The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1875-07-15
Upas and Strychnine.

Many fctiOnS have been told of the
poison of the upas tree, emanating chiefly
from the Dutch traveller Foerset, who was
among the first to note the tree in its ma
tive wilds in the East Indies and in the
islands Of the Malay Archipelago. 1t was
said by Foerset that the exhalations from
the upas were so virulent that no animal
could exist in its vicinity. Birds were de-
clared to fall dead that attempted to fly
over the tree or to alight in its branches,
and animals that ventured into the valley
where it grew were quickly overcome by
its blighting breath, and, falling dead in
the act of retreat, left their bones to attest
that the place was veritable Valley of
Death. Naturalists have since proved
these stories to be false, for the upas not
only thrives among other trees without
occasioning them any injury, but birds
and beasts may seek its shelter with i'm
punity.
Upas is the Malay name for poison, and
is applied to various deadly vegetable prod
ucts in the islands off the southern coast
of Asia. The most noted of these poisons
is produced by the antor (antiaris torico-
rsd), a tree native to the Sundu and Phil
ippine Islands. 1t belongs to the same
natural order (artoca1pacetv) as the bread
fruit, and grows to the height of 100 feet,
its trunk giving off crown of superb to-
liage at the height of eighty feet. From
the milky juice of that tree the Malays pre-
pare poison into which they dip their
arrows. These penetrating the flesh are
malta. Animals killed by the poison may,
however, be eaten with perfect safety. The
only remedy for the venom is severe vom-
itino with r,rofs1ua Tho ,>ro
pared upas poison is kept in closed tubes
of bamboo, and is said to lose its strength
by age. It is not known what is the dead
~ principle in the juice of the upas, but it
appears to be an alkaloid.
The fables with regard to the poisonous
calculations of the upas tree probably
grew out of the fact that on the island Of
Java there is a narrow valley in which all
life is quickly cut off by the emanations of
carbonic acid from the ground. But the
upas tree is as incapable of subsisting in
this fearful wilderness as is every form of
vegetable and animal life. AS in the
Grotto del Cane near Naples, and the
vapor cave at Pyrmont, in GERMANY the
gas in the fatal Valley OF Java infalliblv
causes the death of all beings that breathe
near the ground. =. Mankind alone can
traverse the desolate region, inasmuch as
the sufocating vapors do not rise to "a
height of above four or five feet. il Ill Y
In the forests of Java there grows an
other venomous plant scarcely inferior to
the upas tree in its poisonous properties.
1t bears among the Malays the name of
rajah upas, or poison of princes, but bot
anists know it as the Strycbn0s 1Sente. It
is climbing shrub and sends its leafiess,
coiling stems to the top Of the Hottest
trees, 100 feet or more, and there gives out
its large, green, glossy leaves, alternating
with stout tendrils and mingled with 1e-
quent clusters of snowy blossoms In
the bark of this shrub is secreted poi
sonous juice, in which the Malays dip their
arrows. So active is its nature that a
tiger, receiving slight wound from one
of these envenomed darts, is instantly
seized with violent trembling, stands for q
moment on his feet, and then falls in ter
rible commissions that quickly end in
death. s4-. ~szz.s
The Strychnos 7sente belongs to one of
the most venomous families of the vegeta-
BILE kingdom: the Logdnidce9. Most of
the members of the tribe live in tropical or
sub-tropical countries. The Styyehnos nur-
consiea furnishes the fatal drug Nux- Vomi-