfare and allowed Aboriginal people to walk hundreds of kilometres without food or water; and a 1901 report claimed they "will usually give anything they possess for it".These reports generated significant curiosity within the local scientific community about the identity of the source plant and the identity of pituri's active chemical constituent.In 1872, Joseph Bancroft, a Brisbane physician, received pituri leaves from south-west Queensland, and performed the first pharmacological investigation.